The Incredible Hult
In three years, Chiefs senior
lineman goes from bench-warmer to difference-maker
BY ED
WRIGHT
Nov. 5, 2009, 9:40 p.m.
Attention all you 98-pound, football-loving eighth-graders out there who not only want to play high school football, you want to excel at it.
Tyler Hult has an encouraging story for you.
His own.
When Hult first stepped on a Canton High School practice field in August of 2006, he carried a passion for football that was the size of a Ford F-250 pick-up.
The only problem was, he carried it in a body that was more like a Ford Ranger.
"I only weighed about 120 pounds my freshman year," Hult remembered. "But I really loved football."
"I don't think he weighed that much," Tyler's dad, Paul, said, smiling, when told of his son's 120-pound guesstimate. "But he loved playing so much, it didn't matter how much he weighed."
Hult rarely saw the field during games his ninth-grade season, but instead of diminishing his enthusiasm for the sport, the limited playing time increased his desire to get better.
"After practice, I'd go home and do my homework, then lift weights," he said. "After the season was over, I ran and lifted every day."
By the time Hult's junior varsity season rolled around, the sophomore had built his slender frame up to 165 pounds.
"But I was still a bench player," he said. "I barely played."
But he continued to work.
In addition to lifting and running, Hult added muscle working for his dad's roofing company in the summer months.
"At the beginning of my junior year, I weighed 185, " he said proudly. "Basically, all the weight I put on was muscle."
The increased size and strength weren't the best news last season for Hult.
"I actually got some playing time on the D-line," he said.
Hult has earned more than some playing time this year, his senior season at Canton. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive tackle has been a key starting member of a unit that has yielded just over 10 points per contest.
"Tyler is having an outstanding season," said Canton coach Tim Baechler. "He's been one of our better defensive players all season.
"He's still undersized, but he has such strong hands and his technique is outstanding. He's been matched up against bigger players all year, but he knows how to get leverage on the bigger guys."
In the Chiefs' Week 7 victory over Livonia Franklin, Hult gave the Patriots' 310-pound offensive tackle Nate Coleman all he could handle.
"The guys across from me are usually bigger than me, so I have to stay low," said the soft-spoken Hult. "I'm pretty laid back. But once I put that helmet on, I can get kind of nasty."
Hult played so well in Canton's 49-7 Week 3 win over Plymouth that he earned "Captain of the Week" honors.
"I love everything about football," he said. "I like the teamwork it takes and how it builds character, both on and off the field."
And with that, the player whose passion for football is comparable to a Ford F-250 pick-up, headed toward the locker room following another full-effort practice.
Only, unlike three years ago, his frame is the same size as his engine -- something all 98-pound football-lovers should take note of.
Nov. 5, 2009, 9:40 p.m.
Attention all you 98-pound, football-loving eighth-graders out there who not only want to play high school football, you want to excel at it.
Tyler Hult has an encouraging story for you.
His own.
When Hult first stepped on a Canton High School practice field in August of 2006, he carried a passion for football that was the size of a Ford F-250 pick-up.
The only problem was, he carried it in a body that was more like a Ford Ranger.
"I only weighed about 120 pounds my freshman year," Hult remembered. "But I really loved football."
"I don't think he weighed that much," Tyler's dad, Paul, said, smiling, when told of his son's 120-pound guesstimate. "But he loved playing so much, it didn't matter how much he weighed."
Hult rarely saw the field during games his ninth-grade season, but instead of diminishing his enthusiasm for the sport, the limited playing time increased his desire to get better.
"After practice, I'd go home and do my homework, then lift weights," he said. "After the season was over, I ran and lifted every day."
By the time Hult's junior varsity season rolled around, the sophomore had built his slender frame up to 165 pounds.
"But I was still a bench player," he said. "I barely played."
But he continued to work.
In addition to lifting and running, Hult added muscle working for his dad's roofing company in the summer months.
"At the beginning of my junior year, I weighed 185, " he said proudly. "Basically, all the weight I put on was muscle."
The increased size and strength weren't the best news last season for Hult.
"I actually got some playing time on the D-line," he said.
Hult has earned more than some playing time this year, his senior season at Canton. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive tackle has been a key starting member of a unit that has yielded just over 10 points per contest.
"Tyler is having an outstanding season," said Canton coach Tim Baechler. "He's been one of our better defensive players all season.
"He's still undersized, but he has such strong hands and his technique is outstanding. He's been matched up against bigger players all year, but he knows how to get leverage on the bigger guys."
In the Chiefs' Week 7 victory over Livonia Franklin, Hult gave the Patriots' 310-pound offensive tackle Nate Coleman all he could handle.
"The guys across from me are usually bigger than me, so I have to stay low," said the soft-spoken Hult. "I'm pretty laid back. But once I put that helmet on, I can get kind of nasty."
Hult played so well in Canton's 49-7 Week 3 win over Plymouth that he earned "Captain of the Week" honors.
"I love everything about football," he said. "I like the teamwork it takes and how it builds character, both on and off the field."
And with that, the player whose passion for football is comparable to a Ford F-250 pick-up, headed toward the locker room following another full-effort practice.
Only, unlike three years ago, his frame is the same size as his engine -- something all 98-pound football-lovers should take note of.
Ed Wright can be reached at
[email protected] or (734) 453-1980.
