For Great Valley’s Hubley, size is just a number
East Whiteland >> Great Valley senior wide receiver Ryan Hubley, the Ches-Mont League American Division Offensive Player of the Year last fall, stands only 5-foot-8 and weighs just 165 pounds. But on the gridiron, he makes his presence felt in a big way.
“What sets Ryan apart is his high motor,” said Great Valley head football coach Dan Ellis. “He always goes hard, and he doesn’t slow himself down. He does a lot of things very well on offense — he’s dynamic, he can motor, he runs a 4.5 [in the 40], he’s strong, a tough kid to tackle and he can go the distance.”
Last fall, Hubley averaged nearly 17 yards a catch, grabbing 49 passes for 829 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Hubley’s game-breaking skill came into sharp focus in the Patriots’ second game of the season last year against Owen J. Roberts. The host Patriots were trailing OJR, 21-20, going into the fourth quarter when Hubley took charge, scoring two long touchdowns. The first TD was a 66-yard reception from quarterback Rob Geiss to put Great Valley ahead for good.
“Ryan ran a wheel route, space cleared, I threw the ball up in the air in front of him, and he ran under it,” Geiss said. “He didn’t even break stride, and ran in for the touchdown.”
Later in the quarter, Hubley scored on a 73-yard run to seal a 34-21 Great Valley win.
“[Hubley’s] quickness and speed are unbelievable,” Geiss said. “He’s fast off cuts and fast in the open field.”
“I’ve played with [Geiss] since my freshman year, and we have good chemistry on the field,” Hubley said. “When I’m running a seam route, if I see a window, he sees the same window.”
As a sophomore, Hubley got some varsity playing time for the Patriots as a backup to star receiver Nasir Adderley, who now is a standout cornerback for the University of Delaware.
“Watching Nasir play taught me how to utilize my speed,” said Hubley. “He took advantage of getting the ball in the open field by making people miss or just running them over.”
To complement Hubley this fall, the Patriots have a number of other potent offensive weapons, including Geiss (1,944 yards, 16 TDs through the air last year) and running back Mark DeRobertis (1,132 yards, 15 TDs on the ground).
“We have so many weapons,” Hubley said. “It will be hard for an opponent to cover all of us at the same time. We have a lot of returning starters, so we should have momentum from last year carrying into this season.”
A two-way threat, Hubley earned second team All-Ches-Mont League American Division honors last year for his play at cornerback. As a sophomore, he got some playing time at the position, playing alongside his older brother Jake, who was a couple of inches shorter than Ryan but shared the same gung-ho attitude.
“[Jake] taught me how to be an aggressive cornerback,” said Hubley.
Ellis said, “As a cornerback, two things set Ryan apart — one, his feet — he has great [control of his] feet and hips; and two, he’s so physical, he can play against a kid who might be bigger or faster than him.”
Hubley, who plays no other sports at Great Valley, is interested in playing football in college — Johns Hopkins and Princeton are his two current favorites — and majoring in math or computer science.
“We’ve been working really hard — we’ve had two-a-day practices for the past two weeks,” said Hubley after Wednesday’s practice, “In the morning we do two hours of offense and lifting — I like our new weight room. In the evening we do two hours of defense.”
Hubley and his teammates will kick off the 2016 season Friday evening at Phoenixville, a squad which is coming off a 2-9 campaign in 2015 and which has had its share of problems this summer — seven Phantoms were suspended 10 days for violations of team rules, and head coach Evan Breisblatt won’t return until after the opening game due to undisclosed, yet separate conditions.
But the Patriots don’t plan to take Phoenixville lightly.
“Whenever we go into a game, we focus on what we can do and what our own potential is — not about what our foes are doing [or aren’t doing],” Ellis said. “We’ve got to play to our potential, focus on who we are and what we are. … It will be interesting to see if our fans come to Phoenixville [in great numbers], since the game is being played a week before Labor Day. We have a great fan section — hopefully, they’ll be out there. I like the [Phoenixville] stadium — it’s old and classy.”
Ryan Hubley – Fun Facts
Favorite TV show: Hard Knocks.
Favorite athlete: Allen Robinson.
Favorite pre-game pump-up song: Swang, by Rae Sremmurd.
Favorite team: Jaguars.
Favorite place to visit: Sea Isle City.
Favorite pre-game meal: Ice cream.
Date of birth: Sept. 3, 1998 in Paoli.
Family members: parents Jim and Denise, older brother Jake (now attending college in Florida), younger sister Rachel (who will be starting sixth grade at Great Valley Middle School).
