2 Times as Talented: Senior quarterback Robby Ashford helping Bucs reclaim identity

The offense walked off the Buccaneer Stadium field on a mid-July morning, each player donning a gray T-shirt with a black question mark over the crest. The shirt gave no hints that the players represented the Hoover High School football team.

The Bucs are using that shirt as motivation, because losing in the Class 7A semifinals — like they did a year ago — is not good enough.

“We’re just finding our identity again,” senior quarterback Robby Ashford said.

Head coach Josh Niblett has not avoided the disappointment of the 2018 playoff loss to Thompson, a team Hoover knocked off two months prior in the regular season. Instead, the team’s motto throughout the offseason has been to “own it” and move forward.

Ashford is leading his team on that quest. The multi-sport star enters his senior season with a year of playing experience under his belt and a great deal left to prove.

“It’s his team now, and he understands that,” offensive coordinator Jason Kervin said. “Last year, he was a junior. Even though you’re the QB and you have a name and reputation, a lot of times it’s still the seniors’ team.”

Football and baseball coaches alike saw Ashford’s potential early on, and it’s no surprise to any of them that he has a future in the Southeastern Conference playing both sports. Over the summer, Ashford committed to Ole Miss, a place that will allow him to play both sports.

“I gravitated to Ole Miss because of how it felt down there,” Ashford said. “Everything seemed like it was going great down there. The plan they had for me for baseball and football was perfect.”

Ashford first got his chance to show his merit as a quarterback on the big stage last fall. But despite being a junior, he was just 15 years old throughout the football season. He wasn’t able to go through spring practices with the team last year either due to shoulder surgery.

There were certainly highlights and bumps in the road as a result, but he learned quickly through them all. Last fall, the Bucs earned a big win over Thompson in early September but were drilled by Hewitt-Trussville the following week.

Ashford helped the Bucs rebound and win their next five contests by 17 points or more. They also won two playoff games before falling in the semifinals.

“I think just growing up and learning from Coach Niblett about how to be a leader will definitely help me and will definitely show going into my senior year,” Ashford said.

For the season, Ashford threw for over 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns, strong numbers that could easily increase this year due to his increased knowledge of the game.

“I’ve just gotten better reading the coverages, my accuracy has gotten a lot better — especially coming off the shoulder surgery,” he said.

Kervin said Ashford has now been able to couple that knowledge with the experiences gained last fall.

“He’s made big strides this spring and really this summer, understanding how everything goes. And when we’re calling plays, he not only executes it, but understands why we call it,” Kervin said.

Ashford will need to use his experience and acquired leadership skills immediately, as he works with a group of wide receivers that lacks a single varsity catch.

“We’ve still got a lot of young guys and we’ve got to get them all to grow and learn the offense,” he said.

Another area Ashford has improved in is his ability to control his emotions during adverse situations.

“At the end of the day, he’s going to be remembered as a fierce competitor,” Kervin said. “As a quarterback, he’s got to find that balance between emotional and locked in.”

As high as the ceiling is for Ashford on the gridiron, it may be even higher on the diamond. He spurned multiple colleges throughout the recruiting process that would not allow him to also play baseball.

Ashford could potentially become the most prized type of baseball prospect: a five-tool player. A baseball player that has speed, power, elite arm strength, the ability to hit for average and can field the position is said to possess all five tools.

“He’s got multiple tools,” Hoover baseball coach Adam Moseley said. “He has power, he can fly, steals a lot of bases, covers a lot of ground in the outfield. The arm hasn’t shown itself yet, because last year he was still recovering.”

The sport is certainly not an afterthought for Ashford either. He was named all-state honorable mention in both sports last school year.

“I started playing baseball before I played football,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’ve loved playing my whole life.”

Moseley pointed to the examples of Garrett Farquhar and Christopher Vacarella, former Hoover quarterbacks who also starred for the baseball team. Ashford hopes to replicate the feat of Farquhar, who wrapped up his career with state titles in football and baseball in the same school year.

“Senior season,” Ashford said, “got to go out with a bang.”