Catching up with Junior Vicente: Former PHS lineman laboring to carve niche at NAU - The Prescott Daily Courier

Junior Vicente, a starting standout lineman for the Prescott High School football team from 2007-09, is paying his dues this fall on the college gridiron as a redshirt freshman at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Originally recruited to play center, the 6-foot, 265-pound Vicente, a Prescott native, sat out the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Lumberjacks' 2010 campaign because the coaching staff had two seniors ahead of him on the depth chart.

"You just kind of have to play your role here and move up the depth chart," Vicente said during a phone interview after practice last week. "It's kind of hard when you have older guys in front of you, especially seniors."

However, in the middle of NAU's preseason camp this summer, Vicente learned he was moving from center to the defensive line as a right tackle.

Jacks d-line coach Travis Baker said the decision was made because the team was thin at DT. Baker admitted that it will take time for Vicente to learn the mindset and techniques of his new position, although he's conscientious about improving.

"He's got some intangibles that you like in defensive linemen - he's tough, he's a physical kid and he's competitive," Baker said. "He's done a real good job considering the circumstances."

Nonetheless, it was a fairly difficult transition for Vicente, even though after his senior season at PHS in 2009 he was named an All-Western Sky Region center and defensive tackle. Vicente also earned All-State DT honors and the Western Sky Region defensive player of the year award that fall.

"I really enjoy defensive line. I played offensive line my entire career," Vicente said. "It was a big switch for me at first, but it's a lot more fun than offense is."

Vicente is not currently considered first string on the Jacks' d-line because three seniors stand in front of him at his position. But he received playing time in two of NAU's first three games of the 2011 season earlier this month.

Vicente, who's part of a four-man rotation, got in on a few plays toward the end of the Jacks' 41-10 loss to the University of Arizona in Tucson Sept. 3, and 15 to 20 plays in a 58-13 victory over Fort Lewis at home Sept. 10. Through those two games, he registered a pair of tackles.

"I made an impact enough (in preseason practice) to get playing time against U of A," Vicente said. "So I thought that was a big step for me to take, only having a few days to learn. I knew nothing about the defense whatsoever here, and it only took me a few days to get in the rotation."

Not all has been smooth for Vicente, however.

He missed NAU's Big Sky Conference opener last weekend at Portland State, a heart-wrenching 31-29 setback for the Jacks (1-2 overall, 0-1 conference through Friday), after suffering a groin pull earlier that week.

But he returned to practice this past week and expected to play some Saturday in NAU's league home opener against Idaho State.

Jacks redshirt freshman offensive lineman Roy Garcia, who met Vicente two years ago at an Arizona State University summer football camp, said he admires Vicente.

"He's a respectful, hard-working player who never gives up and goes 100 percent," said Garcia, who's in a similar position as Vicente on the o-line. "I really see him as a starter eventually because of his work ethic."

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Vicente chose to play at NAU partly because Flagstaff is so close to Prescott, where his family has lived for years. His father, JP Vicente, helped coach Junior from his Pop Warner days through high school - where JP served as an assistant under former Badgers coach Lou Beneitone.

"He definitely taught me pretty much everything I know up to this point for football," Junior said of his father. "He's played a huge role in my career so far."

After graduating from Prescott High in 2010, Vicente said several schools recruited him, although many of them didn't pan out toward the end of the recruiting process.

He originally planned to play at Portland State in Oregon. But a day before PSU was supposed to fax him the paperwork to sign a letter of intent, the Vikings' entire coaching staff at the time was fired.

"Whenever that happens, they just forget who you are, basically," Vicente said.

At the beginning of his senior year at Prescott High, the Jacks coaching staff reached out to Vicente, who says he spoke with NAU's o-line coach once a week about potentially playing in Flagstaff.

Now that he's in a Jacks uniform, Vicente said he's OK with waiting his turn to become a starter. But next year, he'll be champing at the bit for a first-team spot.

Over the summer, Vicente got a lengthy tattoo down his left arm, one complete with a cross and the word "driven" on the inside of his arm.

Vicente said the tattoo acts as a reminder for him to pursue his dreams as a college player, no matter the obstacles.

A dedicated, hard worker, Vicente appears to be well on his way to achieving his objective.

"My parents and a lot of people told me that I have a lot of drive," he said. "And a lot of people have told me that I would never amount to anything in my life and I would never be able to play college football anywhere and I would never make it.

"Staying driven has been a big part of my life. I would turn those negative thoughts into fuel for driving me towards that. I've been blessed that I've been able to continue playing this wonderful sport."