He’s back to play havoc on defenses in the Tri-Valley League and southeast Kansas.
Humboldt High senior Sam Hull stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 200 lbs. — a big target for quarterback Blake Ellis to throw to as the Humboldt Cubs look to improve on last year’s 8-3 record.
“Sam is a talented, hard-working leader on the field and in the weight room. I am excited to be able to throw the ball up and let him make a play,” Ellis said. “Sam will definitely be a big target this year and it will be tough for defenses to stop him. I can’t wait to see what this year brings for him.”
Hull was recently featured on Social Media’s Sports in Kansas as a player to watch for this fall. He totaled 564 receiving yards last year and scored seven touchdowns for the Cubs.
“It felt great to finally get some recognition,” Sam said of the SIK post. Especially after putting up some pretty good numbers on a team that runs the ball two-thirds of the time.”
Hull surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for career receiving yards this past Friday. He sits at 1,020 yards.
Hull will go until the whistle, every play 100% no matter what.
Hull got onto the scene at wideout his sophomore year when he hauled in nine receptions for 224 yards.
Hull mentioned a play he made last year that even impressed himself.
“We were facing off against Caney Valley, we were on defense,” he said. “I was playing D-End as they were running a QB option, I made the QB flip the ball to the running back and I tipped the ball up to myself to catch. I took it to the end-zone for 6.”
“Sam is a hard-working, relentless leader,” teammate Cole Mathes said. “In the weight room he’s always picking up kids who fail a rep and pumping them up if they get it. On the field he knows how to lead the team, he gets our heads right. And plays the game in his best way, he’s an animal on the field.”
Hull showed his animal instincts in the playoffs last November. Against eventual state champion Nemaha Central in the quarterfinals, he finished with 147 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
You can also see him on defense as a defensive back or defensive end. Sam racked up 30 solo tackles, 41 total tackles and four tackles for loss.
Three-sport athlete
He helped the basketball Cubs to a 19-5 mark as a junior. He averaged 12.2 points and 5 rebounds per game and shot 52% from the field.
Sam earned all-state honors as an outfielder where he batted .495 with four home runs. This summer he led the Iola Indians AA Legion team to a spot in the Kansas AA/AAA Super State with the winner advancing to the American Legion World Series.
But it’s football that tugs his heart, as he hopes to play at the next level.
Emporia State has been reaching out to him quite a bit, he noted, along with Missouri Western and a few NAIA’s.
“It would mean a lot to me to be able to play college football,” Hull said. “Football is one of the things that I have always loved, so furthering my career in that sport would be amazing.”
“I’m really excited to see what (No.) 17 is going to do this year,” center Garren Goodner said. “I think he will be an amazing asset on offense and defense. He’s definitely going to be someone to watch out for.”
