ROCKINGHAM — Austin Hart, a senior offensive lineman on the Richmond Senior High School football team, has been named the Week 12 Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by Moss Brothers Tires & Service.
Each week, one male and one female student-athlete from Richmond Senior High School will be selected by his or her coach as ROSports’ Official Richmond County Athlete of the Week based on his or her performance in helping their respective team.
Hart and the Raiders are coming off a blowout win over rival Scotland High School last Friday, handing the Fighting Scots a 48-13 loss to earn their second straight Sandhills Athletic Conference title. The 35-point win also secured Richmond’s first undefeated season since 2006 and helped see the Raiders earn the No. 1 seed in the 4AA Western bracket of the playoffs. This is Hart’s first career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: Jan. 25, 2002
Year: Senior
Fall Sport: Football
Position: Right Guard
Years on Varsity: 3 Years
Height & Weight: 5-10, 225 pounds
Experience: 5 Years
“PROTECTING THE LINE” WITH AUSTIN HART
RSHS Academics: Hart is an A/B student who is enrolled in the Health Science and Richmond Community College clusters. He splits his time between RichmondCC’s and RSHS’ campuses, all while playing football and maintaining a 3.5 GPA.
At the community college, Hart is taking Math 171, History 132 and Spanish 111. At Richmond, he’s in English IV with Ms. Tiffany Covington, his favorite class, and completes his day with fourth block Weight Training with the football team.
“RCC is going to help me plan for my success in the future by allowing me to get early college credits,” Hart explained. “And I really like English with Ms. Covington. She’s fun, very nice and it’s just a fun class to be in. We’re starting (the novel) “And Then There Were None.”
Hart is also one of a dozen members of the Football Leadership Council, which is a program designed to help players grow in their leadership abilities on and off the field.
Future Plans: An avid hunter, Hart hopes to put his love for the outdoors to use when he pursues his career after high school.
“I’m applying to Appalachian State University and am finishing up the essay for my application now,” he explained. “I want to major in wildlife biology so I can become a game warden. I’ve always enjoyed studying wildlife, and I love the outdoors. I’m a big hunter and enjoy hunting deer.”
Hart also plans on applying to UNC-Pembroke and Wingate University.
Athlete of the Week Stats: Richmond wracked up 436 yards of total offense against Scotland on the way to its 35-point win on Friday. The Raiders’ offense scored three first-half passing touchdowns before adding three rushing touchdowns in the second half. Hart’s role on the offensive line contributed to the success of the team’s wide receivers, running backs and quarterback Caleb Hood.
Scotland’s defense entered the game with an SAC-best 33 sacks (3.3 per game), but Hart and his fellow linemen didn’t allow a single sack in the 48 minutes played against the Scots. Hart also helped limit negative yardage plays, while opening holes in the line to allow for rushing scores of 58, 41 and 19 yards, respectively.
Head coach Bryan Till said Hart received the highest postgame grade from offensive line coach Kemp McSween. Earning a 75, Till said “anytime our offensive line grades over 70, it’s considered a winning performance because there are so many things that they have to do on every single down.”
“They have to identify the (defensive) front and then decide on what their job is on that play based on the alignment of the defense,” Till said of Hart’s tough job. “This happens seconds prior to the snap. After the snap they will start to take care of their initial job but then have to adapt as the defense reacts to the play.”
Coach’s Corner: TIll acknowledged Hart’s individual efforts as being a key reason the entire offensive line was successful against Scotland.
“The entire offensive line had a difficult task on Friday and performed very well versus a very good defensive front,” Till explained. “Austin and his teammates picked up a number of blitzes and gave their quarterback time to throw. They also opened some great running lanes on key downs that allowed for some huge runs at key moments in the game.
“Austin is the smallest of our offensive linemen, but works extremely hard in the weight room and is as strong as any of the others,” he added. “He plays hard every down and you never hear him complain about anything. While he is on the leadership council, he not an extremely vocal guy, but you always know you can count on Austin to show up and do what he is supposed to do. His consistency for a high school student is impressive.”
Raider Video Chats: Austin Hart, Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week
New this season is our “Raider Video Chats” segment that allows student-athletes to connect with fans and readers through video interviews. In his video, Hart talks about Richmond’s performance against Scotland, his work on the offensive line and answers questions in our “Rapid Raider Response” segment.
Click photo for video.
