Young Shoes Fill a Big Role on the Football Field

The football season has started off by making good progress with the help from sophomore Austin Kutz. Kutz started the season leading the Northshore Conference in pass yardage.

As a young player, Kutz had a big role to fill when he became the starting quarterback on varsity. He offers many strengths that make him a threat out on the playing field.

“Being tall helps me to see over the others on the field and I have quick hands that make my passes sharp,” Kutz said.

Coach John Redders has noticed Kutzs maturity and his ability to want to get better every day. “His natural strength is his posture, his commanding presence; he’s a big kid with a strong arm helping to get the ball deep,” Redders said.

Teammate, Logan Burress has also noticed Kutz drive to be a role model on the field even while being a young player. “He set a standard for guys his age to make them work harder,” Burress said.

Kutz realizes he is a young player surrounded by older classmen, he knows he needs to earn their respect.

During the offseason Kutz pushed himself to be a better player on the field. “I did daily workouts, [Kutz] and a few other teammates would throw routes, and I would get involved in football camps,” Kutz said.

Striving to become a better all-around football player, he tried out and made the USA football team as a quarterback and a captain.

“The guys on the team push you to work harder when you are out on the field and then I bring it to Hartford and do the same with my teammates,” Kutz said.

Although the coronavirus did have a pushback on the original set date for practices to start, Redders saw no decrease in Kutz performance out on the field.

“He has learned to be hard on himself, but not too hard to the point where he gets upset over a play,” Redders said.

Kutz knows his teammates are counting on him during the game even when they face an obstacle. “I make sure they know that they are a big role on this team and that we need them all to be one hundred percent,” Kutz said.

As a team they have big goals for the rest of the season including to make a show in playoffs. “We just need to take every game one at a time and hopefully get another conference championship,” Burress said.