PV’s Hudnutt Catching Passes, Throwing Strikes

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a season highlight package more unique and diverse than Paradise Valley’s Bric Hudnutt who, as a junior, wore a linemen’s number (57) but saw extensive action at quarterback, tight end and tackle on offense and defensive end on the other side of the ball. Heck, he even covered kicks at times for head coach Greg Davis.

In short, a true Swiss Army Knife one might say.

“He’s what we expect our players to be about,” Davis said to Sports360AZ.com. “Character, discipline, toughness, academic excellence. He’s got a 3.7 grade-point-average. He is what I want Paradise Valley football players to be like.”

Hudnutt’s selfless leadership last fall has transitioned into the summer as he’s put in the time on the practice field, as well as the weight room preparing to play tight end full-time for the Trojans this year. He’s grown to 6-foot-4 and weighs around 225, up 20 pounds since last season.

Mentally, he also has the advantage of seeing PV’s offense and schemes from so many different spots in 2016.

“Quarterback really made me understand the game of football more, the defenses,” Hudnutt, who now catches passes from his cousin Ben Finley, explained to Sports360AZ.com. “Playing o-line helped me understand the struggle, getting down in the trenches and protecting the quarterback.”

His growth and development this off-season has been evident to those close to the program.

“His hands and route-running have really improved,” Davis explained.

He has also improved in another sport this summer: bowling.

He first picked up the sport at age 12 and bowls nearly every day during the summer. His family has a season pass which allows them to not only escape the heat, but grow closer together.

Hudnutt, whose bowling name is “Pinfall,” averages an impressive 180.

“Spin technique,” he said of his approach at the lanes. “Take it all the way from the gutter to the head pin. It’s taken me a while.”

Despite his love for bowling, his future is in between the white lines under the lights, not the gutters on summer afternoons. He already has an offer from NAU and expects more interest when colleges see more of him playing exclusively at tight end.

“I love talking to coaches and getting to know different colleges,” he said.

With a well-rounded skill set, a team-first attitude and excellent grades, expect Hudnutt’s phone to be buzzing quite a bit his senior season.