Football | October 11, 2019
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Having graduated with a business degree in accounting,
Jon Wassink will be attending his first homecoming game as an alumnus Saturday as Western Michigan hosts Miami.
But the contest will be Wassink's last homecoming game as the Broncos' starting quarterback.
''It hasn't really sunk in yet that this is my final season here,'' Wassink said. ''I'm just preparing as best I can, building relationships on the team and just having fun. After this season, that's when it will hit me.''
Wassink is one of seven members of the football team to have already earned a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan, joining running back
LeVante Bellamy, tight end
Giovanni Ricci, defensive back
Justin Tranquill, wide receiver
Alex Mussat, offensive guard
Jonathan Todd and defensive tackle
Wesley French.
Graduate transfers
Keith Mixon Jr. (Mississippi State),
Timothy Collins (Tennessee Tech) and
Kareem Ali (Temple) also have their bachelor degrees.
This season already has the makings of a good one for Wassink. He's been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation, taking into consideration academics, football and exemplary leadership.
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He's also up for the Senior CLASS Award, which looks at achievements in community, classroom, character and competition.
Wassink has guided WMU's offense to an average of more than 35 points per game in his career. He is one of just seven active FBS quarterbacks who has started at least 20 games to accomplish that.
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With all that said, the biggest accomplishment Wassink may want to achieve this season, besides guiding the Broncos to a Mid-American Conference championship, is to finish the campaign on the field and not on the injured list. Both his sophomore and junior years were cut short by injuries.
''Going into this season, honestly, it was very similar to what I was doing before,'' he said. ''I had always trained real hard and put myself in the best position to not be injured, but it's football and you get injured. This year, I have a little more perspective. I'm a little more thankful to just be out there again.''
So is his dad, Mark.
''It's been tough for him to walk the sideline because he is such a competitor,'' Mark Wassink said. ''He's a tough kid and the injury last year was a freak thing. It's not like he's consistently putting himself in harm's way, or that he's a fullback. Jon is a person of very strong faith and we feel God has a plan.''
Jon Wassink has been playing football since he was in the fifth grade, and he's always been a quarterback since that time. However, he did have a stint as a receiver very early on.
''When I was in elementary school playing touch football with all the guys, which would turn into tackle football, I played wide receiver and a friend, Eric VanVorst was the quarterback,'' he said. ''Then in the fifth grade we traded spots and he became a very good wide receiver for me in high school.''
The two helped Grand Rapids South Christian win two state titles.
This is the third season Wassink has been with WMU head coach
Tim Lester.
"He thinks a lot like I do, and he reads defenses a lot like I do,'' the former Western Michigan quarterback said about the school's current signal-caller. ''Jon is way more an active participant in idea sharing this season, which is good. You always say your quarterback is like a coach on the field and has the responsibility of a coach. Jon is really smart and thinks outside the box.''
He's thought outside the box enough to lead the MAC in passing, averaging 294.8 yards per game. Wassink also has Western Michigan on top of the league in points scored, averaging 35.0 per game.
All of this from a player who is about as low key and family oriented as it gets.
''He's not a very difficult kid to figure out,'' Mark Wassink said. ''He's a high-level student who will do well in life. He's grounded, has a wonderful fiancée, has a love for his family and owns a strong faith. And he loves to fish. He and I would sit in a boat for six hours and do nothing but fish.''
As close as the Wassink family is to Kalamazoo, and each other, going to Western Michigan was the best thing that could happen, Mark Wassink said.
''Western pursued him strongly,'' the father said. ''We live on the south side of Grand Rapids so we can be at Waldo Stadium in 35 minutes. It's allowed us to spend more time with him than you typically would if your son or daughter was playing Division I athletics. On an off day for me and Jon, we could play nine holes of golf.''
While he is a low-key person, Wassink still has that fire that every athlete has inside. He wants to do well at whatever the challenge is. That was evidence in a friendly round of golf with Lester this summer.
''I took him to the golf course this summer for the first time, and he's a good golfer,'' Lester said with a smile. ''I knew he wanted to beat me more than anything.''
Lester got the best of Wassink this time.
On the field this season, Wassink has indeed been doing very well, throwing for 1,769 yards, completing 59.6 percent of his passes and tossing 12 touchdowns. He's also rushed for two scores.
But it's more about the team for Wassink.
''I talked to the team earlier last week and said the more success the team has, the more success every individual is going to have,'' he said. ''That's just how it works. If you are focused on yourself and your stats, the team success won't come. I told everyone, we all have those selfish desires, but we need to put them aside for the team. The better the team does, the better the individual does.''
Lester has always said that Wassink is an outstanding game planner who will take time preparing for an upcoming opponent. However, there was one time in which the quarterback didn't take his time and just plunged forward.
''The proposal to my fiancée was kind of a whim, which is a little bit weird for me,'' Wassink laughingly said.
The planner in him will be a lot more evident against Miami.
#LetsRide
