So many in Ryan Hulings’ position might have done crossword puzzles. They might have slept.
Hulings should have given into senioritis in high school. He should have kicked back and enjoyed a break when it was presented to him. He should have sat around bored when there was nothing to do as a teacher’s aide in his two-hour technology class.
And he should have listened to all those college coaches who said he was too small at 5-foot-9 to play at the next level.
“In the back of my mind, I thought maybe no one would let me have a chance,” Hulings said. “I just kept at it and worked as hard as I could.”
That also applied to his technology class. Instead of taking a break, Hulings made his own break.
And, though he wasn’t forced to do anything, he began to put together his future in that class — one football clip at a time.
Hulings wasn’t going to let his college football dream die. He collected all the videotapes from his senior year at Santa Fe Trail High School and began the painstaking task of going through each of them by himself.
Piece by piece, he began to put together a highlight video of himself. A long one. Some clips showed him as a wide receiver, others as a running back. Still others showed him returning punts and kicks, juking defenders in all different ways.
He made five copies of the tape, sending them to Kansas, Washburn, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Emporia State.
Then he waited and hoped for the best.
“That’s how I’ve always been,” Hulings said. “I just work as hard as I can to do things right, and someday someone will give you a chance.”
The tape ended up on the desk of ESU coach Dave Wiemers, who had learned long ago to always look at them because you just never knew what might show up on there.
After watching the entire thing — which lasted nearly an hour — Wiemers saw something many other coaches didn’t allow themselves to see.
“The guy just didn’t get tackled,” Wiemers said, “and that was on the whole highlight tape.”
Hulings only heard back from ESU and Washburn. After visiting campus and talking with coaches, he accepted a walk-on position with the Hornets.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“There’s always one in the senior class that has completely exceeded everything you thought he would do,” Wiemers said. “He’s the one.”
After starting out as a running back, Hulings switched over to receiver and return specialist and has thrived ever since.
Last season, he was one of only two conference players to return both a kick and punt for touchdown.
This year, he’s been even more valuable to the Hornets. He brought in three touchdown catches against Pittsburg State in September (a conference-high), and backed that up with a career performance last week.
Against Central Missouri, he had 11 catches for 139 yards and finished with 318 all-purpose yards, which is the most in the MIAA this season.
“We decided we were going to pass the ball, and so every receiver had one of their best games,” Hulings said. “It just happened to come my way more often. I made the most I could out of it.”
Called “Skip” by all his teammates — after ESU assistant coach Jon Wiemers made the comment that it looked like he was skipping around during practice his second year — Hulings also has drawn comparisons to the Kansas City Chief Dante Hall.
Both are small in stature, and both have found success in the return game by relying on speed and shifty moves.
Saturday’s matchup against Missouri Southern will be the last game for Hulings in a career that’s spanned five years at ESU.
“I’m looking forward to getting out here one more time,” Hulings said. “Maybe a week or two afterwards is when it’s finally going to set in that I probably won’t be playing any more football.”
Hulings doesn’t know what the future holds for him after he graduates next May. He doesn’t seem too worried, though.
After all, he’s created his own break once before.
And, with a single videotape, showed that no one should count him out — in football or in life.
“It was probably the best decision I could make — to do that in that class,” Hulings said. “That’s what got me in football and that’s what helped me to become the player I am today.”