NFL Draft: Top Pick in USFL Draft Michigan State OL Jarrett Horst NFL opportunity

For guys like Horst, their ability cannot be measured with a stopwatch.

Nicknamed the “Scenic City,” Iowa Falls, Iowa, is lavished with natural serenity. The Iowa River runs through the cliffs and tall prairie grass along its shorelines that help give the city its name. Its total population slightly eclipses 5,000 citizens. It is the typical Midwest small-town community setting.

Ellsworth Community College is also located in Iowa Falls. The junior college has a modest enrollment that hovers between 500-700 students, on par with larger high school graduation classes in bigger municipalities across the United States.

Ellsworth is where Michigan State offensive lineman Jarrett Horst got his start in college football. It’s also where Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett got his start before going off to play Big 10 football at Iowa and prior to his illustrious NFL career.

“Looking back, sometimes I think about when I was in junior college,” Horst said. “I’m sitting in a small room called Thompson Hall. Just dreaming about getting the opportunity to play college football at a higher level.”

That tiny seed of hope began to sprout during his time at Ellsworth.

Horst spent his freshman season at Ellsworth before heading to Arkansas State. Instantaneously, Horst became a force on the Red Wolves' offensive front. In year one with the team, he received third-team All-Sun Belt honors and was selected for the Gary Withrow Award, presented annually to the team’s outstanding offensive lineman of the year.

Amazing accolades for a JUCO product who was told “just give it up” on his hopes of ever playing college football. Horst never buckled. Methodically snap after snap, he continued to develop his game. In his second season at Arkansas State, he was named to the Outland Trophy Watch list in 2020, presented to the nation’s best interior lineman.

Horst now had three full seasons of college football under his belt.

That dream he dreamt at Thompson Hall at Ellsworth was about to come to fruition when he arrived in East Lansing to play big-time college football. In his first season with the Spartans, Horst would earn All-Big Ten honorable mention. He started eight games at left tackle and did not play the last five contests due to injury. A nearly identical season would follow, in 2022, with eight more starts at left tackle and earning All-Big Ten honorable mention.

“I do it for the people that have always been in my corner,” Horst said of his passion to succeed.” I do it for the people that may be in a similar situation, like me, at a junior college or high school that got overlooked. I want to be someone that people can look at and say – If he can do it, then I can do it.”

That attitude resonates in his play. The 6-foot-5 and 295-pound tackle institutes an old-style demeanor into his football curriculum. Power and pop. He is the hunter. You are

the hunted. That style of play and mental mindset got him selected as the first pick overall in the 2023 USFL Draft by the Michigan Panthers.

“It was a great honor,” Horst said of his USFL selection. “I spoke to the manager (Steve Kazor) of the Panthers when I was at the Hula Bowl. I wasn’t expecting to be the first overall pick. It was an honor, for sure. I’m really excited to have that opportunity. I’m blessed for that.”

There is another opportunity that awaits at the end of this month in Kansas City. The 2023 NFL Draft gets underway between April 27-29th and that is the ultimate destination spot where Horst wants to find himself. After all, he is not alone. Playing in the National Football League is every childhood dream for a youngster who loves the game of football.

“Whatever team takes an opportunity on me, whether that’s being drafted or not,” Horst said. “They're getting a player that’s coming in with a lot of heart. A lot of effort. Ready to work every day.”

Those are the intangibles that close the gap once NFL camps open after the draft.

Those are the exact traits that helped get his ass out of Thompson Hall and land him on the campus in East Lansing, Michigan. Horst has used that motto since arriving at Ellsworth in 2018 to No. 1 overall pick of the USFL this year.

The draft lingo to help illustrate Horst as a player is rather straightforward. A lot of guys absorb their defender in their technique. Horst imposes his will on his opponents. He calls it a “lost art” when an offensive lineman isn’t putting people on the ground when the opportunity presents itself. A sound technique and hand placement have provided him with a pathway toward the next level.

“I’ve always been a guy that things might not have looked great but when I get an opportunity, I make the most of it," Horst said. “I think no matter what happens or where I end up. I’m going to make a name for myself and leave my mark one way or another. I’ve faced a lot of adversity in my life, and I’ve seen times when people told me I couldn’t do it, and I’m still here. I’m still going.”

For guys like Horst, their ability cannot be measured with a stopwatch, nor do countless reps of 225lbs. institute strength. It makes it tricky when those standard calculations don’t add up for football evaluators. It makes NFL teams ambivalent in the scouting process of trying to evaluate certain players.

There is no measurement for the heart.

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