Prior to West Virginia’s spring game, redshirt sophomore linebacker Jake Abbott received what he thought was an unexpected honor.

Abbott was the recipient of the Tommy Nickolich Memorial award which is awarded annually to “a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic.”

“I really wasn’t expecting it,” Abbott said. “I know there’s so many walk-ons on the team that work hard and I guarantee you it was a really tough decision in the coaches room or wherever they make those decisions.”

The name that bares the award means even more to Abbott.

Hailing from nearby Fairmont, West Virginia, Abbott graduated from Fairmont Senior High School, the same high school Nickolich attended.

Nickolich played for the Mountaineers from 1979-1982 and died of cancer in 1983.

As soon as Abbott heard his name called through the loud speakers of Milan Puskar Stadium to a crowd of 18,865 in attendance, the moment and loads of hard work, dedication and sacrifice leading up to that point became surreal and paid dividends.

“They said ‘redshirt sophomore linebacker Jake Abbott’ and kinda my stomach shrank a little bit,” Abbott said. “I got a little butterflies because Tommy Nickovich is from my high school, so that means a lot to me and when I walked-on here that was one of my goals to eventually win that award and so it really meant a lot to me.”

“All through high school I’ve heard the stories about him playing for the blue and white and getting to put on this old gold and blue jersey along with him is pretty cool,” he added.

After redshirting during his true freshman season in 2017, Abbott saw action in four games last season but is contending for more playing time this upcoming season.

As you’d imagine, Abbott’s strong ethic throughout spring and the offseason program caught the attention of the first-year coaching staff led by head coach Neal Brown.

“First of all, (he’s) very deserving,” Brown said. “You talk about Jake and you talk about a guy that’s all in. He’s all in on being a Mountaineer. He’s a guy that has great effort (and) great attitude every single day. We do a game changer of the day for special teams. He’s won that multiple times this spring.”

Abbott admitted that the transition from Dana Holgorsen’s staff to Brown was a tough one at first from a schematic standpoint, but the team comradery through the change is one of the things he believes has helped him improve as a player.

“The coaching staff, the way they came in they started fundamentally, they installed, they began. It was tough at first because you’re switching all the different schemes and all that,” Abbott said.

“It was a rough transition but going through it from the beginning with everybody else, it kind of helped me build up with them along so I feel like I’ve built up a good bit this past off-season.”

While it was special teams that helped put Abbott on the field last season, the strides he has made throughout the spring has led Brown to believing Abbott can make an impact on the defensive side of the ball as well.

“He will be a factor for us in the fall on defense,” Brown said. “(He had a) great winter, (and) carried that into a great spring. I think he’s got a chance to be a really plus player for us on special teams. He’s continuing to grow and his role’s going to increase on defense, and I think as he goes through his career, he’ll be a leader for us as well.”

Earning the Tommy Nickolich Memorial award is certainly not the end of the line for Abbott.

If anything, the award presents some extra motivation for Abbott entering the summer and leading up to fall camp.

“Main emphasis right now is to keep working,” Abbott said. “This award to me makes me feel like I’m almost hungrier to work harder. Growing up my parents taught me that hard work never stops and that each day I feel like you need to go out there and work hard and you did the last because apparently it wasn’t good enough.”

Abbott knows there’s still work to do individually and as a team, but through it all, he remains thankful for the opportunity to play for his in-state Mountaineers.

“I wouldn’t say I’m perfectly caught up. I mean no one’s ever perfect, there’s a good bit of room to grow as a team,” Abbott said. “I love the state. I love everything about this program and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for coach Brown and the rest of this staff.”

Enter the contest by clicking on the following link and choosing to subscribe to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=VideoGlide