STARKVILLE – Kent Hull had his fair share of stories to tell.
Kent Hull, pictured here in his last game with the Buffalo Bills in 1996, was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. (AP Photo/John Hickey)
Whether it’s that first snap in an SEC game in 1979, when the center flung his arm but never snapped the ball, or the day he helped Mississippi State knock off No. 1 Alabama in Jackson, the former MSU and NFL great will be remembered vividly for his deeds off the field and his game-changing moments on it.
Hull died Tuesday at the age of 50.
I’m certain Rick Cleveland will have a great column reflecting on Hull, a player he covered on the MSU beat, in tomorrow’s Clarion-Ledger, so I won’t try and waste your time with my own words. What I can do is share a few stories from the conversations I had with Hull’s friends and former teammates Tuesday night. A few of their quotes are included in today’s story in The Clarion-Ledger, but the extended snippets that we could not fit in the paper can be viewed in the space below:
“He was a mountain of a man but his heart was about a quarter of an inch below his skin. He loved children and he was real involved with Batson (Hospital for Children) and Make-A-Wish Foundation. For all of the people in the circles he ran with and the accolades he received, he was always humble. He was a country boy at heart. That’s all he cared about.
“He was just a good guy and deserved an awful lot. We were hopeful he would be in the NFL Hall of Fame and all the players he played with felt he should be in the Hall of Fame.”
“I remember it was the Thursday night before we beat Alabama 6-3. I had my guys around me and Kent was the ring leader. He would keep me under control because I was a wild child and I’d get after it a little bit. Well, the Thursday night before we played Alabama, I got in a little scuffle and my right hand was beat up pretty good. Let’s just leave it at that. That night, Kent looked at me as we were riding home. ‘J.B., you need stitches, you need stitches. Let’s go some place and get you stitched up.’ Well, we quickly realized: You can’t do that. You won’t be able to play Saturday. I said, ‘Don’t stitch it up then.’ So we want back to the dorm and wrapped it up. The Friday practice wasn’t bad but on Saturday, the day of the game, I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I was bleeding all over Kent. Kent had blood from his butt to his ankles and it wasn’t his blood. Everybody after the game was asking Kent: ‘Kent, are you OK?’ And he’d just tell ‘em that, ‘It’s J.B. you need to worry about.’
“I hadn’t told that story and (Hull’s wife) Kay probably doesnt know about it.”
Off the field, the MSU players from the teams in the early 1980s remained close after their playing days. Hull, described as “the rock we would all lean on” by Karatassos, was one of Bond’s closest friends. Hull was a groomsmen in Bond’s first wedding, in fact. A memory during one of the darkest moments in Bond’s life will always stick with the former quarterback, who lost his son in an automobile accident at the age of 20 in February of 2010.
“This is why I break down,” Bond said, voice shaking. “I’m sitting at my son’s funeral and Kent drove all the way from Greenwood to Valdosta, Ga., and he didn’t call me or ask me or say anything. I’m walking toward the church and he comes up to me and grabs my neck and says, ‘I love you brother.’
“That was just the way he was. He was that kind of guy. And then he turned around and drove home.”
“We both grew up in the Delta and I remember Kent dipping Skoal during one game. How are you dipping skoal during a game? Hew as so comfortable playing the position, he was dipping skoal.
“You know, we were family. We would always talk a lot about things and he could just relax. It’s so strange he could do something like that and play. Those country boys can do that.”
Hull’s coach at MSU, Emory Bellard, died in February. Hull, former MSU players have told me, was one of Bellard’s favorite players on the team. At only 215 pounds, Hull was pushed into action as a freshman in a game against Maryland after Bill Bell and Greg Benefield were knocked out of the game with injuries.
Maryland won 35-14, but Bellard had this to say following Hull’s first of many days as MSU’s center (via David Murray of Dawgs Bite magazine and MSU media relations contact Joe Dier):
“Kent is not near the football player that he will be some day, and he’s not nearly as strong or experienced as a lot of centers around the country,” Bellard said in 1979. “But he’s going to make a fine football player and he’s done a heck of a job under the circumstances under which he’s had to play. He’s been as steady as the Rock of Gibraltar.”
Update, 12:55 p.m.: The Buffalo Bills organization released several statements this morning.
The Buffalo Bills organization is deeply saddened with the passing of Kent Hull. Kent was a great team leader from our Super Bowl years and the anchor of our Pro Bowl offensive line.
To those who knew him, he will long be remembered as the epitome of toughness. But more so, he was a great man who cared deeply for his family, his friends and his teammates.
We will miss him terribly, but remember him forever. We extend our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Kay, his children Drew and Ellen, and his entire family.
I am so very saddened to hear of the passing of Kent Hull.
Kent was a terrific player for us, who was often overshadowed by some of the bigger names we had in our Super Bowl years. But Kent was one of the key components of our team and of our high-powered offenses in the 90’s that enjoyed so much success.
But he was so much more than just a good player on a good team. He was a great leader on and off the field and respected by everyone who knew him. He was a true gentleman who was as nice as anyone you’d ever want to meet and as tough as any player I’ve ever known. If you were lucky enough to have Kent as a friend, you had a cherished friend for life.
This is a sad day for me and all of us in the Bills organization as well as all of our fans. I will miss Kent very much, but will always remember fondly the great man and great player that he was.
I want to offer my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay and his entire family in this most difficult time.
Kent Hull was one of the most memorable players that I coached during my long 47-year career. He was one of the most outstanding young men I’ve ever known. Kent was a fantastic teammate and a great leader. He had outstanding ability and was a wonderful family man.
Kent was revered by his teammates, coaches, all of the great Buffalo Bills fans and certainly by me.
Kent was an incredible teammate, human being and friend. No matter what you’re status was on the team he treated everyone the same. His humor, personality and integrity were so genuine.
It’s certainly a sad day for his family, the Bills family and all of those who loved him.
In everybody’s life they need some quality people and very few people have the ability to help make a change in one’s life. Kent Hull was one of those people for a lot of us on the Buffalo Bills.
He was a positive influence, a great example and a relentless friend.
When I came into the league, Kent was instantly my guardian. I would talk noise on the field only because I knew that he’d be there every time to defend and protect me. I owe a lot of that stitching in my Hall of Fame jacket to Kent Hull.
Our hearts are broken. Myself, my wife Patti and our four children send our love and prayers to his wonderful family.
He was my teammate, a brother and a best friend. He will be in my heart forever.
You can find more about Hull in the links below:
Former MSU, NFL great Hull dies at 50 No player may have been more important to the Buffalo Bills than Kent Hull Buffalo greats react to the news of Hull’s death Rick Cleveland reacts to the news to the death of one of his favorite athletes Buffalo Bills fans react to the news of Hull’s death Video: A recap of Hull’s playing career Video: Hull visits the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children In retirement, the Super Bowl was “just another Sunday” for Hull Photo Gallery: Hull through the years Hull sits down for a Q&A with The Clarion-Ledger in August of 2010
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