|
| Hilbert has struggled to build its football program. Hilbert athletics photo |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
Brody Hopkins has been with the Hilbert football program since its inaugural season.
He came to campus in 2022 as a freshman excited about the chance to play college football. He knew he’d have a chance to see the field right away at quarterback and liked the fact that he would get to be a part of building a program.
That said, life hasn’t been easy in nearly three years of football at this small school outside Buffalo, New York. The Hawks have endured some tough losses, including 16 by 40 or more, and are still searching for that elusive first win in the history of the program.
Yet, no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the day, whether it’s a 51-0 defeat like last week against Brockport, or 76-0 as it was in the season opener against reigning national champion Cortland, Hopkins and the Hawks keep trucking along.
“We fight until the end and give it our best shot to go out and get a win,” Hopkins said. “But after every game, no matter what the score is, we look at the takeaways, the positives and the things we can fix.”
There always seem to be a lot of both for Hilbert, which is 0-7 this year and 0-22 overall. The Hawks have managed only 12 points this season.
“There are plenty of things we can fix,” Hopkins said. “But there are plenty of positives also. It’s about looking at all those things and building on it for the next week, and eventually what will be next season.”
Ted Egger, the second-year head coach of the Hawks, has emphasized the importance of battling no matter what.
“We talk to the guys about being tougher for longer, and fighting until it says zero on the clock. That’s a big thing,” Egger said.
As a coach, he would love it if the process of building a program didn’t come with so many growing pains, but at the same time, he’s proud of his team for getting back at it week after week. He also understands the reality of the climb ahead.
“We talk each day about getting better and competing each week, and our guys have done that,” Egger said. “We are just a young team and are playing against some established, really good, well-coached programs.”
Preparing to play the competition it faces in the Empire 8 is not an easy task, but he said the team continues to embrace the chance to compete. Egger sees plenty of value in the competition.
“I don’t necessarily look at it as a challenge. I look at it as an opportunity to get experience and become better players,” Egger said. “Building a program is not easy, but we’ve got guys who are excited about coming to work and being a part of that building process.”
Hopkins said it’s one of the things that keeps him going.
“We are trying to help make the program good for the future. It’s a driving motivator for guys like me who have stuck around since year one,” Hopkins said.
Egger said developing continuity has been one of the focal points and that was shaken up a bit after having to replace the offensive and defensive coordinators last season.
“We had to change what we were doing on offense and defense, and I think there will be more continuity now moving forward, and that’s a big part of building a program, too,” Egger said.
Even Egger himself is the second head coach in the program’s three seasons, following Jim Kubiak, who coached the team in its first season.
Hopkins noted he’s seen improvements in his play this season, and has grown as a leader as well.
“I’ve been more than just a distributor this year. I’m leading the offense a lot more and have been a reliable guy for the team, a guy you can count on to help steer things in the right direction,” Hopkins said.
And while the progress might be tough to notice amid the losses the Hawks have suffered on the field, it’s there. Moses Boadu and Neven Dermady are two of the latest examples. Boadu tallied 10 tackles against Brockport while Dermady broke up two passes and recorded four tackles in that game.
“There have been games where we could have just thrown in the towel, but we keep going until the clock says zero,” Hopkins said. “There are improvements being made by every player, and they continue to build on those improvements every week.”
Every week is a chance to get better, according to Egger.
“Catching the ball. Beating blocks. Tackling. We have a chance to get better at all those things every week,” Egger said. “Yeah, there are going to be failures, but we are eventually going to have success because of those failures.”
Egger said the good thing about this team is the players are staying the course and he sees signs that the future holds promise.
“This is only my second year here but we’ve really worked on getting guys who are committed to working hard. High character guys who want to be coached,” Egger said. “I feel like we’ve done a good job of building camaraderie and we are getting to the point where we have retention and have the experience and the numbers to be successful.”
He points to the spring of 2025 as an opportunity to continue pushing this program in the right direction.
“It’s only going to be our second opportunity to have spring ball. We didn’t have enough my first year,” Egger said. “That will be good for the team and we’ll also continue to develop guys in the weight room.”
Hopkins certainly maintains his optimism.
“We’re looking forward to getting better. It’s fun to come every week and work toward something that you want,” Hopkins said. “And that extends beyond the field and into the offseason and classroom. You always want to do everything you can to be better in every way.”
Hilbert faces a one-win Hartwick team this week and perhaps it's an opportunity for the Hawks to nail down the program’s first win. But no matter how that game or the rest of the season goes, however, Egger said his team will keep working.
“We have to keep competing every day,” Egger said. “We go into each week trying to be 1-0, and we come into this week working to get that first win. The most important thing is to continue to do the things it takes to build a program.”
