The Iowa City Press-Citizen has a good story about QB Jake Christensen and how he was drafted in the 50th round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Reds. He was projected as a 8th-12th round pick, but since he committed to play football at Iowa, teams passed.
I remember Christensen playing baseball in high school and I knew this kid had a chance at making a run to the pros. According to his father, the pro scouts still stay in touch with him.
“The scouts know,” Jake’s father Jeff Christensen said Thursday. “His first love is football, even though he may be a better professional as a baseball talent.”
Many insiders say Christensen has not met expectations at Iowa after he was a top recruit out of Lockport (Ill.) High School. Some of my sources tell me he could be out as QB soon, but with Arvell Nelson in legal trouble, he’s still the man.
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That article is a just a huge PR stunt. Anyone who knows, and I mean really knows, Jeff Christensen knows that he is a press seeking ‘ho. He knows Jake’s days are number and he’s trying to tell people, “he may be a failure as a QB, but the baseball scouts still want him.”
What the journalist should have done before running that story was to ask Jeff the names of the scouts that are still in contact with him. Then the journalist should have called the scouts and talked to them. I GUARANTEE they have not called about Jake…but I bet they will say the Jeff has called them…a few times…and they wish he’d stop! Think about it…Do you realize how many prospects are in MLB??? The scouts have soooo moved on past Jake and have replaced him ten-fold in the past three years.
Also…has anyone every paid any attention to Jeff’s “NFL career”. He used to say he played 13 years in the NFL…then he trimmed it to 9…the reality is he played in one game in 1983 for the Bengals…didn’t start…took a kneel down at the end of the game…stats for that game -2 rushing yards…he next played in 1987, yes he was a scab for the Browns. He played 3 games…attempted 58 passes, made 24 of them. Average pass…5 yards!!! Touchdowns in those three games…1. Interceptions in those three games…3.
If I were Jake Christensen, who will be 22 years old when the football season starts, I would thank Jeff for all his help (respectful thing to do) and then tell him to butt out of my life. Jake needs to get his father out of his head and start listening to the coaching staff 150%. He needs to commit to his team, not his father’s need to live vicariously through him.
Jake needs to stop allowing his father to use him to gain glory, attention, and his 15 minutes of fame. Ask Kirk Ferentz how many messages Jeff leaves for him…how many emails he sends to the coaching staff…Jeff is considered a pain in the a$$ by UofIowa and Jake needs to start distancing himself from him…the sooner the better!
Comment by Insider June 9, 2008 @ 2:12 pmIt’s about time someone who truly knows Jeff Christensen and his way of life finally stepped up and wrote the truth. Goes to show most….not all, but most newspaper sports writers seem to beleive his crap. I don’t know who you are but you nailed him and what he does to a tee.
I know Jeff and Jake and its turned out to be a very unfortunate experiece knowing Jeff. I have met Jake and what a great kid he is. Its unfortunate that his college career has been effected no doubt with all the badgering by his dad.
Comment by Steve Gregory December 24, 2008 @ 3:20 pm