Former Hawkeye star Matt Hughes appears at Comet Gridiron Football Camp

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — So how did Jerry Rice, never known for his speed or size, become the only NFL player to score more than 200 career touchdowns?

One of Rice’s former teammates, Matt Hughes, has the answer.

Practice.

“Even working on 2-yard quick outs, after (Rice) would catch the ball he’d turn and run all the way to the end zone,” Hughes said. “It may have been a no-contact drill already whistled dead by the coaches, but he wouldn’t stop until he got there.”

It was an ideal anecdote to accompany one of the main messages Hughes was trying to convey to a group of aspiring players during last Wednesday’s session of the Comet Girdiron Football Camp held at the College Grounds. Champions — like Rice — are willing to put in the extra yardage while the majority of the populace will do just enough to comfortably settle in as also-rans.

Through alumni association with Comet assistant football coach Bob Kloberdanz, Hughes — who played linebacker for the Iowa Hawkeyes (1995-98) and is currently ranked 10th with 354 career tackles at the school — found himself in Charles City this past week.

But how he found himself in Iowa where he is now a Coralville resident is another story.

Originally from Eastland, Texas — a town with a population less than half of Charles City — Hughes was an all-Lone Star-state football player on both sides of the ball … running back and defensive back.

That almost didn’t happen. Early into his high school career, Hughes suffered a severe ankle injury.

“Everyone could hear it go pop!” he said.

If Hughes’ father didn’t, it might have been a case of selective hearing. No doubt the quintessential “old school coach” who his son played for in Eastland, Ron Hughes’ first question to the doctor was “When can he play again?”

“That’s when the doctor told him that I would be lucky to walk without a limp for the rest of my life,” the younger Hughes related.

Even with multiple pins inserted into his foot, Hughes recovered to become a standout player. But Hughes was unable to avoid further tribulation as soon after his injury his older brother died in an automobile accident.

“I always looked up to him and then suddenly he was gone,” Hughes said while relating the early misfortunes of his life. “Adversity is going to happen to you no matter what. It’s how you respond to it that determines what type of person you will become.”

After graduation, Hughes got several offers from his home state but picked Iowa because …

“It was the only place from all the offers I got that I didn’t know where it was,” said Hughes, who thought getting as far away from Eastland as possible could distance himself from the heartbreak he was still experiencing.

Switching to linebacker, Hughes would twice lead the Hawkeyes in tackles while earning multiple All-Academic Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten accolades in the process. During his senior year, Hughes was named the team’s co-captain by Hawkeye legendary coach Hayden Fry, who incidentally is also a Texas native.

Hughes later signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent.

After a shoulder injury hampered his NFL aspirations, Hughes played Arena Football for a stretch. Later, he served as an assistant coach at the University of South Dakota. Then in 2013, Hughes returned to the Hawkeye region with his father to co-head coach at Clear Creek Amana.

Taking over a program that was winless the season before, the father-and-son tandem helped the Clippers qualify for the playoffs twice in four years before both coaches resigned — the elder Hughes retiring after 44 years on the sidelines; the younger Hughes leaving to concentrate more on business and family endeavors.

“But I still love doing this whenever I can,” Hughes said of appearing at football camps. “I owe a lot to who I am because of football.”

During a question-and-answer session with the campers, Hughes was asked about some of his most memorable moments. He told of his lone college career interception which he returned 38 yards in a game against Indiana, as well as another time he made his mark on the field.

“Going from high school to Division 1 football is like from here to here,” Hughes said while holding his outstretched hand at waist level before raising it over his head. “It’s much bigger than going from college to the pros.”

In fact, it could be a dizzying experience … literally.

“I remember my freshman season at Ohio Stadium (to play Ohio State),” Hughes said. “I didn’t start but I played on special teams. It was the opening kickoff and I was on kickoff receiving and standing on the 50-yard line. I was watching the crowd spell out ‘O’ ‘H’ ‘I’ ‘O’ while going around the stadium. Suddenly, I started feeling dizzy. I ended up throwing up on the 50-yard line before the game even started.”

Though it may be hard for Hughes to ever forget that personal moment, it’s the team moments that he cherishes the most.

“It’s the trip back home after defeating Penn State (21-20) on their own field,” Hughes said. “It’s playing in the Alamo Bowl (1996) against Texas Tech with everyone picking against us only to prove them all wrong by beating them 27-0.

“I’ll never forget those team accomplishments.”