Danny Hughes just wants to do whatever he can to help Naperville Central win football games.
But a request from Ryan Clifford, the best running back in school history, has Hughes thinking a little selfishly.
“We actually talked about being all-state,” said Clifford, who came over from Bolingbrook as an assistant coach to Mike Stine. “I asked (Hughes) what his personal goals are and you could see him look at me like, ‘My personal goals? Hmm.’ For him, he’s such a team guy. So he didn’t even think of any type.
“I’m like, ‘Challenge yourself. Challenge yourself to have a personal (goal).’ Of course, a state championship is at the top of your thing. He’s just that humble of a kid where he knows he’s going to give 100 percent.”
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Hughes would like to keep things simple for the Redhawks, who finished 9-3 last season.
“I’m just going to try for over 100 yards,” he said. “I’m going to try and get over 100 yards each game so I can help out the offense as much as possible running the ball.”
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Hughes doesn’t feel any pressure in trying to replace the 1,091 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns of AJ Deinhart, a two-time all-conference running back who’s now at Butler.
Hughes has a body of work that has earned praise from his teammates, including senior quarterback and Western Michigan recruit Payton Thorne.
“I think (Hughes’) main strength is his ability to do just about anything,” Thorne said. “He’s fast. He has really good hands. He runs north and south. He runs hard and he can get to the perimeter when he wants to, too.
“So I think he’s definitely a multipurpose back. He can run routes out of the backfield and do a lot of good things for us.”
Hughes’ 93-yard kickoff return for a TD last November during Naperville Central’s 39-28 Class 8A quarterfinal loss to Maine South jumps off the page.
As does the 105-yard, two-TD performance on 11 carries in Deinhart’s place during a 55-7 victory over Metea Valley in Week 3.
“(Hughes) is one of the hardest workers I know,” Deinhart said. “He’s just a natural athlete. I’d say he’s a quarterback’s best friend because he’s going to run hard, but he’s going to block, protect even harder.”
After producing only 28 carries for 134 yards and scoring three touchdowns as a junior, Hughes is ready to take on a larger role. He also wants to make Deinhart proud.
“(Deinhart) would always have good cuts and he’d hit all the right holes,” Hughes said. “When I was playing a year ago, I wouldn’t always hit the right hole. But he would just teach me to hit the hole and have stronger cuts, be speedier with my cuts and all that stuff.”
Blake Baumgartner is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.