Saturday, February 11, 2012

It's Difficult To Match Ashley Hunt's Determination, August 6, 2000

Former Jackets Standout Ashley Hunt at the University of Cincinnati.

Tough To Tackle

Lake sports

It's Difficult To Match Ashley Hunt's Determination

August 06, 2000|By Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff

LEESBURG - The play that perhaps best describes Ashley Hunt as a football player occurred in the fifth game of his high school senior season almost five years ago -- but it is so clear in the mind of former Leesburg Coach Ed Hoffman that it could have happened yesterday.

With no timeouts remaining and Leesburg embroiled in a 14-game losing streak at the time and trailing Lake Weir 21-20 with 54 seconds remaining, Hunt took a short pass over the middle from quarterback Ken Thompson.

There were two priorities on the play get as many yards as possible and get out of bounds to stop the clock. With Lake Weir players draped all over Hunt fighting to bring him down, he did both, gaining 24 yards and getting out of bounds to give Leesburg a first down at the Hurricanes' 10.

Leesburg didn't win the game coming up short on a missed field goal with 14 seconds left but Hunt's effort won a place in Hoffman's heart.

"He was carrying people downfield on his back,'' Hoffman said. "That was the kind of kid he was. He got every inch he could out of every play.

"The thing that always impressed me about Ashley was that he always gave 100 percent. It was unfortunate that he played on teams that didn't do as good as we should have. His biggest asset was that the kid wanted to win and he always gave 100 percent.''

It was that kind of heart and desire that led Hunt to the University of Cincinnati's football program where, after being redshirted his first year there, he will begin his senior season with a game against Army on Sept. 4.

Hunt is entrenched as the Bearcats' starting tight end for the second consecutive season after seeing considerable playing time as a sophomore.

Hunt, 22, doesn't have big numbers as a receiver, but that is more a byproduct of the Bearcats' wide-open offense, which doesn't throw often to the tight end. Last year, for instance, he had 13 receptions for 151 yards and three touchdowns, but six of those catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns came in the season opener, a 41-3 victory over Kent State.

"I don't consider myself to be a blocking tight end, but it is what is best for the team personnel-wise,'' said Hunt, who is listed as 6-foot-5, 251 pounds -- about 30 pounds heavier than he was in high school. "I have always had pretty good hands.''

He started nine games last season, missing the game against the University of Alabama-Birmingham with a shoulder injury. During his sophomore season, he had six receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown while playing in nine games and starting against Miami (Ohio) and East Carolina before a leg injury knocked him out of the starting lineup. He also played for the winning Bearcats in the Humanitarian Bowl after the 1997 season.

This year's Bearcats team, coming off a 3-8 record last season, is hoping to return to a bowl game. The team will have 18 starters and 54 lettermen returning when they begin preparations for this season on Saturday.

Though the team struggled through 1999, a touchdown here and there could have dramatically turned around their season.

"Last year was an unusual year. It was like we were on a roller coaster,'' Hunt said. "We went out the first game and just basically dominated Kent State then, somehow, Troy State beat us in the second game [31-24] and then we came back and beat [eighth-ranked] Wisconsin [17-12] in what I think was one of the biggest upsets of last season.

"The next week, we were up by two touchdowns at halftime at Ohio State and I never heard 105,000 people so quiet, but then we lost [34-20].''

That started the Bearcats' slide, as they lost seven of their final eight games. But four of those losses were by a touchdown or less, and the biggest deficit was 14 points in a 48-34 loss to East Carolina.

Still, through the losses, Hunt kept his spirits up and was bolstered by family support.

His mother and father, Freddie and Janie Hunt, have attended almost every game during his career at Cincinnati.

"They have been real supportive,'' Ashley Hunt said. "They will drive up [a 13-hour trip] on Fridays, usually getting here Friday night or Saturday morning and then they go to the game and drive back.''

In addition to his parents, Hunt also has the support of his girlfriend, Mary Ann Stephenson, a former Leesburg girls soccer player who is a starting senior fullback on Jacksonville State University's soccer team.

During her three seasons with the Gamecocks, she has started in 58 of their 60 games, including all 21 during a school record 12-4-5 season last year.

"We had a great season,'' said Stephenson, who became engaged to Hunt on Wednesday. "We went to the conference tournament [Trans-America Athletic Conference] and won one game there. Our defense did really well. We were ranked 11th in the nation and in the top-10 for shutouts.''

However, because the football and soccer seasons are in the fall, Stephenson and Hunt have not been able to watch the other play in person since high school.

Hunt, who was named to the Conference-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll last year with a grade-point-average over 3.0, may have had his biggest accomplishment occur off the field by graduating from Cincinnati in four years -- something few athletes accomplish because of the demand on their time.

He graduated in June, but is taking 12 hours of classes this coming semester to meet NCAA eligibility requirements. Then, he hopes to start law school next fall.

That 100-percent effort Hoffman refers to is something Hunt has used both on and off the field.

"Ashley is a great kid,'' Hoffman said. "He was one of the kids who really made coaching fun.''

Listen live on my790am or www.my790am.com Saturday February 25, 2012.

Former Leesburg High School and University Of Cincinnati Football Standout Ashley Hunt will make his first appearance on the Lake County Sports Show February 25, 2012.