4A high school football championship: Size doesn't matter to Mountain Crest's little big man

HYRUM — If you bumped into Mountain Crest's Jordan Haun on the street, there is no way you would picture him as a football player.

If he told you he was a letter-winning athlete, you would look his 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame over and think a swimmer or cross country runner, maybe even a soccer player.

But football?

So if you happen to believe him that he was on the Mustangs' team and getting ready to play against Highland in Friday's 4A state championship game, you would think he was a cornerback or receiver, maybe even a quick little running back — but you'd be wrong. Haun plays defensive tackle and goes up against an opposing teams' biggest linemen play after play. And he not only challenges the big-uglies up front, but he beats them, too.

"I love it," he said of playing on the line. "I love getting out on the field and seeing the guy across from me look me up and down and think, 'I am going to tear this guy up,' and then going out and beating them. I love to get past a guy and get in the backfield and disrupt things."

It wasn't Haun's first choice to play tackle. In fact, it kind of just happened that way.

"I hurt my ankle at the beginning of the year," he said. "And when I got healthy, really the only way I could get on the field and help my team was to play tackle. It took a little bit to get used to, but now, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Coach Mark Wootton is glad Haun found his way to tackle as well.

"He is a tough player to block," he said. "You look at him and think, 'There is no way, he is going to get killed out there.' But he not only holds his own, he can be pretty dominant at times."

Playing alongside Haun on the line is 5-foot-10, 180-pound (generously listed) Nate Rigby at nose guard. So between the two playmakers, they have 340 pounds — soaking wet or after a very large meal — or roughly the same weight as one collegiate or NFL lineman nowadays. But that doesn't intimidate them in the least.

"I just try to use my quickness," said Rigby, who is also the team's starting running back and one of the fastest players on the team. "I think it is much better to be quick on the line than big. I can run around a guy before he can get his hands on me."