45  Jake Geary
	Class: Junior Hometown: Hillsborough High School: Cedar Ridge Height / Weight: 6-3 / 243 Position: Outside Linebacker Experience: 2L

Career Statistics

A strong, mobile and fundamentally-sound performer who is expected to fully bounce back from a serious ankle injury last November and experience significant action as a potential starter or top reserve at one of the outside linebacking positions as sophomore ... Displayed perhaps a quicker rise on defensive two-deep than any other member of linebacking corps during course of first active season before injury occurred ... Was held to limited duty and restricted contact (no scrimmage participation) during the spring in final phase of rehabilitation work, but still earned place on depth chart behind projected starter Derrell Johnson ... Has taken full advantage of time in the strength program in first two years, adding nearly 20 pounds to frame while also increasing quickness and strength ... Produced a back squat of 415 pounds, a jerk of 1,201 watts and a vertical leap of 31" during spring testing, serving as a testament to the near completion of recovery phase ... A coach's son who exhibits strong preparation habits and displays plenty of leadership skills.

2011 Game-by-Game Statistics
2011: Consistently improved throughout the course of initial season on the active roster, rising from special teams' member, to reserve linebacker to starter at one of the outside positions ... Appeared in 11 games and was in the starting lineup his final three contests of the year - vs. Southern Miss, UTEP and UCF ... Missed the finale at Marshall after suffering a season-ending left ankle injury against UCF ... Booked 29 tackles with 11 solo hits and 18 assists ... Tallied a squad fourth-best five stops for lost yardage, just a half tackle behind the trio of leaders ... Added a pair of sacks and was one of only four Pirates with two or more quarterback drops ... 23 of season's 29 hits were on rushing plays ... Tallied 27 stops during Conference USA games and only two, at Navy, in non-league action ... Registered five tackles through the first six games of the year, but came on strong with 24 during final five ... Tied with Michael Brooks for the most TFL during C-USA contests with five ... Averaged 2.0 tackles per home game, but 4.3 hits a road contest ... Despite fewer total stops during home games, tied for the Pirate lead with 3.5 hits for lost yardage inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Set a personal best with three tackles for a loss (four yards) and 1.5 sacks (two yards) against UCF and ended the year with at least a half TFL in three-straight games ... In the second quarter against the Knights, dropped Latavius Murray one yard behind the line of scrimmage and combined with Terry Williams to drop Murray for a two-yard loss ... Sacked UCF's Jeff Godfrey twice in the third quarter, getting a solo stop for a one-yard loss and teaming up with Matt Milner for a three-yard setback ... Ended the game at UTEP with a career-high 10 tackles, including six solo hits as well as four fourth-quarter stops ... One of six Pirates to turn in double-digit stops in a contest ... Also in the fourth frame, jarred the ball loose from Mike Edwards for the first forced fumble of Geary's career ... Stopped the Miners' Leilyon Myers for a five-yard loss in the first quarter ... Recovered first career fumble in the fourth quarter against Tulane, picking up a Justyn Shackleford loose ball ... Experienced first extensive action on defense at Houston after playing mainly on special teams through the first four games ... Made five stops against the Cougars, bringing down Bryce Beall in the first quarter for career's initial tackle and solo hit ... Combined with Emanuel Davis for first career sack, dropping Case Keenum for an 11-yard loss in the second frame ... Registered initial quarterback hurry of career in the fourth quarter, forcing a Cotton Turner incompletion.

2010: Spent time on the scout teams while redshirting during initial season at ECU ... Officially signed with Ruffin McNeill's program in February.

High School: A four-year letterwinner, three-year starter and all-conference performer for the varsity unit at Cedar Ridge ... Played fullback and tight end on the offensive side of the ball, while experiencing action as a tackle, end and linebacker on defense ... A two-year team captain who earned first-team all-area honors in 2008 and 2009 ... A 10-time player-of-the-week choice who set a program tackle record during career ... Booked 162 stops, eight sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and three blocked kicks as a senior to earn CRHS's MVP Award ... Offensively, tallied 10 rushing touchdowns and made 20 "big blocks" that resulted in large gains or scores in 2009 ... Logged 127 tackles as a junior ... Added 10 sacks and 12 quarterback pressures on defense and contributed 200 receiving yards and 125 rushing yards on offense in 2008 ... Was also credited with 15 key blocks ... Game of note was a 21-tackle performance with a fumble return against Burlington Cummings during junior campaign ... Ranked as the No. 53 inside linebacker nationally by ESPN.com ... Recipient of the program's Academic Athlete and Iron Man (perfect attendance) as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior ... Also won the Highest Team Academic Average Award as a junior and senior, and was a Golden Helmet honoree (academic and athletic excellence) with a 3.70 grade point average ... Also competed on the Red Wolves' track team all four years, earning all-conference honors on three occasions ... Finished as runner-up in the shotput event at the 2009 state meet before winning the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A championship with a personal-best mark of 56 feet as a senior ... Established new school standards in the indoor/outdoor shotput and discus ... Coached by his father Lou Geary.

Personal: Full name is Jacob Ross Geary ... Born September 14, 1991 ... Both parents are high school educators ... Member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life ... Academic success has allowed inclusion into the National Technical Honor Society ... A health fitness specialist major.