BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School’s football program received a pleasant surprise in the form of a $10,000 donation toward chartering buses for away games from NFL player Hayden Hurst.
Hurst’s parents, Jerry and Cathy, presented Varsity Head Coach Jamie Rodgers with a check on Aug. 5.
“We’ve had a place down here for eight or 10 years,” said Jerry Hurst, who lives with his wife in a home on Sampson Lake. “Hayden loves coming out here and seeing the place and just being a part of the community.”
Jerry said his son has come to love the community so much, he wanted to make a donation to the BHS football program.
“He didn’t play here,” Rodgers said. “It’s something he didn’t have to do. It’s just something he’s doing to be generous.”
While the $10,000 will go specifically toward transportation to away games, which was Hayden Hurst’s idea, the BHS program will benefit from an additional $5,000 that can go toward other needs, thanks to a matching program by the NFL. The Hurst family will take care of all the paperwork and requirements to receive the matching funds.
Jerry Hurst, in presenting the donation, remembered his time as a football player at Jacksonville’s The Bolles School, which is also where Hayden played. He was part of a team in 1974 that had a losing record, with one of those losses coming against BHS by a score of 27-9.
The following season, the team had a new head coach, who went about changing the culture. Jerry Hurst said that included chartering buses for away games as well as providing such things as new travel outfits.
“We went from going 3-6-1 and getting our butts beat every Friday to 10-0 the next year and the first district championship,” Jerry Hurst said, adding, “It was just by changing the attitude. Changing the culture.”
Rodgers told the Hursts he had been having conversations with the Touchdown Club’s Jimmie Clark about changing the culture at BHS and wanting to have the team ride charter buses to games. They didn’t know how they were going to get the funds to make that happen. Rodgers said two days later, he got the call from Jerry Hurst about Hayden’s donation.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Cathy Hurst said.
Hayden Hurst, a tight end who’s entering his fifth season in the NFL and first with the Bengals, has proven his willingness to help others. The $10,000 to the BHS football program was a personal donation, but he also makes donations on behalf of the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation. The foundation supports schools and veterans in the areas of mental health.
Southside Elementary School will benefit this year from the foundation, which is providing the In Focus curriculum as part of the school’s social/emotional learning program.
Mental health is important to Hayden Hurst. After being drafted to play baseball by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 2012 Bolles graduate struggled with depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Following therapy and the support of his family, Hurst left baseball and walked on at South Carolina University to play football. He went on to earn All-SEC honors and became South Carolina’s all-time leader in career receptions for a tight end. He also set school records for most receptions and receiving yards in a season by a tight end.
Hurst was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, but injuries opened the door for the tight end the Ravens drafted in the third round — Mark Andrews, who’s a Pro Bowler.
In 2020, Hurst was traded to Atlanta, but his playing time decreased in 2021 after the Falcons drafted Florida’s Kyle Pitts in the first round.
Hurst signed a one-year contract with the Bengals this year as a free agent and has been a standout in camp.
Cathy Hurst spoke with BHS football players about her son’s journey and encouraged them to be like her son, to never give up.
