Washington’s Nevelle a Winning Mix of Brains and Brawn : College football: Husky center from Palmdale High maintains a 3.19 GPA and has bench-pressed 500 pounds.

Jim Nevelle makes a good case for being both the strongest and smartest football player on the Washington Huskies, who face Michigan on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl game.

“Jim’s done a great job for us,” offensive line coach Steve Morton said of the junior starting center. “He is a little bit undersized (6-foot-2, 265 pounds) when you look at a lot of the rosters up and down the coast. He’s worked really hard in the weight room to develop (his) strength.”

Nevelle, from Palmdale High, is the only player in team history to have squat-lifted 700 pounds or more and bench-pressed at least 500 pounds.

But while Nevelle’s weight-room time has paid dividends on the field, his time and dedication in the classroom and library will pay lifelong benefits.

According to a biography supplied by the school, Nevelle has a 3.19 grade-point average. He was named to the Pacific 10 Conference all-academic team and was an honorable-mention selection for the all-conference football team.

Nevelle concedes it is difficult to maintain good grades while playing football.

“There are times I have to study four to six hours after practice to get projects or lab reports done,” he said. “But it’s possible. I’ve taken it to an extreme majoring in mechanical engineering, but I feel any athlete in college has more than an ample opportunity to get a degree.

“I’ve seen a lot of great athletes who have had their gleaming moment, and as soon as that moment is over they’re out picking up garbage somewhere.”

Nevelle started six games at guard in 1991, then earned the starting center position this year.

“The biggest improvement has been in his overall consistency in his play,” Morton said of Nevelle.

Although Nevelle said “it’s really exciting” to be part of a team seeking an unprecedented third consecutive Rose Bowl victory, he does admit to feeling a letdown from last year’s game when the undefeated Huskies were trying to claim the national championship.

“This year doesn’t have exactly that stellar quality to it,” said Nevelle, whose Huskies are 9-2. “But for our die-hard fans that are with us, it’s something we’d like to put in the history books.”