Why isn’t Jake DeHaan getting more college offers?

South Christian senior Jake DeHaan takes a shot in a tournament at Calvin University on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

BYRON CENTER, Mich. - Jake DeHaan is used to defending the full-court press. But this time is was from the football and basketball coaches from Hope College.

After a recent basketball game, the two coaches chatted with DeHaan, a senior at South Christian High School. He is a dual sport kid. He had a record-setting season for the football team, which ended in a 14-0 season and a state championship. He’s also a very skilled guard on the basketball team.

But it hasn’t resulted in many college offers. 

Taylor Johnson, his basketball coach at South Christian, is a little surprised.

“I know there are a lot of schools that are interested,” Johnson said. “Calvin has called and seen him play a bunch. Same with Hope. We were over at Hope College the other day (for a team practice) and Coach (Greg) Mitchell talked to him. He’s gotten calls from Malone, a Division II team, as well as Cedarville down in Ohio. Davenport was here early in the fall. But as of now, no one has pulled the trigger.”

DeHaan said he has a roster-spot offer from Hope College and Dort College for football and a basketball roster-spot offer from Hope. 

South Christian senior Jake DeHaan, left, chats with coach Taylor Johnson during a practice on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

“I’ve gotten calls from a few different schools,” DeHaan said. “But nothing like a (scholarship) offer. I’m not really sure why. I’ll just trust the process and hopefully (schools) will come.”

Johnson, who spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach at Grand Valley State, said basketball coaches would love DeHaan.

“I think he’s a competitor and a winner,” Johnson said. “I always tell college coaches - since I’ve been on that end of things for a long time - that he may not be a full-ride kid today, but the end of his four or five years, he’ll end up there. When you recruit a kid like Jake DeHaan, at the end (of his career), you’re gonna be like ‘Wow. We got a steal.’ And you’ll be thankful that you did.”

South Christian’s Jake DeHaan, center, poses with two of his best friends, Carson Vis, left, and Jake Vermaas after a football game in October, 2022. All three of them also start on the basketball team. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

On the football field, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound quarterback, had 4,056 yards of total offense and had 56 combined touchdowns. In the state title game, he passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 99 more and another touchdown. So the kid can play.

“He’s got all the skill sets you want from the leadership standpoint,” South Christian football coach Danny Brown said. “Obviously, he has the skill set (on the field) when you look at the touchdowns, the 4,000 yards (of total offense). Also the intangibles. He’s like having a coach on the field. He understands what the defenses are doing. He’s got that ‘It factor’. Some guys have it and some guys don’t. He’s been blest to have it.”

Brown said he hopes DeHaan’s football recruitment picks up soon.

“It’s slowly progressing,” he said. “Football (recruiting) is such a promotional thing. For Jake, that’s not his personality. He likes to go to work and get things done. He doesn’t promote himself. Because of the season we had, everyone wanted to talk about him and the school records. But he only wanted to talk about the team.”

South Christian' quarterback Jake DeHaan scores a rushing touchdown against Grand Rapids Christian on Aug. 27, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

So does DeHaan want to play football or basketball in college?

“I’m kinda leaning toward football right now,” he said. “I think I had a pretty good year and I really love football. This year changed my perspective. But I still really love basketball, too.”

DeHaan plays football without concern for his body. He injured his shoulder late in the state title game.
“As far as basketball is concerned, he hasn’t played his best yet,” Johnson said. “And that is exciting for me. Coming off the football season, obviously he had one of the most amazing football seasons you could possibly have in high school. His football recruitment should be way higher. But when it comes to basketball, he’s getting a late start because of his shoulder injury. These 16 days off that we had (for the holiday break) are really going to help him. He’ll just take off.”

DeHaan said his parents, Alex and Rachel DeHaan, just want him to be happy.

“My parents want me to do whatever I love and whatever my heart is calling me to do and what God wants me to do,” he said.

He’s a pretty good student, too. DeHaan has a 3.87 grade-point average.

“I think, for Jake, he’s such a high-academic kid, too,” Brown said. “So finding that fit … he needs to find a school that will push him academically and athletically. He likes the challenge educationally, too.” 

But for now, he’ll focus on the South Christian basketball team, which is 4-2 after a win over Byron Center on Tuesday.

“When he plays a sport, he’s all into that sport,” Taylor said. “That’s what’s fun to see. Now he can focus his attention on basketball.”

Jake DeHaan played travel ball last summer with MBA Lakeshore 17U. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).