LOS ANGELES — The coaches said full go, so Quentin Lake didn’t hold back. The safety burst through the left side of the line, blowing by the tight end who was supposed to be blocking him on a field-goal attempt during UCLA’s practice Thursday, and stuffed J.J. Molson’s 28-yard attempt.
It’s the type of effort he learned from his dad.
Lake, the son of former UCLA All-American Carnell Lake, calls his father his “biggest role model.” But while he followed his dad’s footsteps to Westwood, Quentin hopes to make a name for himself at UCLA, where he is in contention for a starting spot as a sophomore.
“Be the most hard-working, physical player on the field,” Quentin said of lessons he learned from his dad. “And that comes with doing extra things on the field, and that comes with doing extra stuff outside of practice, before practice, paying attention in the film room. So he would just say work hard every day and outwork everybody.”
Thirty years after his UCLA career ended, Carnell is still the school’s leader for career tackles for loss (45.5) and fourth on the career sacks list (25.5). He led the conference with 13 sacks in 1987 and was named an All-American in 1988 before a decorated pro career that included five Pro Bowls and a 1997 first-team All-Pro honor. He was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.
Quentin doesn’t have any memories of watching his dad play in person as Carnell played his final season in 2001. But he’s pored over tape of his father’s college and pro careers, marveling at his dad’s speed and physicality.
“All the attributes he had is something I wanted to apply to my own game,” Quentin said. “So that’s what I try to do every day — just get advice when I can and just add that to my ability.”
The 6-foot-1 Mater Dei graduate doesn’t just rely on his good genes, though. He relentlessly works on his craft. He stays after practice to work on his tackling, lowering his shoulder into tackling sleds over and over. Last year, then-defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin told former head coach Jim Mora that Quentin was “probably the smartest freshman he’s ever coached.”
The former three-star prospect played in nine games as a freshman, mostly on special teams, with eight tackles. He earned recognition as the team’s best special teams performer against Colorado in his collegiate debut, and was awarded the team’s championship belt, sporting the gaudy boxing-style prize around his waist before the next game.
Quentin is in line for a bigger reward this year, as he’s started at safety in all of UCLA’s spring practices. The Bruins have three starters returning from last year’s secondary and Quentin got the first chance at filling Jaleel Wadood’s open spot next to Adarius Pickett. The coaches looked at him during that first practice and said, “Get out there.”
“Being a young guy coming up in that position, you can kind of get nervous, but I felt like I was confident enough from years past and I had the experience,” Quentin said. “It was a good opportunity, but I felt like I was comfortable enough to take that spot.”
He’s been dreaming about this position for years. In January last year, a few weeks before officially signing his National Letter of Intent to UCLA, Quentin posted a photo on Twitter of an elementary school yearbook that asked students about what they envisioned for their futures.
He wrote “I will have graduated from UCLA and be a professional football player.”
“Dreams really can come true,” Quentin wrote in the Twitter caption.
Dreams really can come true 🐻💛💙 pic.twitter.com/SicEDiML1b
— Quentin Lake (@quentin_lake) January 19, 2017
