BUFFALO, N.Y. — UB’s Jake Fuzak is currently known for football, but after our interview, I’d call him a ‘thought purveyor’ who thinks deeper than his Zoom background.

Listen to this answer on what family and the game mean to him.

"If my mom and dad are two poles, and in the middle of them is an elastic band. Football is the slingshot that is going to shoot me wherever I am going to go. Football is the catalyst to who I am as a person," he said.

Football is where his journey started, but it was fate you may say that led him to where he wants to go, working in the film industry.

"My grades were kind of plummeting and I had a week where I had five or six people suggest to me you should look into film. I emailed a couple professors at UB. I switched some classes around. My GPA spiked up. I not only found something I was motivated to do well in, but wanted to pursue that."

The Williamsville South product started grinding, and his work ethic paid off, earning a spot as a production assist on such movies as “A Quiet Place Part II” and directing his own short film, "Unsung."

"I was a grunt. I did what I was told and that is it. I'm a bigger guy so they were like 'hey, we need you for something.' Which happened to me more than the rest of the P.As."

So what's it like having football as your day job and breaking into film as a second full-time career?

"It feels like I'm dating two girls honestly. My day from 5:40 in the morning until 9 at night is either one of two things."

Winning a MAC title is Jake's athletic mission, but he seeks a much higher purpose through cinematography.

"I've had conversations with people, and I don't know them, and they will tell me how it saved their lives or pulled them from depression. If I can tell a story like that, that is the high chase, that is the goal I search for."

Chasing big dreams in football starts November 4, beyond that he hopes his film career continues in either California or London. Best of luck in both endeavors.