John Marshall's Jeremiah Molina a big guy with equally large plans for football, life

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Feb. 10—ROCHESTER — Jeremiah Molina is the John Marshall football team's resident Renaissance man. And a big one at that — 6-foot-5, 360 pounds.

It seems there are two Jeremiah Molinas who show up. There is that rough-and-tumble football offensive lineman who likes nothing more than dominating the guy across from him.

"Once he gets his hands on you, it's over with," is how JM coach Kyle Riggott describes that domination.

And then there is the more cerebral and gentile Molina, who is currently reading the ancient epic Greek poem The Odyssey, who crochets stuffed animals, who has mastered making chicken parmesan, including preparing his own marinara sauce, who fishes, attends bible studies and is quick to tell people about the importance of Jesus in his life.

This is the guy who said yes to Winona State on Wednesday, shifting from his original choice of Waldorf University (Iowa).

"I just felt like Winona State offered a great opportunity for me," he said. "I want to be a teacher and Winona State has a great teaching program. And I really want to win in football and I feel like Winona State is on the rise. I met the offensive line group over there and they're great people. They've also got a cool head coach and great offensive coordinator. I love football. I've been playing it since I was a little kid. I love dominating another person on the football field and helping lead the people around me."

This, to put it succinctly, is a lover not only of football, but life.

But it wasn't always that way for John Marshall's star offensive tackle.

There was a time when life was difficult for Molina, when his size was the source of jokes. He towered over his grade-school classmates and they let him know about it, in ribbing fashion.

That never sat well with Molina and is one of the reasons he wants to pursue becoming a high school teacher.

He wants to be a protector, a difference maker.

"That is one of my missions in life," Molina said. "I want to be there for people and to teach them. When I was young, I was teased by some of the younger kids about my size. There needs to be more strong male figures in people's lives. I want to be that person who in school is there for you if you don't have that support."

It's that kind of attitude and temperament that makes Molina ideal for playing on the offensive line. He wants to serve, and as an offensive lineman, that's what they do. They give of themselves so the skill guys on the team can shine. They open holes for running backs to dart through and they keep defensive linemen away from their quarterback, grunting and pushing and shoving the entire way.

"Offensive linemen are described as big suckers with big hearts," Molina said. "Our position is definitely one of servant/leader. We pave the way for our skill guys, and I couldn't be happier to do it."

To put himself in the best position to be a servant/leader, Molina is using this off-season to try to put himself in the best shape possible.

His mission is to get his weight down to 325 by the time August hits and Winona State has its first practices. He's dropped huge chunks of weight before, including going from 420 pounds last summer to the 380 pounds he played at this fall.

Now, he is down another 20 pounds. Getting in the gym is no problem for Molina. He is a steadfast worker, getting after it six days per week. It's staying away from his favorite things to eat that is the tougher part.

He has some specialties — that chicken parmesan, his fish tacos and a self-styled quesadilla recipe that he's mastered.

But he's keeping an eye on himself, seriously into portion control.

He wants to serve, just as he says he's been served. In football, that service has come from the John Marshall coaching staff, particularly head man Kyle Riggott and his top assistants Brandon Stanek and Lucas Fisher.

They have gone the longest way into turning Molina from simply a big guy, to a big guy who can play.

"Those guys spend a lot of time developing us," Molina said. "They made me an exponentially better athlete now than I was as a freshman."

Now, there is more work to be done and another level to reach. Molina wants to continue to serve and lead. He's bent on getting there.

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