Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday started his collegiate journey as a zero-star edge rusher who only weighed about 200 pounds. He concludes his journey as a first-team All-Big 12 defender and a future early-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Golday’s journey from an unheralded recruit at Central Arkansas to a standout for Cincinnati is one of the biggest underdog stories in this year’s draft class. His consistent growth and ability to maintain elite athleticism with NFL-ready size have him highly touted coming into the league.
PFSN spoke exclusively with Golday about his transition to an off-ball linebacker, his ascent up the collegiate ranks, his preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft, and much more.
JI: Your journey starting off the edge is really intriguing. What was the biggest adjustment moving to off-ball linebacker, and what skills translated the most?
JG: I would say it was definitely good for my development to start off at that [defensive] end spot, because it taught me a lot of great things, like how to use my hands, [how to get] great hand placement, how to rush the passer was probably the biggest one. When I switched over to linebacker, the biggest thing was just understanding what everybody else was doing on the defense.
I’m not just going after the quarterback every play; I’m being able to drop in coverage and do a little bit of everything. The linebacker spot just felt like it fit me more, but there’s definitely a lot of things that I learned from being a defensive end that translate extremely well over to playing linebacker.
JI: What was the key for you to bulk up into that 240-pound range while still keeping your high level of athleticism?
JG: At first, I feel like it was really when I was over at Central Arkansas, I was eating anything and everything. Obviously, [I was] not eating junk food all the time, but just eat a lot of food. I was working so hard and working out every single day, so it wasn’t going to be bad weight that I was going to put on. It wasn’t until I really got to Cincinnati, and maybe my last year at Central Arkansas, where I really took nutrition and my diet super seriously.
I was always a great weight room guy, throw up a bunch of weight, powerful, all those things. Once I got that nutrition plan in, and I got with the amazing strength staff over here at Cincinnati, it was pretty much flawless. From there, I put on a little bit more weight, and it was clean, lean weight got me moving faster, stronger than I ever have, so huge props to the people over in Cincinnati.
JI: I’ve loved your rise from zero-star recruit to a potential early draft pick. How did your stints at Central Arkansas and Cincinnati mold you into who you are today?
JG: Yeah, I think it all comes back to my mentality when I go into things. I kind of have a little chip on my shoulder. I’m always going to prove myself with the effort that I put in every single day. I’m gonna consistently come into the locker room and be a good guy in the locker room, but then when I get on that field, that’s gonna switch, and I’m gonna become the guy that I am when I’m on the field. I will say definitely that chip on my shoulder when I got to Central Arkansas, and I wasn’t even…obviously, everyone’s dream is to go play Power 5 football.
Well, that wasn’t in the cards for me, so I knew that when I got to Central Arkansas, I was going to make the most out of it, but I really wasn’t even the guy until my third year there. I just kept working, kept putting my head down and working my tail off to get to Cincinnati, and then when I got to Cincinnati, I’d proved nothing to those people, or the people here in Cincinnati, so I knew I had to start over. I started square one, and how I did that was just through my effort, earning respect of my peers through my effort, and then, eventually earning the starting job and getting the respect from all the coaches, as well.
JI: What was your experience like at the Combine?
JG: Oh, man. That was amazing. That was a very, very cool experience, getting to be in front of all these coaches that I grew up watching on TV and these amazing organizations. It really was a dream come true and such a blessing. But also, the one thing that caught me off guard is the amount of medical stuff that you go through. It’s nonstop; “hurry up and wait” is what they kept saying.
You have to hurry up, get here, and then you’re just waiting, and then you go to the next station, do the next station, and you basically have a lot of things you got to check off in a day, and then you get a little bit of downtime, and then at night, you’re going back to those meetings. It was jam packed with stuff to do, but that’s good, because it kept us busy, and it was really fun and a great experience.
JI: You performed well in drills, which isn’t a surprise to the people who have watched you play, but how did your testing compare to your expectations?
JG: I’m happy with the numbers that I provided at the Combine. However, I feel like I did leave a little bit of meat on the bone, per se, when it comes to my 40. I’ve been training at a 4.5 all training, like a 4.58 or a 4.57, all training, so I was a little disappointed to see when I ended up running a 4.62, at my pro day. I don’t know how big it’s going to affect me if I bump up my 40 time by a couple hundredths of a second, but we’ll see if I decide to do it or not.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
JG: I have an amazing fiancé, so when I come home, me and her are movie lovers. We love to watch movies and TVs. When I come home, if I don’t have much time off, I really just try to kick the feet up, watch TV with her, watch TV shows, watch movies, whatever. [I] play video games here and there, and then, when I have some time off, I like to go play golf with the guys.
I’ve been picking that up recently, playing a little bit more, and that I have a little bit more free time and really getting into that. I also go and play pickleball. I have a dog, so we go on hikes with our dog all the time, so I like to be outdoors and stay active. But when I only have a little bit of time off, I make sure to be smart and rest, kick the feet up, that kind of thing.
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JI: What kind of dog do you have?
JG: His name’s Oakley, and he’s a border collie. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s three, [so] he’s starting to phase out of that [puppy energy] a little bit, but not really, honestly. He still acts like the same when we got him. He’s got crazy energy, and I heard that like with border collies, that could last for forever, having that crazy puppy energy.
JI: What are some good shows or movies you’ve seen lately?
JG: Man, we watched last night the new Anaconda movie with Jack Black and Paul Rudd and all those guys. It was entertaining (laughs). It wasn’t like amazing or anything. But then we just finished the two seasons of Landman, and that was a very good TV series that we enjoyed, so that’s what we’ve been watching recently.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
JG: Kind of talked we about already, you’re going to get a high-motor guy. He’s going to bring a lot of effort to everything that he does. I’m consistently the same guy every single day. I pride myself on that. I come in the locker room and give 110% effort to any task that’s given to me. I literally will play anything. If you tell me to play nose, I’m not gonna bat an eye at it. I give it 100%, so I’ll do whatever’s asked to me, and I’m gonna give it 110% every single day.
