Hepner ‘Wants To Do Everything’ On The Field

Posted: August 29, 2013
By KEVIN TRUDGEON

WINCHESTER — It is probably a good thing Brady Hepner wears a jersey number that works for multiple positions, because odds are his No. 8 is going to be seen all over the field at James Wood football games this season.

Whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams, Hepner is a player that the Colonels want on the field as often as possible, and he is more than happy to oblige.

“Personally I like playing defense the most because I like to hit people and get motivated, but you can put me anywhere and I’ll do it,” Hepner said. “I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win.”

That team-first attitude has to be music to the ears of James Wood first-year coach Mark McHale, who takes over a program that is coming off a rough 1-9 season that saw the Colonels win their first game and then drop their final nine.

McHale, who has made stops at Florida State and West Virginia during an illustrious coaching career, brings a much more uptempo approach to offseason workouts and practices and plenty of experience, but he’ll be the first to admit that you can’t win without talent.

Enter a player like Hepner.

A 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior who looks like he still has room to grow, Hepner is already penciled in at four positions — quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner — and the Colonel coaching staff has no qualms about throwing him into a few other roles if need be.

“He’s the kind of kid you can put just about anywhere and say figure it out and he will,” said assistant coach Josh Copp. “And he wants to do everything.”

For now everything involves reprising his role as one James Wood’s most versatile threats, with a few extra additions added in this year.

A starter as a sophomore, Hepner showed his ability by earning playing time both at receiver and defensive back.

An injury in a game against Warren County midway through the season — an opposing player dragged him down from behind and broke his ankle in the process — caused Hepner to miss a few games, but he returned for the final two contests and entered the offseason determined to help himself, and his team, get better.

“I really wanted to work on getting faster and stronger,” Hepner said. “I wasn’t necessarily slow [as a sophomore] but as a younger guy on varsity there were a lot of people who were just faster than me.

“So I did a lot of work on my legs, a lot of sprints while pulling stuff and things like that. Now I feel like I can hang with them pretty good.”

The extra speed work should pay dividends when Hepner lines up on the outside this season, either on offense, where his size already helps him gain seperation, or on defense, where his natural aggressiveness will only increase, and it should only add to his explosiveness as a kick returner.

But one thing Hepner didn’t prepare for was being thrust into the starting quarterback role, a position he hadn’t played since his freshman season.

The spot under center wasn’t even on Hepner’s mind until returning starter Cam Butler was diagnosed with mononucleosis on Aug. 4.

Suddenly the guy who was lining up all over the field already found himself with one more position to master.

“It definitely wasn’t expected,” Hepner said. “It’s taken some time to get back into it, but I’m getting more comfortable every day. It’s just about getting reps at practice and working on it every day.”

It’s the kind of response that wouldn’t necessarily be expected from an underclassmen with an already full plate who was asked to re-learn the most important position on the field less than four weeks before the first game of the season, but that’s Hepner.

“He doesn’t complain and he doesn’t make excuses, he just goes about getting better,” Copp said. “It’s funny because as coaches you expect a lot out of them, but then when you sit back and think about how he’s only been playing quarterback for a couple weeks and he’s doing all this stuff on defense, and he’s playing wide receiver, and he’s returning kicks...you realize how much it all really is.”

Luckily for the Colonels, Hepner has done his best to take it all in stride.

A new quarterback usually has to work to earn the trust and confidence of his teammates, but the James Wood players know firsthand what Hepner is capable of on the football field.

“It’s actually really impressive how he can do it all,” said senior Dakota Orndorff, who lines up alongside Hepner at both wide receiver and defensive back. “I’m a bit in shock that he can do it all and still play as well as he is and be able to hold his own. He’s definitely shown he can step in and lead the team as well as anybody out here.”

Leadership is exactly what the Colonels will be looking for from Hepner in the near future.

With Butler still not yet cleared for contact, Hepner has started at quarterback during the Colonels’ scrimmages against Park View and Musselman (W.Va.) this preseason and is expected to do the same in the season opener against Heritage on Friday.

Ideally Butler will return to full contact soon and assume his role at quarterback, and allow Hepner to lighten his load to just three positions in the process.

Until then, Hepner will go wherever he’s told and do whatever he’s asked, making him an invaluable member to the James Wood football team.

“It helps us out because the guys know him and they know he can do all these other things, so the kids trust him and they believe in him,” Copp said. “And he’s got confidence in whatever he does and they’ve got confidence in him wherever he’s at. He’s the guy we trust to put wherever we need him.”

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