Stanford commit Mangum-Farrar describes earning his dream offer

Jacob Mangum-Farrar got the Stanford offer that he coveted at the end of a nerve-racking July 28 Friday Night Lights camp and junior day. He committed to the Cardinal Tuesday and several days later he still couldn’t find the words to describe what he felt.

“Ever since the recruiting process started I wanted to go to Stanford,” he said. “It’s … unfathomable, because this is a dream come true. It is the best balance of football and education to me. That is what is most important.”

The fact that Mangum-Farrar is now a commit in the 2018 Stanford recruiting class probably would have been unbelievable to the young man about a year ago. He had yet to play a varsity season of football. He expected to play safety because that’s what he played in junior varsity, but Kempner High in Sugar Land (Texas) didn’t have a mike linebacker.

Kempner assistant coaches O.C. Oliver and Ben Duhon volunteered Mangum-Farrar for the job because they saw the potential for the 6-foot-3 athlete to be special there. Reji Farrar, Jacob’s father, praised both coaches for giving his son the chance that launched his journey as a recruit.

“I give those guys so much credit for really giving him the opportunity,” Farrar said. “Jacob has natural athletic ability, but if you don’t have a coach who can see the vision and mold you in that position, then having potential is useless.”

Understandably given his lack of experience, it has been slow going to catch the attention of college coaches. Mangum-Farrar finished his rookie season with 110 tackles, 10 for a loss, and two forced fumbles.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” he said. “I had to learn very quickly because they threw me into that position and I had to adapt.”

When he won the linebacker MVP award at the Houston The Opening camp the local university took notice and the Cougars were his first offer. Before Stanford, his most recent offer was Oklahoma.

Mangum-Farrar visited Norman July 15, but his sights were set on the Friday Night Lights camp at Stanford. That was going to be the most critical day of the summer.

“Throughout the whole day visiting the campus I was amazed at everything they had to offer,” Mangum-Farrar said. “And I couldn’t stop thinking about the camp (at 6 p.m.) and how I wanted to ball out. When we were getting dressed in the locker room I was trying to get in my zone. And then leading up to the first drills I was going 100 percent and just did my thing.”

Reji said the entire day was impressive and when he left his son at the stadium to go buy some Stanford shirts he thought, “This is going to be good. I was just feeling something good will happen for him. I was wringing my hands and had that butterfly feeling of excitement.”

During the camp Mangum-Farrar excelled in coverage and kept pace with running backs and St. John Bosco 2019 tight end Jude Wolfe on routes. After the camp there was a barbecue dinner and Mangum-Farrar kept one eye on his plate and the other on Shaw, defensive coordinator Lance Anderson and inside linebackers coach Peter Hansen.

“I had a good feeling that they liked what they saw,” he said. “I saw them gather in a corner and they looked at me. I was like, ‘Oooh-kay, something is about to happen.’”

But the suspense built up when the tables were cleared of plates. Father and son started packing up, which was when Reji had a moment of doubt: “It was near the end (of the night) and I'm thinking, ‘Man, this thing is about over and they ain’t said anything, yet.’ I guess we’ll just go on back to Houston.”

But Mangum-Farrar spotted Shaw slowly walking toward their table while looking around as if he had no specific destination in mind.

“Coach Shaw comes up, ‘Now, we’re going to keep this kind of quiet because we’re in a room full of people,’” Mangum-Farrar recalled. ‘We’re going to offer you a full scholarship.’ Man, I was so happy I gave the man a hug."

When Mangum-Farrar and his father reached the car Reji said they “started screaming” in delight.

A few days later it was Mangum-Farrar who gave Stanford’s coaches good news. With the phone on speaker and his family beside him, Mangum-Farrar spoke with Shaw, Hansen and special teams coach and area recruiter Peter Alamar, who were together in a room.

“They were really excited,” Mangum-Farrar said. “It was me and my family on the phone and we were all ecstatic.”

Now entering only his second season as a linebacker and varsity player, Mangum-Farrar knows there is a lot of work to do.

“I feel like I am still going to play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “Knowing where I came from and people doubting me -- I know my potential. I just want to take in all I can. It’s a challenge for me to learn and be as great as I can be as quickly as possible.”