A Cross-Country Family Affair For Jake Luton's Jaguars and NFL Debut

For Jace Luton, it was the air traffic flying overhead as he and his family walked into TIAA Bank Field on Sunday afternoon that made everything real.

He knew that his brother, rookie Jake Luton, was starting that day for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He knew it would be his brother’s first action ever in a NFL game. He knew the reason he and his family had just flown nearly 3,000 miles across the country was to be there in person to support the former Oregon State quarterback.

But none of it seemed believable until he walked in the family gate under the din of jets overhead.

“I was like what in the world, this would only happen at a NFL game…not like during the National Anthem, but like right before, we walked into the stadium, there’s like three jets circling and it’s crazy. And I was like, ‘he’s really in the NFL.’”

For Jake Luton—the oldest of four brothers—it was seeing Jace and his other younger brothers in the stands that made everything real.

“Just going through warmups, and I looked up and my brother is sitting there in the first row,” recalled Luton after his debut.

“We’re waving and all excited and it’s a really cool moment. A really cool opportunity and something I’ve always worked for. I took a second to appreciate it, I think that’s important.”

Jace himself was surprised to find he and his brothers in the first row and that close to the action—“I didn’t even expect to get like right there…but that was awesome, it was so cool”—but there was no doubt the entire Luton clan would be in the stands when the ball was kicked off.

In total 30 made the trip; parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

“We should’ve rented our own plane,” quipped his uncle.

The Luton party of 30 had mere days to plan the cross-continental trek from Washington state, after it was announced he would be starting while incumbent starter Gardner Minshew II recovered from a thumb and hand injury. But they’ve always known they would eventually be there, in that moment and memory.

Their individual opinions as to when it was evident Jake would make it to the league all ring out at once, overlapping in shouts and laughs and history in a symphony only a family can manage.

Steve Williams—“Papa”—resonates first with a deep, “seven years old.”

“Since he was born,” jokes the brother seven years his junior.

“Always,” chimes Mom, Heather.

But Renee Williams—“Grandma”—has a more specific example in mind.

"He had a game when he played at Oregon State at Colorado, where they put him in at halftime-“

“When he’d been injured,” reminds Heather.

“When he’d been injured. But he didn’t know he was going in and—Papa, we were done how many?”

“[31]-3.”

“[31]-3 and he came back and won the game on a bad ankle against Colorado and right there it was just like ‘wow.’”

Following Luton’s 310 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to give the Beavers the overtime win, the Associated Press wrote of his comeback performance, “Luton looked like Aaron Rodgers.”

And if he could look like Aaron Rodgers on a bad ankle with no preparation, maybe he could make it to the same league as Rodgers. And he did, as the Jaguars 6th round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The rookie passer was named the starter for Week 9 after Minshew was sidelined with a hand injury (fractures and ligament damage). Luton, who was tabbed the backup in training camp but had yet to be activated for a single game, was told he’d have the opportunity to lead the 1-6 team against their divisional opponent, the Houston Texans.

Head Coach Doug Marrone told reporters last week he was giving the practice reps and likely start to Luton over veteran Mike Glennon because, “I just want to see where this kid’s at,” but even with the unknowns, he always felt comfortable on paper with what they’d be putting into the game with Luton.

“I guess the first thing I would say I was impressed with, outside of whatever physical ability that we all can see from his college film, is his ability to pick it up, his intellect. That’s the first thing you need. You have to be able to communicate well, go in there, call the play, and then get out there and execute.

“He’s a big guy, he can move, he can see well, and he has a good arm. I might be like most of you guys, I mean you get a lot of questions, but I feel good about putting him in there. I feel good about his potential. I just don’t know how he’s going to be in a game.”

How he was in the game went to the tune of 304 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and a 68% completion rate (26-39) through the air along with a 13-yard touchdown on the ground. It’s the most yards thrown by a rookie quarterback in their debut in franchise history. He also joins quarterbacks Jonathan Quinn (1998) and Byron Leftwich (2003) as the only rookie quarterbacks in franchise history to throw and rush for a touchdown in the same game.

The rushing touchdown featured a stiff arm and a spin move. Luton has no idea where the latter came from—“I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was trying to make something happen”—and was something all 30 members of his family resoundingly said, “no no no,” they’d never see it before.

With his family in the stands and his brothers in the first row, maybe it was for them. Jace thinks so anyway. He celebrated his 17th birthday in the stands of TIAA Bank Field and likes to think the spin move came with his older brother yelling, “This is for Jace!”

That spin move 👀@JakeLuton6 runs it in for the TD!
📺: CBS | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/AAn0j3fI67
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 8, 2020

While Luton wasn’t able to replicate the 2018 Oregon State-Colorado game and help the Jaguars to a win, he did have them in position for a tie late in the game. A Josh Lambo missed point-after attempt in the 2nd quarter meant the Jaguars were forced to try for two after the late Luton scramble score in the 4th quarter.

Having already shown five plays for a two-point conversion attempt that year, it’s not a huge surprise the sixth one was defended well and the pass to DJ Chark knocked away.

To have gotten to that point with a quarterback though that before last week hadn’t even called one of the Jags plays in a practice huddle means questions will justifiably be asked about who is under center for the remaining eight Jacksonville games.

Luton diplomatically effaced the question when asked about the possibility after the game, stating it wasn’t his decision and he, Minshew and Glennon would all do their best to help deliver wins.

There is currently no timetable for Minshew’s return, but in the interim, the chemistry Luton and his receivers could possibly continue to develop make for an intriguing prospect. The third play of the game saw Luton drop back, set the 6-6 frame that Gruden and Marrone both mentioned during the week, and deliver a bomb to DJ Chark down the left side of the field. The 75-yard touchdown was a result of the first bubbles of that chemistry and trust.

HELLO JAKE LUTON 🚀

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/jJuj6KvgDd
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 8, 2020

“Throughout the week if we missed a pass, we would run it back, we’d get after it after practice, we’d try to hit it and make sure we felt confident going into it,” explained Luton.

“I think DJ [Chark Jr.] is the perfect example. That first touchdown pass, we repped it two or three times and we missed them every time. We come out today and because we repped it and had a good feel for each other, we hit it and were able to capitalize.”

If they can capitalize again next week versus the 6-2 Green Bay Packers remains to be seen and will admittedly be a much tougher task. But that’s for next weekend. This weekend is allowed a modicum of time and tears.

“I’ve never cried at a football game before,” admits mom Heather. Until Sunday that is.

And now of all the games she’s watched her son play in, this is easily “number one.”

Long after the clock had hit 0:00 and the stands had cleared, Luton walked out of the quiet stadium. The jets overhead that had wowed his brothers were long gone but as Luton’s towering frame approached the gate, another cacophony erupted.

His family and friends, all 30 of them, stood there in personalized jerseys and smiles, as far from home as possible in celebration of the road they traveled with Jake Luton to arrive in that moment, with a dream realized.

And for the man in the center of that dream and scrum, it meant the world.

"I think every family member I have pretty much is here. I had a couple of my really good friends make the trip down and tried to surprise me, but I found out. Yeah, ton of great support. I have an awesome system that supports me and this just shows it. I’m as far away from home as I could be and they dropped everything on the drop of a hat to come support me, so I couldn’t be more grateful for my family.”