Rocky Mount's Squirt Makes the Big Plays

Hudgins is just 5 foot 7 inches tall and 145 pounds, but he makes giant plays. He has gained 956 yards in six games with 11 touchdowns as the Gryphons have raced to a 5-1 start.

There is a lot of respect at Rocky Mount High for the man they call squirt.

"The kids really do like him a lot. He's very out-going," Rocky Mount principal Tony Cates said. "He's a quiet fellow, but he gets the job done. He gets the job done in the classroom and on the football field. He is just a quality kid and everyone likes to be around him. I don't think I have ever heard anyone say anything negative about Calvin."

"He's just a kid that pushes everyone to raise their level of play when he is out there," Rocky Mount coach Darren Phillips. "He gets the kids pumped up in the huddle when we need a crucial first down. He gets the line going. He brings the confidence that with Calvin out there you feel like something is going to happen some how, some way."

"At this point, I feel that leadership wins games," Hudgins said. "If you have good leadership, then you are going to win games."

No question about it, Hudgins is a hard worker and he says that his size is no problem at all.

"In the seventh grade I went out there and I said 'They are too big for me.'" Hudgins said. "I went home and talked to my mom about it, and she said to just go out there and do your best - so I did. She is one person that has influenced me, and I owe it all to her."

"Size is deceiving, and with a kid like squirt I think that plays into his hands," Phillips said. "He is one of the kids that you would want to have as a son. When I first met him this summer, he was polite and well-mannered. He works hard in the classroom and on the field. He is just the type of kid that will do whatever you ask him to do."

Senior Calvin Hudgins of Rocky Mount High School is this weeks winner of the Extra Effort Award.