By CHUCK GODBY
For The Reporter
He’s got good-sized feet. His size 11 shoes are a testament to that. Now, the question is: Are those feet big enough to fill the shoes he’s stepping into?
Jacob “Jake” Chesney believes so.
He replaces Larry “Bud” Wright as the head football coach at Sheridan High School. He is the first “new” head football coach at SHS since Wright replaced Ken Freeman for the 1966 season.
Wright’s fabled coaching history is well documented on the town’s water tower where his nine state championships are inscribed. That’s why Chesney accepts that he might just be the most watched and scrutinized high school football coach in Indiana this fall.
“I understand that’s part of it,’ said the 27-year-old Sheridan High graduate, where he was an all-state performer under the coach he’s replacing. “This isn’t just a head coaching job, it’s a head coaching job in a historic program. So, yeah, I understand that. It doesn’t bother me, though. That’s not my focus.
Chesney recently took some time out of his busy schedule and sat down in his spacious United Animal Health Fieldhouse office that overlooks the south end zone of Bud Wright Stadium to glance back at the process for becoming the man in charge of SHS football and share his vision for its future.
“Through the whole interview process I explained what my program would be like, my knowledge of the game, and I was lucky enough that the school thought I was deserving of the job. On top of what I know, I do have confidence in me and I’m not worried about what anyone outside the program is going to say. My focus is on this current group of young men and their success.”
Chesney is pleased with how his players have responded so far to the coaching change.
“I think it’s been super positive,” he pointed out. “I’m lucky to have been an assistant in the program since coming out of college so I know the players, I know their names and they know my coaching style. I’m super blessed to be in this situation.”
Chesney, upon graduation from Trine University in 2020, became a volunteer assistant for the Blackhawks, then joined Wright’s staff full time two seasons ago. Last season, he and Kevin Wright served as associate head coaches. At Trine, which is located in Angola, he played four years first on defense then later as a receiver on offense.
As far as the Sheridan community is concerned, Chesney says the response to his hiring has also been positive.
“From the program to the school to the community it’s all been positive,” he stressed, and pointed out that his team is not only hoping to be a positive on the gridiron, but in town as well. “We’re trying to make our presence known. Early in the summer the players did volunteer work and we went to Main Street and did some cleaning up, hoping to lay the groundwork on what the program is all about.
“Sheridan is a tight-knit community,” he continued. “If you take care of it, it will take care of you.”
So how will Sheridan football change, or look familiar under the new coach?
“What I’ve stepped into here has been a blessing,” he said, “it’s such a successful program and there has already been a standard of discipline, grit and hard work. That’s not going to change. I was born into this program so it’s in my DNA as well. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to play physical, with grittiness, and we’re going to play disciplined.
“In terms of what will change, that’s going to be year to year,” the coach continued. “It’s adapting to the personnel and I will alter my playbook each year based on that. I don’t want to set in stone my way if it’s not the best way for a particular group.”
TOMORROW: Read about Jake Chesney’s coaching staff and his starring role in a $100,000 ice cream video.
Good luck Coach Chesney and your staff. Nice article Chuck