Ethan Hurkett '23 Recruiting Profile

Goal: get an athletic scholarship into the best college possible 

Aspiration: play football at the collegiate level 

Why I am a good candidate: I am a good student and a good athlete.   Throughout my school years I have been on the Honor Roll.  As a freshman I took three honors courses (science, math, and english) and finished with a 4.13 gpa.  On our school's freshman football team I started at Defensive End and Tight End.  I was also on the kickoff, kickoff return, and punt teams.  In a few games the coaches had me play Linebacker and/or Fullback too.  We played nine games and went undefeated.  After the season I learned how to shot put and throw the discus on the Xavier Track Team.  I competed at the JV level which I felt pretty good about because we had a lot of experienced guys.  I spent the offseason lifting big and eating big.  I put on 35 pounds of good weight, and increased my core lifts a lot.  I am now almost 6'3" tall. 

As a Sophomore I have stayed on the Honor Roll.    I was excited to win a spot on Xavier's Varsity team as a Sophomore.  It is rare for a 10th grader to play varsity at my school.  I started every game at Middle Linebacker.  It was a learning process for me because I didn't have much experience at that position and varsity football moves a lot faster.   I gained confidence and got better as the season went on.  I contributed to our team's success throughout the season, especially in the playoffs.   I got to play two games in the University of Northern Iowa's "UNI Dome" which was very exciting.  In the semi-final game we held the opponent to 80 yards rushing.  In the final game we held the opponent to 34 yards rushing.  We went undefeated (13-0) and won the Iowa 3A state championship.   I would have had more tackles if I had played the whole game more often.  In probably half our games I was out by the third quarter since we were up by so many points.  I'm already looking forward to next season.

Outside of school I have trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since I was about six years old. I was proud to get my Blue belt in BJJ on 2/04/2017.  My instructor said he had to move me into the adult belt colors, because I was doing so well against the adults in my classes who were blue, purple, and brown belts.  I was really surprised.  I expected that it would take another year to earn that belt because in BJJ belts are tough to earn. 

I have gone to a Catholic school since kindergarten.  My parents plan to keep me in the Catholic schools until I finish high school.  They tell me all of the time that I have to help pay for college because they have spent so much money already.  I am responsible for working hard on my grades and with my sports so that maybe I can get some type of scholarship.  The Catholic schools teach about God, they make students work hard and teach us discipline, and they require students to have service hours each year.  My parents take my sister and me to church every weekend.