Lindquist: ‘Go As Hard As You Can, For As Long As You Can’

By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com

At the end of practice, Washington players are often asked to spread out along the sideline. When they hear the whistle, they sprint across the field. Whenever Jeff Lindquist breaks for the other side, he frequently beats every teammate in his group.

When asked why he runs so hard each time the whistle blows, Lindquist started to laugh. For the sophomore quarterback, the answer is so simple he wasn’t prepared for the question.

“There are two ways to look at it,” Lindquist said. “The faster you run it, the faster you get it done, and you’re going to have to run it anyway, so you might as well go full speed. The second thing is, the faster you get it done, the more rest time you have.”

Lindquist isn’t quite sure when he developed this mentality, but it is an idea he carries with him both on the field and in the classroom. 

“It’s just one of those things where you go out and do it as hard as you can, because you know it will make you better,” he said. “That goes beyond football. That’s goes with doing your school work the best you can, as hard as you can, for as long as you can. Even just being a good person. It’s not always easy to do the right thing.”

The mindset of doing the right thing, even when faced with adversity is a principle Washington coach Chris Petersen is working to instill in his players.

Lindquist lives it. 

“If you get it done, and get it done right, it helps with a lot of things,” he said. “I know for school sometimes I like to get up early and crank my stuff out before class, because it gets me in the right mindset for the day.”

As a quarterback, Lindquist is expected to be a leader. But he sees leadership as a byproduct of living the right way. Embracing the idea of “going as hard as you can, for as long as you can,” simply seems like “a good way to live your life.”

At the end of a recent practice, Lindquist met with the media before returning to the field for extra work. Teammate Cyler Miles also stayed late.

“When you see guys working hard, you want to up the ante a little bit and work harder,” he said. “Before you know it, teammates start elevating each other.”

For Lindquist, that’s what life is all about.