Talented Trenchman

By DIXIE KNUTSON

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead's Hoffenbacker has the attention of many big time colleges.

If you know much about Flathead Braves senior offensive lineman Brandon Hoffenbacker, then his choice for a favorite football player won't surprise you at all.

It will make perfect sense.

The play of Oakland Raiders' Warren Sapp puts fear in the heart of National Football League offenses weekly.

"(Sapp is) always working harder than his opponents, he gets into their heads," Hoffenbacker explained during a Wednesday evening interview.

"(Opponents) are always thinking (about) where he is on the field. Offenses have to play around him," he said.

That's a pretty good description of how Class AA football opponents think about the Braves' 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman, too.

"He's so talented. Pretty much everybody he's goes up against is a mismatch," Flathead head football coach Grady Bennett said of Hoffenbacker.

"There's a lot of big kids out there, but Hoff's speed and quickness and his athleticism for being so big is amazing.

"It's just scary for the other kids. There are very few kids that possess the talent he has."

"He's probably as talented, just naturally, a big man as I've seen at this level in high school," Bennett said.

Because of Hoffenbacker, Bennett has had some terrific football conversations this season with the likes of Nebraska head football coach Bill Callahan and coaches from at least 30 other Division I college football programs.

"It's been fun for me," Bennett smiles. "There's definitely a lot of interest.

"I've made tons of tapes for him."

Bennett estimates he's sent out at least 15 Hoffenbacker tapes over the past 10 days.

Those who have dialed the phone include Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Colorado State, Montana, Montana State and Nebraska.

Notre Dame has also sent a mailing.

He's been a bright spot in an otherwise tough season. The Braves are 1-5 in league play, 1-6 overall on the year.

Hoffenbacker admits he's felt frustration at times.

"But you don't need other people, or a record, to know you're playing good, that you're having fun," he said.

"As a team, we're closer than any of the teams I've been on. Nobody is pointing fingers at anyone. It's not one player. It's a team effort," he said.

"We're not a very good team, record-wise, but he's never gotten frustrated about that. He keeps playing hard," the coach said.

"He's just such a good kid. He's always been real humble. He treats the other kids in the program really well.

"I'm really proud of him," Bennett said.

Hoffenbacker's greatest strengths are his lateral quickness and his speed.

"That's why he's getting such big-time attention. I really believe he could play anywhere in the country," Bennett said.

"If the right school had the need and wanted to look at him, he could play anywhere."

"It's almost scary how good he could be."

"It's pretty cool," Hoffenbacker said of the attention. "Right now, I'm not leaning anywhere. They all sound good."

The Flathead coaches recognized his talent early on. They elevated him as a freshman to the varsity level.

He played only defense that first season, but quickly rewarded them by becoming a first-team all-state selection at defensive tackle the next two years and a second team offensive guard last year.

So far this season he's got 36 assisted tackles, six unassisted, 3 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hurries and 13 tackles for a loss. He's also broken up two opponent passes.

He's one of just a couple Braves playing both sides of the ball this season.

While it depends on the school calling whether or not he's an offensive or defensive player, in Hoffenbacker's mind, he's a defensive guy.

"I like to be the hitter, not the hittee," he said. "I love hitting people. You know it's a good hit when you hear it."

"But I'm definitely a better player seeing both sides of the ball."

"It depends on the system he gets into," Bennett said. "At the high school level, he's more dominant defensively. Defensively, he can blow up two or three offensive lineman (en route to a sack). Defensively, he can just wreak havoc

out there.

"But depending on the system, he'd be a real nice offensive lineman," the coach added.

The interesting thing is Hoffenbacker really hasn't spent much time in the weight room yet.

"From what I've seen, his potential is still so untapped. Wow. It's just almost scary how good he could be," Bennett added.

The most satisfying part of the game for Hoffenbacker?

"Knowing the person you go against is scared," he said. "Knowing you're coming, knowing they've got to go up against you, knowing they don't want to line up."

Dad Bill (a former Butte Bulldog defensive tackle) taught Hoffenbacker early on to "go 100 mph every play. Nobody likes to go against a guy who gets better and better and hits harder and harder."

The only thing holding Hoffenbacker back at this point?

His grades.

"That's where I've got to work yet," he admitted. "Definitely room to improve there. I'm working on it, though," he said.

"There's the hot button issue," Bennett said. "That's the only thing that will hold him back.

"The second I got the (head coaching) job, we started working hard."

Hoffenbacker has dedicated himself to bringing his grades up this year.

He knows without an acceptable GPA, many colleges won't gamble.

His efforts include setting up a set study time each evening, turning his grades in weekly to both his parents and his coaches and working hard on getting assignments finished and turned in promptly.

"The grade issue may scare away some of the bigger schools," Bennett said.

"I think there is still a chance some of those schools may take him. He'd be a steal," he added.

"But it's going to take a great effort. It's going to be a challenge for him.

"He's got a lot of people pulling for him, teachers, counselors, his parents. We're going to do whatever we can for him.

"Whatever happens, if we can just get him into a good situation, I'm excited to see what happens."

Hoffenbacker File

Brandon Hoffenbacker

Sport: Football.

Age: 17.

Height: 6-foot-4.

Weight: 270 pounds.

Position: Defensive tackle, offensive guard.

Family: Parents Bill and Holly, brothers Dusty, 16, Colton, 14, and sister Lyndsey, 12.

Other sports: Wrestling, track and field.

Results: Placed third in Class AA wrestling as a heavyweight and finished third at state in the shot put as a junior.

Honors: First team all-state defensive tackle as a sophomore and junior, second-team all-state offensive guard as a junior. First team all-conference at both positions both sophomore and junior years.

Favorite sport: Football. "You get to hit somebody and not get in trouble for it."

Generating interest from: University of Oregon, Oregon State, University of Washington, Washington State, University of Montana, Montana State, University of Colorado, Colorado State, Wyoming, Nebraska and Notre Dame.