Graham quarterback Tucker Horn was masterful over the weekend en route to a Texas 7on7 Division II championship.
Courtesy of Horn’s accurate right arm, the Steers cruised to an unblemished record of 8-0 throughout their two-day stay in College Station, outscoring their opponents 343-to-184; a 159-point differential.
Of course, all 64 teams from around the state entered Division II pool play with aspirations of emerging as the last team standing, but did Graham realistically envision a perfect run to an Adidas 7on7 title, especially in such dominating fashion?
“Yes sir, that’s all we’ve worked for all summer,” Horn told TexasHSFootball. “We’ve gotten better. All the receivers have been coming out, working hard every day to get routes down. The defense did a heck of a job all tournament. There’s no other defense like that.”
Pair a defense that Horn couldn’t help but rave about with an offense that churned out nearly 43 points each time out and the result is a feeling the senior-to-be described as unmatched.
“There’s no other feeling like it,” Horn said. “It was great to see Abilene Wylie there and they’re an awesome team, but we are so glad that we were in front of that [Adidas Championship Sign] taking pictures as champions.”
“I look into every one of their eyes and everybody wants to win,” Horn added. “There’s no doubt in my mind that anybody doesn’t care.”
Graham had the same aspirations to win during the 2016 season, and did so to an extent before falling in the playoffs to Monahans 42-21, finishing at 7-5 on the season. If nothing else, the successful weekend in College Station sent the Steers back to Graham with something invaluable for their future – confidence and mental fortitude.
“It’s going to give us a lot of confidence,” Horn said of what winning Division II title can do for the Steers in 2017. “To come out here in this hot weather and play; those receivers probably ran miles and miles. The defense did a great job, too, and this is going to give us mental fortitude and the right mind to win a lot of games.”
Confidence and mental fortitude now added; the hope for Horn and the Steers is that their imposing performance in the state 7on7 championships catapults Graham into 2017.
“We’re going to win district first,” Horn said of Graham’s goals next season. “We’re going to win game one and then we’ll go from there. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
While district and one game at a time may be all the team, as a whole, will be thinking about, Horn has another major factor regarding his future to evaluate between now and National Signing Day – recruiting.
To date, the gunslinger who tossed for 2,625 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior is garnering interest from a number of Ivy League schools including Dartmouth, Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard. He’s still far from the point of a decision, but Horn is pleased with the options at hand.
“You can’t go to any one of those schools and be like ‘man, I don’t like this,’” Horn said. “And it’s not just those four years, it’s the years after that. It will serve you a lifetime; getting a good education.”
Whether it comes by way of the field or the classroom, the small-town product appears to have a future ahead of him brighter than the lights he’ll soon be suiting up under in the coming months. But prior to majoring in business at the institution of his choice in 2018, Horn’s hope is to take care of business on the field in 2017, just as he did in College Station over the weekend.
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