Maple Grove running back Evan Hull rushed for over 2,100 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, helping the Crimson to its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance.
This fall, the incoming senior hopes to help the team win its first state championship.
Hull, a first-team Star Tribune all-metro performer last season, is one of four co-captains leading the Crimson into its offseason workouts, which started this week. He said the team's motto for the upcoming season is "no retakes," a nod to the fact that one bad game could end its season.
"It's all about mental toughness," Hull said of the team's state-championship aspirations. "It's really more a mental game than a physical game in that aspect."
Hull made Maple Grove's varsity as a sophomore but played sparingly, rushing for 72 yards in three games. He assumed the starting role at the beginning of last season and rushed for 1,270 yards and nine touchdowns in eight regular-season games.
Hull was especially effective in Maple Grove's four state-tournament games, rushing for 10 touchdowns and an average of 226 yards per game. That output included a 397-yard, four-touchdown game in the second round and a 190-yard, two-touchdown game in the quarterfinals against St. Michael-Albertville. Hull rushed for the game-winning touchdown with four seconds remaining against the Knights to cap a 17-point comeback in the game's final 59 seconds.
"There was a strange sense of confidence in the team," Hull said of the comeback. "Not only did nobody give up, but nobody really panicked. It was like everybody knew what they were supposed to do and everybody went out and did it."
Hull said he wants to become a more versatile running back, develop better hands and improve his pass blocking this offseason, also expressing interest in playing a bigger role in his team's passing game. He's also learning the defensive playbook and said he could play safety this season.