By T. Scott Boatright
Out route. Fade to the back corner of the end zone. Crossing route over the middle.
Ruston High School’s Ahmad Hudson has been well-coached in all of them.
But you can’t coach height, and that’s what makes the 6-8, 240-pound tight end so dangerous.
“No, you can’t coach height, but we’ll take it,” said Bearcats coach Jerrod Baugh. “He’s a very talented player and he’s done a really good job working himself into a position to be as good as he is.
“He has a lot of natural, God-given ability, but he has done his part of trying to refine the different parts of his game to be a tight end and to be able to block and all of those things. I think that’s something he has taken to heart and that helps us tremendously.”
Hudson had nine catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns along with a pair of two-point conversions to play a major role in the Bearcats’ walkoff 38-35 home win over Longview Thursday night.
RHS offensive coordinator Earl Griffin realizes what an important weapon he has in Hudson.
“The game plan is to use him in as many ways as we possibly can,” Griffin said. “He’s such a mismatch for defenses. You put a cornerback on him and the corner’s too small. You put a safety on him and (the safety) can’t run with him. He’s 6-8, and that pays dividends for us and makes us successful. He made some big plays tonight, big time.
“It helps that he played receiver his freshman year because he knows it all,” Griffin said. “I can play him anywhere, and we do. He’s got the whole tree route down pat.”
One of Hudson’s scores came on a 31-yard crossing route he caught at the Longview 24-yard loine and outraced the defense to the end zone.
“They were scared to tackle me, so I was going to make them pay for it,” Hudson said. “I came across the middle in front of everybody and kicked in whatever jets I had left and went up and made a play.
“I had made some mistakes that I usually don’t make, so I wanted to make up for them.”
Hudson also played a role on a 74-yard touchdown pass from RHS quarterback Sam Hartwell to running back Dalen Powell.
“That happened in part because there’s so much attention paid to him,” Griffin said. “If they play him one-on-one, we’ll take advantage of that. But if they take him out of the box, it opens up things like that play. They put two guys on Ahmad and left Daylen one-on-one with a linebacker. So, Ahmad played a big role on that play.”
Hartwell knows what kind of weapon he has in Hudson.
“Great players make plays, and he’s a great player,” Hartwell said. “It’s great to have a receiver like that to throw to. It’s pretty nice as a quarterback to have that kind of target.”
And Griffin realizes it’s not often a coach has a weapon like Hudson to use.
“Everything he has you can’t coach,” Griffin said. “He’s a cheat code. It’s not often you have a 6-8, 240-pound kid that can move like he does. I’m just glad we’ve got him for another whole year. He outworks everyone out here. On that second to last play, he wanted it again. He competes without fail. He takes ownership of his mistakes and accepts constructive criticism.”
An understated ability Hudson is improving on game-by-game is his blocking.
“He’s come a long way with his blocking,” Baugh said. “That’s one of the comments the Longview coaches made before the game. Watching video, they talked about how much better they thought he was doing inside in the running game. And to me, that’s what makes him so different, so hard to face. I’m just glad he’s on our team.
“Ahmad’s got a lot of things going on recruiting-wise, and he could get a big head and be a jerk about it, but he’s not,” Baugh said. “He’s accepting all of that and pushes his teammates and tries to be there for them. You wouldn’t know with his personality that he’s got all that (big-time) recruiting stuff going on, and that’s a good thing. It helps us as a team.”
GOING GREEN FOR KING
During pregame warmups, the Ruston coaching staff wore green T-shirts (Longview colors) as a show of respect for Longview head coach John King, a longtime friend of Baugh’s.
“Coach (John) King, their head coach, and I coached together for a long time, so we’re really good friends,” Baugh said. “I just wanted to show our support for him. It doesn’t make any difference about playing a football game, friends are friends regardless of what team you’re on and I just wanted John to know we’re supporting his fight against cancer and I’m just glad he’s doing well, doing better, so we’ll keep praying for him.”
