Awards
2019 MVFC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award
2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2021 MVFC Honor Roll
2022 CSC Academic All-District Team
Jake Kubas is part of a long tradition of North Dakota born and raised offensive linemen finding success in the trenches. We spoke with him about his decision to come back, his love of the bison and more.
How quickly did you know that you wanted to come back?
I made that decision pretty early on in the 2021 season. Cordell Volson has been one of my good buddies in life for a while now, and he’s going to be one of my good buddies for a long time. And one of the things he told me is that he’s never going to regret taking another year in the green and gold. And I think that really hit home with me, being a North Dakota kid. Having a brother that played here and an old man that played here, I figured I’d just never regret taking another year. And if I didn’t, I’d kick myself for the rest of my life, probably
What do you love so much about being here?
Honestly, it’s not even the football thing, it’s the relationships that you build here. The brotherhood, the community support, I mean, everything about NDSU is what you look for in a college athletic program. I love everything about it.
Being around people who want to become the best versions of themselves is one of the biggest drivers of our program, I believe. Seeing guys like Cordell Volson come to work every day as a sixth-year senior—he’s still staying after practice and working on his techniques and his fundamentals because he knows that if he can get half a percent better at that in season, he’s going to do it because he wants to be the best version of himself. Stuff like that is really fun to be a part of.
How much do you think you’ve changed during your time here?
A lot. You know, if you would have told me I’d be starting for the Bison when I was a junior in high school, I would have told you that you are crazy. My brother had already signed here, but I didn’t think I had what it took to play Division I college football, let alone the brand of football that we play at North Dakota State. But once I got here, I just told myself, ‘you know, you got to buy in as soon as possible and listen to upperclassmen and watch how they do it. Just expose yourself to as much as many experienced people within this program you can.’ And I think that benefited me in terms of my mindset. I’d say that’s probably the biggest thing that’s changed since I’ve been here is just the development and the growth of my mindset.
Is that something you try to verbally pass on to some of the younger linemen or are you leading by example?
I think it’s a little bit of both. You have to inform them that you know playing here is not easy. It’s not for the faint of heart. Running the ball 40 to 60 times a game is not easy stuff for an offensive lineman, it takes a tough five out there. So, you have to inform them, but they can’t really know what it looks like or what it feels like until they see you do it and then they go take part in it.
What is your biggest motivation for this next season?
Obviously, we all feel that we came up short of our expectations. Our expectation is to win championships—whether that’s a conference or national championship. We didn’t get either one of those done last year. I think that’s a big motivation for all of us and I think another big motivator for us is that we feel like we probably didn’t live up to our potential last year. I feel like we had a lot of really good players and just didn’t quite get it done in a couple of games. So, we just need to make sure we show up every day this offseason to get a little bit better with every workout, and get a little bit better with every run and get a little bit better with every spring ball practice. I think that’s the motivation for us.
What were your emotions after the SDSU game?
Disappointed, obviously. I feel like our team overcame a lot of adversity throughout the season last year. I thought we had a really good plan going into the game that kind of got off schedule a little bit. But just not going out on top is not something that we’re used to here and is a different feeling. And it’s one that I don’t plan on getting too comfortable having.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
I just appreciate the support through thick and thin. We know there were a lot of ups and downs this last season and there were a lot of times when you guys could have just thrown us out the window, but a lot of people stuck by us. A lot of people still supported us and I hope they come back for the 2023 season and still support us.
