Once Pete Dinovo departed to UCF, the question mark around East Lake football was pretty easy to see, “What will the Eagles do at QB?” A few unfamiliar guys competed for the position; Brandon Swift and Jake Hudson. Hudson would eventually win the starting job, but not with out the, “Coach’s kid” back flack.

Jake is the son of East Lake head football coach, Bob Hudson. It’s gotta suck to be the son of the head coach, especially playing the premier position on the team. There will always be the excuse of “He only got the job because he is the coach’s kid” and at some point; the coach’s kid gets tired of hearing it. So, happens when the “Coach’s kid” gets tired of hearing it? Maybe something like….

• Guide East Lake to their first undefeated regular season in school history
• Guide East Lake to the most wins in a season in school history (13)
• Guide East Lake to the state class 7A simi-finals
• Guide East Lake to 19 wins and 1 loss as the starting QB

Go back to last season. Plenty of football fans will argue that Hudson didn’t do much in those wins. They will argue that Artavis Scott, Weston Fordham and George Campbell were a bigger part of the team’s success, more so than Hudson. Fine! Was Jerry Rice a bigger part of the 49ers success than Joe Montana? Was Emmitt Smith a bigger part off the Dallas Cowboys success than Troy Aikman? Was “Beast Mode” a bigger part of the Seattle Seahawks success than Russell Wilson? Whatever your answer, it will work. But Hudson did what was ask of him and played a big role as a teammate to help East Lake win last year and this year.

He wasn’t asked to put the team on his back and win any games. They beat most of the teams they played by 30 points or more. He wasn’t asked to pass the ball 25 times a game. The offensive line was moving the line of scrimmage and Fordham was averaging 8 yards each carry. Did he ever have to lead the team on long drives? Likely so, but the defense and the special teams play provided favorable field position many times.

The fact is, No matter how you feel about the “The Coach’s Kid,” he is getting it done. The numbers speak volumes. The team has only lost one game since he has been the starter at the position with the most responsibility. He is not asked to be Tom Brady, though he is a 60% passer for his career. He has 28 pass TDs to just 10 career INTs. He takes care of the football and the offense operates smoothly with him behind center. The “Coach’s Kid” is winning!