Logan Stenberg's aggressive reputation preceded him while he mauled opposing defensive linemen in the Southeastern Conference.
He tallied up an impressive amount of blocks, along with his fair share of penalties, while making 39 consecutive starts for the University of Kentucky over the last three seasons. Mean and nasty were synonymous with the left guard almost from the onset, and it's hard to imagine a time when they weren't.
But there was such a time, when he was a barely recruited high school lineman in the talent-laden state of Alabama. Wade Waldrop, who coached Stenberg in his last two prep seasons, recalls it well. He inherited a varsity program at James Clemens High School that had gone 0-10 in its inaugural season, and showed few signs of improving on that campaign in year two when he sat down to meet the group for the first time.
"They didn't know what a varsity football player looks like, let alone acted like," Waldrop said in a phone interview last week with the Herald-Leader. "Putting physicality into that group, it's the hardest thing I've ever done."
The returns were minimal � _ James Clemens went 2-8 in 2013, Waldrop's first season at the helm _ and it was particularly frustrating that his 6-foot-6 offensive tackle didn't seem keen on considering a future at the next level. The most physically-gifted player on the roster wasn't taking football seriously; why would any of the Jets' other players follow suit?
During a winter workout before his senior year, Stenberg was casually jogging instead of going full sprint. Waldrop pulled him aside for a conversation that changed the course of his future.
"I said, 'Man, what do you want to do?'" Waldrop said. "'I told you when I got here a year ago that you could go play college football. God blessed you with what you gotta have, number one. Just what you have, physically, will get you in the door. But you've gotta understand what that is and what it takes to be successful.'"
A few months later, during the spring evaluation period, Stenberg received his first offer from UAB. He broke down in tears.
