Sophomore cornerback Mitchell Hughes was a question mark for Grayslake North in the preseason.
After all, Hughes was the quarterback for the freshman/sophomore team last season.
“It makes sense that he got picked on a little bit early as a young guy, but he worked through it,” Grayslake North coach Brian Johnson said.
Hughes has not only become a trusted front-line performer for the third-seeded Knights (8-1), who will play 14th-seeded Senn (5-4) in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs on Friday. He is playing his best at the most important time.
“He’s a sleeper-type player and has been a pleasant surprise,” Johnson said.
Hughes, who also backs up third-year starting quarterback Jacob Donohue and plays baseball, has the athleticism and the knack for picking up new concepts quickly that have helped him make such a substantial leap forward defensively.
“Thinking back to the start of the season, things have slowed down a lot for me,” Hughes said. “I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in coverage, and I can look back at film and see a big difference.”
Another factor is senior cornerback Michael Jefferson‘s presence on the other side of the field. Hughes has continuously picked Jefferson’s brain and has been offered guidance in practice and in games, as late as when the Knights are breaking their defensive huddle.
Jefferson is cognizant of Hughes’ learning curve.
“I was scared at first because of how much he had to learn,” Jefferson said. “But one thing you can’t teach is effort, and he’s always giving 110%. You have to remember that it’s a learning process, and he’s not scared to be out there now.”
Along those lines, Jefferson stressed to Hughes the importance of not playing passively and being able to learn from mistakes.
Like many inexperienced cornerbacks, Hughes was susceptible to double moves. Watching receivers’ hips was a key to fixing that.
“That’s really helped my coverage get a lot better,” Hughes said. “I’ve also become much better at recognizing what offenses want to do.”
By staying true to his technique and leaning on game awareness, Hughes was a significant factor in the Knights’ biggest game of the season, a 31-13 win against previously unbeaten Wauconda last week that clinched their share of the Northern Lake County Conference title.
Hughes made two interceptions, the second of which came near Grayslake North’s end zone right before halftime. It turned away a scoring threat that could have eaten into the Knights’ 17-7 lead.
“It was really nice to get both of them, but the one near the end zone was huge,” Hughes said. “It was a corner route into my zone. I jumped the route, and he threw it right to me.”
After the win, Hughes and the other eight sophomores on Grayslake North’s varsity roster assembled for a class photo. Several others in the shot also start, meaning the Knights have plenty of talent in the pipeline, and that group’s play will loom large as the program tries to maintain its winning ways. They went 3-6 last season.
“This was a big role for us to step into, and in the future we should all really know what we’re doing,” Hughes said. “We obviously want to keep the winning culture.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.