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Huebner ends scoring drought
 Media Credit: Leslie Andres Tight end Matt Huebner, senior, scored his first two touchdowns for the Husky football team Saturday in a 45-17 win over Northern Michigan University.
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As the Huskies broke practice on Tuesday, senior tight end Matt Huebner was nowhere to be found near the team’s locker room.
The reporters who had followed him intently throughout the practice were sure he wouldn’t get away, but the big man proved elusive enough to evade the watchful eyes of not one, but two news mavens. Upon closer inspection, Huebner had stayed put right where he was, in order to run a few extra routes with quarterback Keith Heckendorf.
Statistically speaking, Huebner was the odd man out of the Huskies’ offense the last two seasons. He had solid numbers, 30 catches for 384 yards, with 19 and 285 of those coming last season, and had shown he could play consistent football. For a player who caught at least one pass in all nine games he played in 2001, the number that glared him in the face was zero. As in zero touchdowns.
Last Saturday, things changed. Huebner was shifty enough to find holes in the Northern Michigan secondary and caught five passes for 67 yards. Now for the best part: he didn’t only score, he did it twice.
More importantly, he caught the two touchdowns that extended the Husky lead to 24 points by the third quarter and effectively stifled any comeback hopes NMU might have had. For Huebner, it signaled an end to a lot of friendly ribbing from his teammates.
“The whole team had been giving me grief about that,” he said. “I’ve been giving Heck(endorf) a lot of grief about not getting me the ball.”
For as much attention as he hasn’t been getting, Huebner is a very big target for Heckendorf and is an integral part of both the passing and running games.
“Matt is one of those key guys in our offense, along with (senior wideout) Ben Nelson,” said SCSU head coach Randy Hedberg. “The more attention he (Nelson) attracts, the more the middle is open for Matt.”
The soft-spoken senior came to SCSU in 1998 as an undersized offensive lineman from Tomahawk, Wisc. After his redshirt season, he backed up several positions on the offensive line, but he knew his heart was in another place.
“I always wanted to catch the ball, run routes, just do something different,” he said. “I always had the will, because I always had some speed and I just thought I could utilize it more a tight end, rather than on the O-line.”
Huebner was moved to tight end in 2000, after injuries piled up at the position, and he was hooked. After failing to put on enough size to be a full-time blocker, he was able to convince Hedberg that he could be a useful cog in the offense.
“He’s turned out to be a very solid football player. He’s adapted well to the position and has gotten bigger and stronger,” Hedberg said. “Every year he catches the ball a little better and is a little freer, so he has some good possibilities as a pass catcher.”
Oddly enough, Huebner considers blocking his weak point as a player, despite his experience on the offensive line. He has worked himself into a good pass-catcher the hard way, and drawn inspiration from his teammates.
“Isaiah Harris (former SCSU defensive end) really influenced me last year, with his work ethic and dedication to the game,” Huebner said.
“I have to give (former Huskies tight end) Eric Gunderson a lot of praise, because he taught me the knowledge of the game and to understand what it takes to be an effective tight end. I learned a lot of knowledge about reading defenses from him.”
Huebner’s size (6-4, 265 lbs.) and acumen for his position put him in a unique position, one that all football players dream of: he has drawn attention from several teams in the National Football League.
“He’s had a lot of interest from NFL teams,” Hedberg said.
“He made an impression last winter when the combine scouts came through and his name got thrown to the individual scouts. There’s a possibility for that right now.”
In the back of his mind Huebner must know that the NFL is always looking for big guys that can catch, run and block, especially ones whose motto is “You can always get better,” but he keeps his focus in the here and now, and on the tasks set before him.
But even if the NFL never calls his name, Huebner will always be looking to contribute to a football organization.
“I’ll play as long as there’s grass under my feet,” he said.
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