QB Hurley came to UD to become a starter for the Hens

“Inch by inch, play by play, until we’re finished.”  These words echo through sophomore quarterback Trent Hurley’s head as he leads the Hens onto the field each Saturday.

The words, delivered by Al Pacino in “Any Given Sunday,” have served as a source of inspiration for Hurley since seventh grade.

Sports have always been an important part of Hurley’s life.  Growing up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, Hurley found his passion for baseball, basketball and football.  At age six, when he first began to play football as his team’s fullback, he quickly discovered his love for the game.

Like most young boys playing football, Hurley dreamed of winning it all, and that is just what he did as quarterback for Greenburg Central Catholic High School.

“My senior year in high school we won the district championship,” Hurley said about his favorite football memory.  “It was the first time our school and my coach won and also [was the] 50 year anniversary of our school.”

After high school, Hurley attended Bowling Green State University for two years because he wanted the opportunity to play Division I football. He decided to transfer to Delaware last spring, where he had a better opportunity of becoming the starter. Head coach K.C. Keeler said Hurley loved everything about Delaware. Hurley had showed interest in Delaware when he was coming out of high school.

“Its still college football, your ultimate goal is to win football games and that is going to be the same anywhere you go,” Hurley said when asked about the differences between playing at Bowling Green and Delaware.

The transition from one school to another is not an easy one, especially for a starting quarterback said offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Jim Hofher. Both Hurley and the coaches are still learning about each other.

“He has only been here since the spring and it takes times to see a man in a variety of situations to see how he will react,” Hofher said.

Hurley and the Delaware coaching staff approach each game the same way. Each week begins with hard work and lots of preparation, Hurley said.

“We try to get the kids to understand that mentality that it really is one game at a time” Keeler said. “Nothing else matters but going 1-0 each week.”

Hofher channeled his innermost Pacino when reiterating Keeler’s point of taking each game individually. Hofher said football is not the only game of inches. Life is too. The margin of error is so small.

“If a young player will mature and understand it’s one Tuesday at a time, it’s one Wednesday at a time, it’s one game at a time” Hofher said.  “It’s literally one series at a time they will look back and see a lot of accomplishment.”

 These words motivate Hurley to strive for perfection in the classroom as well, something that has not gone unnoticed by his coaches.

“He has come to Delaware and has done a tremendous job in the classroom,” Hofher said.  “He’s an excellent student, he’s a bright young man.”

Hurley, who is a biology major with plans to become an optometrist in the future, approaches his academics just like he approaches football, bit by bit, until he is finished.

“They’re both the same thing.  If you work at your craft you are going to get better at it,” Hurley said.  “It’s the same with academics if you try hard it is going to pay off.”

Only time will tell if Hurley’s hard work on the field will result in him following the path of recent Delaware quarterbacks to the NFL.

“My ultimate goal, my ultimate dream ever since I was six-years-old, was to play professional football,” said Hurley.

It is a long way off, but former quarterbacks Andy Hall, Joe Flacco and Pat Devlin all transferred to Delaware from other colleges and went on to become NFL quarterbacks.

When not playing football or studying Hurley is able to relax by fishing in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. 

He said he is like most college kids, he enjoys watching movies and listening to music. Whether it is enjoying one of the “Star Wars” movies or listening to Yellowcard, he is able to escape the stresses of football and school.

However, with Delaware football there isn’t much time for escape. Hurley and sophomore wide receiver Michael Johnson put in extra time after practice and watch film together to work on their chemistry on the field.

When the chance arrives they do spend a little time off the field to have fun, according to Johnson.