LOUISIANA La. - Brian Jenkins was looking for a big running back, one he and Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun football team could lean on for tough yardage.
When Cajun head coach Rickey Bustle finally convinced Jenkins to drive six blocks to Lafayette High and check out Caleb Rubin, UL's running backs coach wasn't expecting much. He'd already seen the LHS program, one that listed Rubin at 5-foot-7.
"He kept bugging me to go take a look," Jenkins said. "He said there was something about the guy."
Jenkins finally saw Rubin on a rainy, muddy-track night against St. Martinville two falls ago, and he's glad he did.
"I was some impressed," Jenkins said. "He made people miss, he ran over people and he stuck his head in there against the blitz."
"I remember that game," Rubin said. "Those were some harsh conditions, but you just have to try to perform and not put the ball on the ground."
He's still doing those things, except now he's wearing a red Cajun jersey instead of Mighty Lion green. And he's still the smallest guy on the field.
His program listing has gone up to 5-foot-8 - perpetuating a big lie.
"I'm 5-foot-4, barefoot," Rubin said proudly. "I keep telling them to list me that way. It doesn't hurt me, and you don't prepare for someone based on how tall he is."
Never a day goes by that Rubin doesn't get the height questions. One can almost visualize his light-brown eyes rolling when he encounters another non-believer.
"If I spent my time counting how many people ask me about it, I would have no life," he said. "When I tell someone I play football, they get that shocked look on their face. But you don't get tired of it. I know I'm going to have that all my life."
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com