Montesano’s Taylor Rupe separated himself from the crowd in high school football through preparing better than the rest. He worked hard in the weight room, on the practice field and during film study. His intense preparation helped earn him the Defensive Most Valuable Player Award for the Evergreen 1A League last season and now it has earned him a spot at Pacific Lutheran University.

Rupe has signed to play football for the Lutes and has already begun getting a jump start on preparing for the transition to college football.

“I took video of what they were doing at their practices so that I could get an idea and work on the small stuff going in,” Rupe said. “I was e-mailing, asking the coach about the different defensive tactics and what they do. When I showed up to practice, they were like ‘You were the one who was e-mailing coach.’ ‘Yeah, that was me.’ I was just trying to get a head start.”

It almost felt like Rupe had a head start in some of the games this past season for Montesano. The senior recorded 83 tackles and 10 sacks last season as a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs. He helped pave the way as an offensive lineman too, but he was a force on defense picking up two fumbles and even blocking a kick.

PLU runs a 3-3 stack defense, just like Montesano, and Rupe will fit in on the defensive line for the Lutes. Rupe said he is unsure whether he will be a tackle or end until he gets to workout with the team on campus.

“There is still more work for me to do,” Rupe said. “It is a continual drive to be better. I’m trying to make my body better, my mind better. I’m trying to make my body something that can be continually improved. The hard work is another stepping stone.”

The very beginning of the hard work for Rupe has been changing his workouts and even his diet to prepare to be a Lute. He has cut out any junk food and began a war on carbohydrates during the week, starting each day with a glass of whole milk and having a salad for lunch.

Rupe will join Montesano graduates Anthony Louthan and Jake Herzog on the PLU roster next year. Having friends already wearing black and yellow helped Rupe make the decision to go to PLU, but the main factor in becoming a Lute instead of heading to other interested schools, such as Linfield College, was the proximity to home. Rupe’s grandfather helped raise him and the two share a very close bond, which made PLU the perfect choice.

“Ever since I got to play against Forks my freshman year in my first varsity football game, it has been all for my grandpa,” Rupe said. “Everything has been family oriented and now my family can go watch me play college ball an hour away.”

Rupe said the tradition of the PLU program and a strong program for political science, Rupe’s intended major, helped secure the school in Tacoma as his final choice.

Rupe will have one more chance to represent Montesano when he is part of the East/West All-Star game on June 24 in Yakima, but he said he will always remember his roots as he moves forward in his football career.

“I’m going to always carry it with me, where I’m from,” Rupe said. “It will always be a part of me. Even if it isn’t on my chest any more ‘Monte Pride,’ it is inside of me. It is something special and I love talking about it.”