All throughout his career at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Va., the most important number to Connor Hughes was two. Two sports. Soccer and football, football and soccer. Hughes had established himself as a star through both sports and his high school resume begins to sound like an echo after a while. Two-time All-State kicker/punter in football, two-time All-State soccer player. District Football Player of the Year, District Soccer Player of the Year. He led his football team to a state championship. He led his soccer team to a state championship.
Regardless of the sport he would choose to play in college, Hughes credits his experience with both sports in making him the competitor he is now.
"I just think that experience in all the different sports has helped," Hughes said.
As his career at Lafayette waned to a close, Hughes had a big decision to make -- which sport should he continue to play in college and where? Recruiters came from all over, including an enticing soccer offer from one of Hughes' former coaches who now coaches at Virginia Tech. But luckily for Virginia and its fans, Hughes chose to get his kicks in through football as a Cavalier. Head coach Al Groh commented on the importance of this decision.
"There was a decision to be made on Connor's part on whether he was going to be a kicker or a soccer player," Groh said. "But we tried to make it very apparent to him that we very much wanted him here."
"Wanted him here" is probably an understatement, especially considering the rather shoddy kicking which plagued the team for most of last year.
But Saturday evening, with 60,000 on their feet "needing" Hughes to hit a 53-yard bomb to save the game and season, Hughes delivered. Less than two minutes later, the sophomore kicker drilled the game-winner and kept Virginia's ACC title hopes alive and well.
More than just holding ground in the standings, though, Hughes' big day of four field goals asserted himself as a clutch kicker.
"That's one of the reasons that we were so interested in Connor, that we had nobody here who really had a resume," Groh said. "There are going to be games where the kicker makes the kick and you win. The kicker doesn't make the kicks, and you don't. He's proven now that we have a kicker that can do that for us."
Groh is correct, for now, as Virginia fans need not pin hopes of a late win on Schaub's ability to drive the team all the way into the end zone, but they can count on Hughes. This newfound pressure will likely be compounded by all the media attention Hughes has received since the game Saturday.
"It is different from before, but I guess that is just how it is going to be," Hughes said.
Hughes is right about this, and his ability to handle this pressure in the coming months will most likely play a decisive role in the Cavaliers' title hopes. For now, he remains a perfect 7-for-7 on field goal attempts this season. With difficult games on the road and incredibly important games at home against Florida State and Virginia Tech, fans are going to expect him to know more than just the number two.
After this past weekend, the fans will certainly remember number 53 and will look to his number six anytime they need three.
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