Published: January 03, 2009 09:42 pm      

WVU fans anxious to meet Princeton’s Hughes

PRINCETON — Adam Hughes’ to-do list for Saturday was a little different from most college seniors back home on winter break. It looked something like this:

(1) Sign autographs for more than 100 West Virginia football fans.

(2) Sign a contract with a professional football agent.

(3) Help Dad put up a pen at home for the family’s new dog.

Life is different in many ways for the Princeton resident, who on Dec. 27 completed his senior season as long snapper for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team.

He was the center of attention Saturday at the entrance to Four Seasons Pharmacy in Princeton, signing autographs and posing for dozens of photos as part of “Adam Hughes Day – Meet a Mountaineer,” organized by Star 95 Radio.

Wearing a broad smile, Hughes was as excited about talking with the crowd as those waiting in line.

“Coming out here and being able to see how all the people of this town support me — and support West Virginia University — that’s been the best part” of the day, he said.

“And putting a smile on people’s faces, when they see the bowl rings and the jerseys and all the West Virginia stuff.

“Just to see the smile on people’s faces is worth everything.”

Jason “Moose” Reed, a Star 95 Radio personality who did live broadcasts from the pharmacy, estimated “between 150 and 200” people turned out.

“They were waiting at the doors when we started,” he said.

Reed explained the origin of the autograph session. “We just wanted the community to come out and meet a fine role model,” he said, “someone who people from Princeton and Bluefield and southern West Virginia have been talking about for awhile.”

The day was a family affair, with Hughes’ mother, father and sister mingling with the fans.

Denise Hughes, Adam’s mother, said, “He’s done great and we’re real proud of him, both academically and athletically. He holds a 3.7 GPA (grade point average).”

She said her son is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at WVU, and visits children in the university hospital’s cancer unit.

His father Terry Hughes talked watching Adam receive the football program’s “Unsung Hero” award at a banquet in early December.

“It’s about work ethic, being a true team member,” Terry Hughes said. “It’s about taking a beating in the trenches and not getting the glory for it.”

The long snapper’s sister, Kourtney Hughes, said she cried when she watched Adam help the Mountaineers defeat North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

“I love my brother to death,” she said. “He’s my role model.”

Kourtney Hughes, a senior at Princeton Senior High School, has just finished her own bowl appearance — as a member of the All-American Flag Corps, who performed at the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1. Adam and their parents were present to cheer her on.

When Adam Hughes returns to Morgantown on Jan. 12, he will face 15 weeks of student teaching to complete his degree — but again, with a difference.

He will work five nights a week with the WVU strength staff, preparing for a possible pro career, and his Saturdays will be under the direction of Ben Fuller of Charleston, “the best long-snapping professional in the country,” Hughes said.

“Everything’s good. Ben and I have a good relationship, we’re good friends and I look forward to working with him ... 10 to 12 hours a day of nothing but straight training.

“You’ve got to be with somebody who, one, you trust; two, will push you; and three, you’re friends with, because you know he’s only looking out for your best interest.”

Hughes said he was signing on Saturday with Richard L. Katz of Cincinnati, who works for KMG Sports.

“I’m very excited about that,” Hughes said. “He’s a great guy. ... They’re doing a great job representing me.”

He said he was reassured because the agency represents “a lot of special teams players who are in the NFL. That was huge for me.”

He said he was “banking on” attending the annual pro football combine in Indianapolis, since he is “the only senior long-snapper in the country,” he said.

“I would love to go to the combine. I don’t know that they take a lot of snappers, or if they’ve ever taken a snapper. But, hopefully, they do. If not, I’ll continue to train and get ready for pro day at West Virginia, and show off all I can, there.”

“To come from behind against a great team with a great coach, like North Carolina and Butch Davis, and to go out on top with the 18 seniors that I’ve played with for four or five years, that’s something special.

“I was really happy that we got to go out on top as the all-time winningest class, and to do things that have never been done in West Virginia history. I’m very honored that I got to be a part of it.”

He also gave his opinion of the Mountaineers’ first-year head coach.

“Bill Stewart is a great guy,” Hughes said. “I love Bill Stewart with all my heart. He’s been nothing but good to me. He’s a great coach, and he’s going to be very successful because he knows how to win. And the coaching staff he has is a great staff.”