THUNDERING HURD? | Comments (0)
By Bobby Narang - Staff Writer
DeKALB - He has been portrayed as brash, loud, immature, talented and underachieving.
Northern Illinois senior wide receiver Sam Hurd doesn't deny any of those descriptions, but prefers to add a few more to that list - quiet, determined and a leader.
“I want people to notice me for the good things and not for being loud and talkative and more for being productive and a leader,” Hurd said.
The vast potential exhibited by Hurd during his sensational freshman season had become tarnished by a lack of focus and problems off the field.
The seeds of Hurd's metamorphosis originated last summer, and now he is making headlines for his play on the field.
First-year NIU starting quarterback Phil Horvath and Hurd have formed a bond on the field, steering the Huskies to a three-game winning streak entering today's game against Ball State.
Hurd leads the Huskies in receptions (39), receiving yardage (596) and touchdown catches ( . He roasted Akron and Miami-Ohio for a two-game total of 21 receptions for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns.
“I really started believing I can do this every game,” Hurd said. “Instead of telling myself I was great, I started playing like I was great.”
NIU coach Joe Novak observed Hurd blossom from a cocky teenager into a professional prospect.
“Sam's got a lot of upside,” Novak said. “Some kids leave the program topped out. If Sam stays focused and hits the weights, he's got a great future. He practices and plays hard. He loves to play. I've never seen a wide receiver who relishes blocking as him.”
From Texas to DeKalb
The Sam Hurd story started with an unlikely recommendation from a former Huskie assistant coach.
Hurd starred in track, basketball and football at San Antonio's Brackenridge High School, but scared off colleges by delaying taking his college entrance exams. Former NIU offensive line coach Jay Boulware, then an assistant at Arizona, recommended Hurd to Novak.
Hurd flew to DeKalb the day before camp opened and accepted a scholarship after a three-day clearing process. The 17-year-old kid with long arms, legs and superior athletic ability had never heard of Northern Illinois. He left the warmth of a tight-knit family of two brothers and three sisters in the Lone Star State to attend the DeKalb-based campus.
“It was overwhelming at first,” Hurd admitted. “My mom was worried because I wasn't mature and she called me every night to the point I wanted to turn my phone off. My mom molded me. She's been a very big supporter for me. It was strange not having her around.”
The cold weather and cornfields of DeKalb were a sharp contrast to the bright lights and warm weather of San Antonio.
A fast start on the playing field helped ease Hurd's transition. He finished with 22 receptions for 512 yards and three touchdowns for a team-high 23.3 yards-per-catch average.
The breakout freshman season prompted another call from Boulware.
“I was supposed to come here and produce and get good enough grades to transfer to Arizona, but I fit right in here and I didn't want to leave.”
The new and improved Sam Hurd
Hurd's third collegiate game turned out to be his coming-out party, but led to a nearly three-year headache. He torched highly-ranked Wisconsin's secondary for eight receptions for 151 yards. Hurd outran and outleaped Wisconsin's defense for catches of 19, 20, 32 and 53 yards. The big game thrust the 17-year-old true freshman into the limelight and created high expectations.
“It was a shock to me,” Hurd said of the Wisconsin game. “I knew I had it in me, but I didn't think it would come out then. It put a lot of pressure on me. Every year you have to get better.”
Hurd's future appeared to be filled with touchdowns following his superb freshman season. The 6-foot-4, 198-pounder failed to equal those numbers with 56 catches and 736 yards and five touchdowns over the next two years.
Hurd got lost in the mix when P.J. Fleck and Dan Sheldon developed into reliable targets for quarterback Josh Haldi.
“It was very frustrating because I felt like I was going through the motions,” Hurd said. “I was trying to act like I was great when I wasn't. I should've been just focusing on getting better instead of knowing I'm better.”
Haldi, a three-year starter from 2002-04, blamed Hurd's subpar sophomore and junior years to youthful mistakes.
“He was the youngest kid on the team by far,” Haldi said. “It wasn't even close. He was from out of state, too. That's a lot to take in as a freshman. He went through an adjustment period. Being so young and immature, it was hard for him to get up for every game and stay focused in order to be successful.”
Hurd, 20, came to a realization it was time for a change. He refashioned his approach for his final season, gulping protein shakes and hitting the weights all summer. Once he overcame the rigors of improving his body, Hurd shifted his attention to ridding his life of distractions.
He was suspended for last year's Southern Illinois game for missing classes and got involved in an fracas at a fraternity party prior to the Michigan game.
The cleansing procedure included shedding his walls of posters and pictures.
“Three years ago, I had lot of lady posters up here,” Hurd said, glancing around the barren walls of his room. “A silent room makes you want to focus. I can easily daydream and focus on something without looking at a wall of pictures to distract me. I knew I had to think big if I wanted to be big.”
Now, Hurd elects to make most of his noise on the field. His pregame routine consists of listening to his music and visualizing hauling in a key reception.
“I'm a lot different on and off the field,” Hurd said. “I used to be wild and goofy. I'm still having fun, but I'm putting more focus on getting my job done on and off the field and knowing that I have to go to school and stay on the right track and graduate in four years and not let my teammates down. I wish I would change my sophomore and junior year on and off the field and do better in classes, but I went through a learning experience.”
Haldi has noticed the difference in Hurd this year.
“I'm happy that Sam's figured it out,” Haldi said. “He has tremendous upside. He realized that he doesn't have another year. He's grown up a ton and put team football first and everybody is seeing how good he can be.”
The Birdman and SP
Sam and Shatone. Shatone and Sam. Number 83 and 84. Or just call them Birdman and SP.
No matter what they're called, Hurd and Powers seem to always be together since forming a friendship in 2002. They play the same position and helped each other endure frustrating sophomore and junior campaigns.
The two senior wide receivers have lived together the last three years, and call each extended brothers.
“I call him my brother and love him like a brother,” Hurd said of Powers. “He supports me and I support him. When we play together, you can tell we have a connection. We're two different people, but the same. We act the same.”
Powers and Hurd spend their idle time playing Halo on X-Box.
Hurd compares Powers to Washington Commanders receiver Santana Moss. Both take pride in their blocking, as NFL scouts have noticed Hurd's knack for punishing blocks.
“Shatone's a short and fast guy and speeds up the field,” Hurd said. “I like to go deep. We block the same. He has great hands. I would give him the upper hand overall.”
Coming to an End
The transformation of Hurd is almost complete. He could become the next 1,000-yard receiver in school history with a pair of big games down the stretch.
Hurd expects a wide range of emotions on Senior Day against Western Michigan.
“It's very strange,” Hurd said. “Me and Shatone talk about this every day. We've got four more guaranteed games left and we're out of here.”
Hurd's immediate goals are to help the Huskies to their second straight bowl game. He would like to follow in the footsteps of former NIU receivers Justin McCareins, Darrell Hill, P.J. Fleck and Dan Sheldon into the NFL.
Due to his youthful age, Hurd's best playing days might be in the future.
“It would be scary if I was older right now,” Hurd said. “This is like my senior year in high school. I feel I can do what anybody else can do on the big college teams and I can block. I take pride in my blocking because I know I can catch like everybody else.”
Recently, Hurd, a communications major, edited his high school highlight tape. The final copy was almost 13 minutes. Hurd would like to one day sit in the background and edit movies for a living. He still has two more tapes to add to his editing collection.
“The college one will be 15 to 20 minutes,” Hurd said, laughing. “I'm hoping to have a pro one. Maybe that one will be an hour. I really like editing.”
Already, Hurd has proven to be quite adapt at fixing a flawed picture.
Bobby Narang can be reached at
bnarang@daily-chronicle.com.
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