Leveling Up: Austin seniors commit to play college football

Published 7:47 pm Monday, April 9, 2018

For as long as they’ve played football, Austin seniors Logan Braaten and Jake Halsey were always lining up on the defensive line, where they’d try to create havoc in the backfield and chase quarterbacks together.

Next fall, Halsey and Braaten will go their separate ways, but they’re still going to be chasing after quarterbacks at the next level. Halsey has committed to play college football at Division III University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Braaten has committed to play college football at Division III Saint John’s University, which is located in Collegeville, Minnesota.

“Jake and I have kind of grown up together and we’ve been best friends for a long time,” Braaten said. “We never really talked about playing football at the next level, but now that it’s become a reality it’s so nice to see one of my good friends playing at the same level as me. We might play against each other in the next couple of years.”

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Halsey made huge strides on the football field for the Packers this past fall. He finished the season with 31 tackles, five sacks and seven tackles for a loss. Halsey’s playing time increased when starter Luke Hawkshead was injured and he was able play well enough to stay on the field even after Hawkshead returned to the lineup.

Austin’s Jacob Halsey, right, and Kaden Igou, left, combine to bring down Northfield’s jim Vitito in a game at Art Hass Stadium last season. Herald File Photo

“I didn’t think I would even be able to play college football until towards the end of the season,” Halsey said. “I took my role and played as hard as I could when Hawk got hurt. Now that I know I’m going to play in college, I’m going to work really hard this summer to get better.”

Braaten said that Halsey’s play was a huge boost to the team this past season.

“Looking back to last season, we didn’t really think about Halsey playing on the D-line. Maybe if he did, it would be on the inside,” Braaten said. “It was nice because when Hawk went down, we didn’t really have any downfall. We still had a lot of pressure on the ends.”

Braaten started for the Packers as a freshman, but his first three seasons saw him ravaged with injuries. He was finally able to stay healthy this past fall as he racked up 93 total tackles, three sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.

Braaten wasn’t sure if he wanted to play football in college, but in the end he couldn’t turn down the chance to play for a storied program like St. John’s, which is the winningest program in Division III history with a record of 629-248-24 in 107 seasons. The Johnnies have won four national championships, with the latest coming in 2003.

“It was an opportunity I’d probably look back and wish I would’ve taken it,” Braaten said at the idea of turning the chance down. “St. John’s is such a prestigious school and program. Playing there is something I wanted to make happen, so I wouldn’t have any regret.”

Halsey is glad that Braaten is also playing college football as he grew up trying to emulate Braaten on the football field.

Austin’s Logan Braaten zeroes in on Northfield quarterback Lars Prestemon last season in Art Hass Stadium. Herald File Photo

“He’s taught me a lot,” Halsey said of Braaten. “I always looked up to Logan when I played, because he was always above me throughout the years of football. Ever since seventh grade we were lining up together.”

Braaten knows he has a lot of work ahead of him and he’s looking to add another 30 pounds to prepare for the college level.

“I think athletically with speed and agility, I matchup pretty well with a lot of the guys they have right now. I’m just going to need to bulk up next year,” Braaten said. “They play some really intense football up there and those guys are really committed to the weight room and really committed to football.”

Both Braaten and Halsey are looking to stay on the defensive side of the ball next season. Braaten may see some time at outside linebacker and Halsey will likely play a similar role as he did in high school as UWRF runs the same defense as Austin.

The Johnnies finished with a record of 9-2 overall last season and the Falcons finished 4-6 overall.