3 hot topics for Archbishop Hoban entering 2023 high school football season | What to know

When Archbishop Hoban High School's Ryan Burns spent time with friends in the offseason, the senior punter and kicker often heard the same question time and again.

“Hey, how are you guys looking this year? You lost Mr. Football,” Burns said Aug. 7 during Hoban's media day.

Everyone involved with Hoban football realizes some outsiders are questioning whether the perennial powerhouse program will be able to contend for a state championship on the heels of star running back Lamar Sperling graduating.

Not only did Sperling earn the status of Ohio Mr. Football with his record-setting senior season in 2022, but he also became the USA Today High School Sports Award National Offensive Football Player of the Year.

Now Sperling, who last year rushed for 3,867 yards and set single-season Ohio High School Athletic Association records with 58 rushing touchdowns and 59 total TDs, is preparing to play college football for Buffalo.

And Hoban will begin its post-Sperling era in earnest at 4 p.m. Saturday against Frederick Douglass, the defending Class 5A state champion in Kentucky, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

Here's what the Knights are saying about life without Sperling and two other hot topics.

1. Will Archbishop Hoban return to a state championship game without Ohio Mr. Football Lamar Sperling?

Make no mistake about this — the Knights are driven by the notion they won't be as good without Sperling.

“That definitely motivates me and the guys,” junior quarterback Tylan Boykin said. “We don't like being known as one player. Obviously, Lamar, he was spectacular. He was the best player in the country, but we want to be known as a great football team all around, not just based on one player. So we're going to show that this year.”

Senior cornerback and running back Xavier Williams said he hates hearing people opine Hoban “was like the Lamar Knights” last season.

“He was a great player, but it's a team effort, and if you ask him, he'll say that, too,” Williams said. “So it gets us fired up.”

Coach Tim Tyrrell explained last month Hoban plans to use a group of running backs to fill the void created by Sperling's departure. He said senior Caleb Jones will be the starter and junior Khylan Osbey the main backup, with freshman Brayton Feister, senior Deon Rodgers and Williams in the mix to receive carries as well.

“It's going to be hard filling [Sperling's] shoes. He left big shoes to fill,” Feister said. “You've just got to step up and do what you can. I believe we can do that.”

Junior outside linebacker Tanner Mintz didn't pull any punches, either. Mintz called Sperling Hoban's “backbone” last season.

“He carried us very well, and he did his job,” Mintz said. “But I feel like our team has a chip on our shoulder after last year.”

2. Will the Hoban Knights begin the 2023 high school football season by getting over the hump in a familiar setting?

When Mintz mentioned the placement of a chip on the team's collective shoulders, he was alluding to Hoban's 28-21 loss to Toledo Central Catholic on Dec. 1 in the Division II state championship.

Hoban had won its first five state title games under Tyrrell (2015-18 and '20) before losing its past two — with those defeats unfolding in 2021 and 2022 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

This weekend, Hoban begins the 2023 season in the same venue. To say the Knights have ghosts to exorcise there would be an understatement. Hoban has won state finals at the stadium with Tyrrell, but the players on this year's version of the Knights were not in high school then.

“I would love to come out of there with a win,” senior fullback Dominic Bush said. “Every time I've gone down to that stadium, I've always taken the L.”

“Leaving [that stadium] with that bitter taste in your mouth, when you get back there, it's going to bring back that motivation, that pain that you never want to feel again,” senior linebacker and tight end Devin Bell said.

If Hoban has its way, it will have a full-circle experience with the stadium in 2023.

“Playing in the Hall of Fame Stadium is going to be a lot of emotions,” senior offensive right tackle William Satterwhite said. “… We've get to overcome those emotions from last season and hopefully win Week 1 in the Hall of Fame Stadium and win Week 16 in the Hall of Fame Stadium.”

3. With the vast majority of starters returning, will Hoban's defense pick up where it left off?

Based on which players possess extensive varsity experience, Hoban's offense is much more unproven than its defense heading into the 2023 season.

The Knights graduated two defensive standouts from last season — tackle Jason Martin III and linebacker Jayvian Crable — but the rest of the defensive starters remain on the roster.

“We're just going to do our job, and it's kind of like, 'We can't lose if they don't score,'” junior inside linebacker Eli Lee said. “I'm confident in our offense, but our defense should be real solid this year.”

Senior inside linebacker Rickey Williams is one the of the defense's top leaders, and he's not shy about declaring how good the unit could be.

“I feel like if we start off fast and have the right mentality at the beginning of the game, we're just going to be the greatest defense that ever touched Hoban,” Rickey Williams said. “This defense has so many seniors that our chemistry is going to be there.”

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It's impossible to deny the talent, yet focus is vital.

“If we let our ego get ahead of us, we could fall apart,” Mintz said. “But with our skill right now, I think that we could be an amazing defense.”

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Archbishop Hoban 2023 high school football season preview