“I remember there’s a picture of me as an infant and there’s a football,” Labas said, smiling. “I’m holding a real-sized football. I remember seeing that picture. Honestly, it just ... dropped into my life.”

That picture, oversized leather tucked into baby arms, became more than a family photo. It was the first hint of a lifelong connection to a game that would eventually take Labas from youth league sidelines in Brecksville, Ohio, to Big Ten football at the University of Iowa, and now to Central Michigan, where he is carving out his own chapter as one of the Chippewas’ quarterbacks.

Childhood in Brecksville

Labas grew up just south of Cleveland, in Brecksville. A place that has the same small-town feel as Mount Pleasant.

“That’s just south of Cleveland,” Labas said. “It was a good childhood. Played a lot of sports. I was very active growing up, obviously. And yeah, I just kept with that. Had a good friend group, good family.”

Family, in fact, was central in his life. Labas is the youngest of four children and the only boy — something that shaped him in ways he didn’t always expect.

“I have three older sisters and no brothers, and that was different,” Labas said. “I’ve always wanted a brother — my sisters know that. But being able to play football with just, I mean, 100 plus guys (on a team) is awesome.”

For Labas, those early years weren’t about finding a position or even chasing a dream. They were about having fun.

“You’re really young at the time, everyone’s playing all the same positions,” Labas said of youth football. “You’re playing every position. Just the hot summers and having a lot of fun with my friends. That’s what I remember.”

Labas points to his hometown and his coaches as a major influence on who he is today, on and off the field.

“I was taught ... specifically Coach Barth ... him always telling us to tuck our shirts in, tuck our jerseys in, look someone in the eye when you’re shaking their hand, have manners,” Labas said. “Just stuff like that. It goes a long way.”

Those small lessons built a foundation he still carries.

“Do what’s right,” Labas said. “That’s what I took from home.”

Becoming a quarterback

Labas didn’t always know he would be a quarterback.

The turning point came in middle school. He had played quarterback at that level, but his high school already had a starter. Then, when that quarterback graduated, the coaches looked to Labas to take over and gave him a chance as a freshman to play varsity, Labas said.

It wasn’t just talent that carried him. It was support from his family and over 100 brothers, who were there at every step.

“They’ve always supported me, no matter what,” Labas said.

The setbacks

Like many athletes, Labas’s path hasn’t been without obstacles. Injuries and the transfer portal have both been significant.

“Injuries have been a setback for me, for sure,” Labas said. “There’s a lot of things you think about mentally, just thoughts that may not even be your own thoughts. You try not to believe certain lies or doubts, like maybe you won’t be able to come back, or this is the downfall, or everything’s going to go downhill after that.”

After having arm surgery from an injury just six games into the 2024 season, Labas spent months preparing to start this season. Through those moments, Labas leaned on his faith.

“You’ve got to be strong mentally to not go down that rabbit hole,” Labas said. “Just have trust, have faith in God that it’s going to be all right.”

Transferring was another turning point. After starting his career at Iowa, Labas left behind teammates and relationships to come to CMU.

“I just saw a stat that like 84 percent of college quarterbacks end up transferring at the Division I level,” Labas said. “That’s crazy. I transferred and built a lot of relationships at my previous school, and then you have to leave. It’s a business decision.”

“Then you enter a new environment, a whole new team, whole new faces. You start to build those relationships up. That’s been hard, just having to deal with the fact that it’s becoming more of a business than a child’s game. Because you grow up just loving the game first.”

Brotherhood

At CMU, Labas has found both competition and camaraderie in the quarterback room with Angel Flores and Jadyn Glasser.

“It’s been going very well,” Labas said. “We all understand that we have the same position, we all have a common goal. You just respect each other, be professional about it. And you get to know each other a lot more, too, because you spend the most time with each other. It’s been good getting to know Angel and Jadyn and everyone in that room.”

That brotherhood has helped Labas feel at home, even as he continues to adjust to a new school and community.

“I grew up in the Midwest, so there’s a lot of similarities to where I grew up and what Mount Pleasant looks like. That definitely brings me back home a little bit.”

But it’s not just about geography. It’s about the people who fill Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturdays, he said.

“You look out in the crowd and you see how many people are here to support you,” Labas said. “There are times it can be tough out here for us as a team, especially when we lose games. Just having that support from the community, even when our record may not be great, but fans are still coming out ... we see that. That helps us a lot.”

From zero to 100

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