High school teammates saw it as the two-way star willed his Wolverines to yet another state title. College recruiters saw it as he earned himself an FBS scholarship in paradise. Ty Gregorak saw it as he screamed down the field on kickoffs, Montana’s defensive coordinator not worried one bit about the player who would replace a few future pros.
Van Ackeren
Kendrick Van Ackeren’s fearlessness has been on full display ever since he strapped on the pads at Bellevue (Washington) High School. Despite his average size — he’s 6-feet, 215 pounds — the Montana senior found a way to contribute as a redshirt freshman safety at Hawaii in 2012. After transferring to Montana, he converted to outside linebacker and backed up Jordan Tripp, now of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and J.P. Kanonga’ata, who spent a stint playing in the Canadian Football League. As a backup, he earned Montana’s Special Teams Player of the Year honors for his aggressive play on kick teams.
For the past two seasons, Van Ackeren’s instinctual play and fearless style have earned him a collection of honors. Last season, he led the Grizzlies with 122 tackles, earning second-team All-Big Sky Conference honors in the process. This season, despite Montana’s 1-2 record, Van Ackeren has been a revelation. In UM’s season-opening upset of four-time defending national champion North Dakota State, Montana’s Will linebacker piled up 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and recovered two crucial fumbles to help secure the 38-35 victory.
The next week, Montana fell on a last-second field goal to Cal Poly but the 20-19 defeat wasn’t for any lack of effort by Van Ackeren. He spilled blocks without relief and piled up 20 tackles against the Mustangs’ physical triple-option offense. Last week in UM’s 31-21 loss at Liberty, Van Ackeren piled up eight tackles and broke up a pass.
Van Ackeren playing the pitch against Cal Poly
Van Ackeren’s ability to react quickly and instantly initiate contact is a rare and coveted commodity. His violent style is indicative of an aggressive person who lives life on the edge. But off the field, Van Ackeren couldn’t be farther from the head ringing enforcer his playing style personifies. Van Ackeren’s fearless style is a product of his mental aptitude more than anything.
“Comfort is why I play like that,” Van Ackeren said at the Montana Sky Club earlier this month. “Honestly, I’m probably the least physical linebacker of our three starters. Jeremiah (Kose) hits harder than anyone in the league. Herbert (Gamboa) is one of the strongest guys on our team. And then there is me. I think my aggression just comes from being comfortable with the game and mentally understanding where I have to be and what I have to do.
“I’ve always understood the game and I’ve always seen things quicker than most people. When I mess up, I always know what I did. I don’t have to ask.”
Van Ackeren and his teammates are in the middle of a coaching transition after Mick Delaney retired following two straight playoff seasons. Bob Stitt took the reigns after 15 seasons at Colorado School of Mines, a Division II school known for its stringent academics and smart football players. Stitt said Van Ackeren’s leadership, commitment and positive disposition have gone a long way to helping Stitt and his staff win over the team. Stitt has coached his fair share of intelligent kids — Mines is known as one of the most rigorous and prolific engineering schools in the country — and Stitt says Van Ackeren’s intelligence stands out.
Van Ackeren being coached on the sideline
“He’s extremely intelligent,” Stitt said. “He may not be the fastest guy out there on the field but he understands what the offense is doing so he looks fast. He reacts so quickly and he is fearless. It’s because he sees it sooner than everyone else on the field.”
Ever since his days as a standout at Bellevue — a Seattle-area powerhouse that has been good to the Griz over the last half-decade — Van Ackeren has possessed the unique ability to read things on the run. The Seattle Times 2010 3A Washington Player of the Year helped Bellevue to three straight state titles as the team’s stud at quarterback and safety. His high school teams piled up a 39-3 record as Van Ackeren earned first-team All-State honors all three seasons.
“The way we practiced at Bellevue was the hardest practices I’ve ever been a part of,” Van Ackeren said. “They are long and they are grinding the whole way through. It’s not like these college practices where you are going 1s and 2s, splitting reps, getting breaks and getting other guys in. If you are going, you are going. If you are a starter, you are taking reps and if you aren’t taking a rep, you are on the other side of the ball taking reps. High school was way different and harder than this. You are in there going non-stop for three hours a day every single day of the week. It prepared us work ethic wise, mental strength. Our coaches were so good at helping us be grown men, take on challenges, and handle situations whether they are with coaches or other players. Probably the most helpful thing in my life as a football player was playing at Bellevue.”
Van Ackeren makes a diving tackle against Cal Poly’s Kori Garcia
Players like Kanonga’ata, Peter Nguyen and Cam Warren echo the production of the program as each contributed as Grizzlies.
“The Bellevue guys we’ve had on this team have been great little players,” said Gregorak, UM’s third-year defensive coordinator and the team’s linebackers coach for 12 of the last 13 campaigns. “We haven’t had any big ones (laughs). They’ve all had a real impact on this program. I knew we were getting a good football player and the last few years he’s proven it.
“Kenny is such a savvy football player, he’s as smart as they come,” Gregorak said. “He’s not the most physical of the three linebackers, he’s not the most athletic of the three but he’s always around the football. That’s what I love about him.”
Van Ackeren’s standout Bellevue career helped him earn a distinction as one of the top 50 prep safeties in the country and one of the top 12 recruits in the state of Washington. He received interest from Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington. He earned offers from Washington State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Portland State and Montana before signing with Hawaii.
In 2011, he was the Hawaii Scout Team Player of the Year. As a redshirt freshman, he rolled up 25 tackles and was a special teams standout. That off-season, Greg McMackin was fired. Van Ackeren wanted a new home. He looked at going to Cheney to play at EWU but ultimately decided on Montana. He has known the Nguyen brothers since childhood and Kanangota’a since middle school.
Van Ackeren returns a fumble in 2014 – UM Athletics
“He came here thinking he wanted to go back to safety. I told him I saw him being excellent at outside linebacker and thank goodness he listened,” Gregorak said.
Three years later, Van Ackeren is closing in on two degrees. He’ll graduate in business finance and business management in December. He says he has three plans: he wants to keep playing football as long as he can. If that doesn’t work out, he wants to get into coaching. He’d love to be a graduate assistant but is not above starting at the prep level.
“If none of that works out, well, I’ll have two degrees so hopefully I can use those for something,” Van Ackeren said with a laugh.
For now, Van Ackeren is concentrating on his final season as a Grizzly as Montana tries to right the ship. The polite, well-spoken senior’s next tackle will be his 200th as a Griz. Three more tackles and he’ll pass All-Americas like Zack Wagenmann (2011-2014 and Matt Steinau (1998-2001) on Montana’s all-time list. With the pace he’s on, 300 tackles for his career is within reach, a feat only 10 Grizzlies have accomplished before him.
But more than the numbers, the records or the wins, it’s the relationships he’s formed in the Garden City that Van Ackeren will treasure the most.
“I’m so happy that when I did make the decision to leave Hawaii, it was to come here,” Van Ackeren said. “Off the field, it’s been amazing the amount of people I’ve come close to. On the field, this team is so tight; you can really hang out with anybody. It’s truly a brotherhood even with the people like John who I’ve know since I was a little kid to the people like Jeremiah who I met when I got here. We are all so close and so comfortable with each other that it makes playing with and for each other that much easier.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.
