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Kenny Huebner has 26 of them (Yes, 26) to lead Gaither's stifling defense.
By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 24, 2000
TAMPA -- Gaither defensive end Kenny Huebner is happiest when he is helping people.
Whether his focus is children, senior citizens or members of the state Board of Youth Ministers, in which he is heavily involved, Huebner is never more content than the times he gives of himself.
Lately, the people Huebner seems to be helping most are opposing quarterbacks as they attempt to get to their feet after another vicious hit from the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Cowboy senior. And that says more about Huebner and his outlook on life and football than the 26 sacks he has this season.
"He is one of a good number of kids on that squad that play very hard in a really tough game, but they still understand it's a game," said Denny Huebner, Kenny's father. "They all pick up their opponents and encourage. Kenny is very competitive, but when it's done, it's done."
Well, almost.
When Huebner isn't on the football field or in the weight room, he is heavily involved in youth ministry with the Church of God.
Besides being a member of the state Board, he also is a part of the Board for Reconciliation, a committee dedicated to turning the Church of God into an allied organization. This weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year; not only for Huebner, but for his church as well.
"There's a big youth convention in Orlando," said Huebner, who will give a speech at the convention. "It's the first convention where the black and white affiliations will join together in a long, long time. I'm leaving for Orlando right after the game (tonight)." Kenny Huebner said his work with children is one of the most fulfilling things he does. That is one of the reasons he plans on making a career in that field after college.
"You can see today that there is so much bad publicity with kids, and they lack a place to turn to," Kenny Huebner said. "I like being that supporter, that motivator that gives them a place to turn to. We live in a world that can be so evil. It is my passion to help them through it."
One of the ways Huebner helps kids is by being a positive role model. Part of that is gained through his success on the football field, where he almost didn't end up.
Growing up in Ohio, he lived next door to a gym, and from the time he could throw a ball 10 feet in the air, Huebner was a basketball player. A gym rat by nature with a father who coached inner city basketball teams, he never really got the chance, nor had the inclination, to try football.
When Huebner was in sixth grade, his family moved to Tampa, and football became more prominent, though basketball still was his No. 1 love. Even during his freshman and sophomore years, Huebner had visions of hoops and hardwood dancing in his head. Football games were places to go Friday night.
Ironically, it was that love for basketball, coupled with his determination to succeed, that led Huebner to football. "I was in the weight room one day during my sophomore year lifting, and (former) coach (Mike) Hobbie came over and talked to me," Huebner said. "He said I had the size and athletic ability and that he had to get me out there playing somewhere."
It wasn't so much what Hobbie said, but what he did that convinced Huebner the football team was the place for him.
The first-year coach attended all of Huebner's basketball games during his sophomore season. After the games, Hobbie talked to his prized recruit and let him know he had his support.
"I had never really played football before, but by him showing up for my games, that showed me he cared enough to watch me play and take me aside and talk to me," Huebner said. "It meant a lot that the guy would take the time out for me."
That first season, Huebner, who watches about seven hours of game film per week, bounced from linebacker to fullback to tight end before landing at defensive end. That turned out to be the place he called home for the next two seasons.
"At first, I didn't care where I played. I just wanted to play," Huebner said. "When I got to defensive end, it just clicked. I found my groove."
Huebner remembers his first sack -- the first of the 44 he recorded during his junior and senior seasons.
It was against Sickles during the first game of last season, and Hobbie finally put him in at the end of the third quarter to play defensive end. Drew DeBerg was playing quarterback, and Huebner got to him during that first series.
He liked it so much, he finished the game with three sacks. The empire was being built.
"I think he has all the potential in the world to be an All-American," current Gaither coach Howie DeCristofaro said. "I've coached Brian Stinson, who's at the University of Miami now, and Kenny Holmes, who played at Miami and now plays for the Tennessee Titans. And I see as much in Kenny Huebner as I saw in Kenny Holmes.
"I think anybody who's not recruiting him right now is short-changing themselves because I tell you what. They're going to have to block him somewhere down the road."
By comparison, Stinson had 12 sacks in his senior season and Holmes 19.
Even so, Huebner's list of colleges is surprisingly short for somebody with size, speed (He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.), strength (300-pound clean lift, three reps of 300 pounds in the jerk) and athletic ability (37-inch vertical leap).
DeCristofaro said once Huebner gets on a college weight program and diet, he expects the lineman to bulk up to about 280 or 290 pounds.
Wake Forest and Virginia are the "top two," but Oklahoma, Tennessee and Notre Dame fill out Huebner's top five.
All of which seems very odd considering two years ago, football was the furthest thing from his mind. Something that forced Denny, a pastor at Oak Grove Church of God, to bite his lip any time he thought about it.
"It was a tough thing with me since I had played and had so much love for the game," said Denny Huebner, a former linebacker at Colorado State. "I would have loved for him to play football, but I had to keep my mouth shut.
"You can't put the road out in front of him. You have to let him choose his own path. I had to work real hard to keep a smile from cracking my face when he told me he was going to play."
Tonight, Kenny Huebner will lead Gaither against Delray Beach Atlantic in a Class 6A region semifinal. After pouring over his seven hours of game film, Huebner knows the weaknesses of the offensive lineman who will be charged with blocking him. He knows what to look for in the opponent to tell if it's going to be a run or a pass. And as always, he knows what to expect from his main target, the quarterback.
"Coach D has taught me to the point where I can watch the offensive lineman and tell what's coming up. Guys give things away," Huebner said.
"The quarterback tonight likes to just chuck the ball down the field. He threw it 33 times in one of the games on the films. I figure if he throws the ball 33 times in this game, I could have at least 10 sacks."