When the Class of 2005 came in, Iowa had just finished ranked 8th in the nation for the third straight season. Every Hawkeye fan looked to Christensen as a sign that bigger and better things were on the horizon. The job of the prodigy quickly changed, however, after the next two seasons in Iowa City saw the Hawkeyes regress to 7-5 and 6-7. He was now in charge of leading the reincarnation.
2,269 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just six interceptions were comparable to the first season for past Hawkeye greats, including Chuck Long and Drew Tate. But the media and fans focused their attention on three different statistics: last in the Big Ten in total offense, a 6-6 record, and no bowl game.
While Jake struggled in the spotlight, the unheralded Ricky Stanzi rapidly improved throughout the Spring, and was ready to challenge for playing time. Throughout the first month of the season both quarterbacks competed for the starting role. One looked rattled while the other flourished. One was constantly booed and harassed, the other hailed as the new great thing. And at that moment, Jake Christensen became one of Iowa's best leaders.
Like many young quarterbacks, Ricky experienced growing pains in his first year at the helm of the offense. Luckily, he had a former starter to turn to for advice. Displaying the signs of a true leader, Jake remained involved on the sidelines and helped develop his successor into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
When Stanzi succeeded, Christensen was the first to congratulate. When Stanzi struggled, Christensen was the first to criticize, and then advise. He suddenly became the unofficial, much needed Quarterbacks Coach Iowa had been missing. As Stanzi continued to succeed, Christensen cheered louder, never complaining about standing on the sidelines.
Finally, during the end of the season finale, Jake got what he deserved. Cheers. No more hooting and hollering about poor pocket presence or underthrown passes. Throughout the season, fans had forgiven their once proclaimed savior. Perhaps it was because Iowa had a successful season. Perhaps it was because a new quarterback had taken his place and been more efficient. Or perhaps it was because the fans realized Jake Christensen contributed as much to this season as Andy Brodell, Seth Olsen, and Christian Ballard, but he was the only one who had yet to be congratulated on a job well done.
For four seasons, he put his heart and soul into helping Iowa be sucessful, but was rarely appreciated for it. He cracked under pressure. He always tried his best, but his best was never good enough to silence the critics. Jake Christensen was quick to embrace the Hawkeyes, but the Hawkeyes never completely embraced him.
And now, for better or worse, he is gone. Gone from the team he loved who's fans refused to love him back. Gone from the sideline where he excelled as a leader. And gone from expectations that were too high to expect him to reach in the first place.
Gone from the Iowa Hawkeyes, a year early, is one of the team's most valuable players from this season. And I'm not talking about Shonn Greene.
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