Curtis Hughes' life has gradually gotten more difficult. He swears he doesn't mind.
Hughes is Minnesota's reserve tight end, the guy who is normally called upon when the Gophers go to a two-tight end formation, or when the situation calls for an extra blocker on the line. His specialty is the grunt work, knocking down pass-rushers who usually have a couple of steps of momentum behind them.
How unheralded is his role? The 23-year-old senior has played 31 games as an eligible receiver -- and has yet to catch a pass.
Which is fine by Hughes, because he's got his hands full on the line.
"Every week, (opponents) are putting bigger guys" across the line from him, Hughes said. "Last week, they put a noseguard there. The week before, a 300-pound tackle. They're turning me into a (offensive) tackle."
But the Chicago native knew it was coming, knew that his contribution would be more important as the season wore on. The Gophers were primarily a between-the-tackles running team over the first half of the season, but as opposing defenses saw it on film, the holes inside became smaller and rarer. With Thomas Hammock taking over the play-calling last week, and particularly once fullback Jon Hoese strained his hamstring and was unavailable to hit the holes ahead of him, tailback DeLeon Eskridge was sent wide far more than in previous games, around the edge where Hughes was adding to the blocking corps.
"We always expected this to happen, that they'd start game-planning that way as the season progressed," Hughes said. "We've been preparing for it."
Hughes prepares by practicing as one of the offensive linemen, "doing pad-level stuff, getting my second foot in the ground," he said. So how does he deal with defensive linemen who sometimes are far bigger than his 250-pound frame?
Hughes shook his head. "You've just got to man up, basically."
The same could be said for the entire season, though the offensive line has been one of the few bright spots for the Gophers, having allowed only nine sacks in eight games. This week, the challenge is Ohio State, with its Big Ten-leading run-stoppers on the line.
The Gophers are not intimidated, Hughes said. "It doesn't do you any good to build somebody up. They have talented athletes, but it's not like Ohio State has all the best players," said Hughes, pointing out that Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue leads the conference with 6 1/2 sacks, but had none against the Gophers. "If we set our minds to it, anything is possible. To start the season 1-7 and then beat a team that talented, it would give us a lot of respect."
