Editor’s note: The Star is counting down the 22 best high school football players in Southern Arizona, in no particular order.
Name: Hunter Schlagel
The rundown: Schlagel is a 6-foot-2-inch, 278-pound senior at Cienega High School.
Who he is: Schlagel, the best defensive lineman in Southern Arizona, has been on Cienega’s varsity team since his freshman season. But the soft-spoken Schlagel took a while to become an imposing force.
“The No. 1 thing I had to learn was to be physical,” Schlagel said. “When you’re right in the middle of everything, you can’t be a softie. You gotta bite your mouthpiece and not be weak and hit ’em hard.”
A fan of the Indianapolis Colts, Schlagel has adopted the playing styles from some of the NFL’s top defensive linemen. He admires the Rams’ Aaron Donald “for how physical he is,” and says he likes the speed off the line from the Texans’ J.J. Watt and the 49ers’ Nick Bosa.
Schlagel has always been able to time snap-counts and surge at the line of scrimmage, but he struggled with hand placement and how to use them. During the offseason, Schlagel worked with a professional trainer on hand-fighting techniques that have improved his hand speed.
“It’s kinda surprising how stuff off the field can help you with on the field,” Schlagel said. “It wasn’t really boxing, but it had certain aspects of that. It wasn’t necessarily karate, but it was very similar. … I think it’s going to make a noticeable difference, because last year I didn’t use my hands, I just used my strength. But at the next level that’s not going to work.”
Schlagel spent his long COVID-19 layoff working out and playing video games. Nothing else.
“He’s just getting bigger, faster and stronger, and his weight room numbers are crazy right now,” Cienega coach Pat Nugent said.
“He’s as good of a defensive and offensive lineman that I’ve had. He’s just a violent kid that will just dominate right now.”
Now Schlagel is prepared to lead Cienega’s defense for one last hurrah. After three years on varsity, the seven-game season — slated to begin at Canyon del Oro on Oct. 30 — could be Schlagel’s best one yet.
“It’s been vigorous,” Schlagel said. “When I was a freshman, I had to sit there and think, ‘I gotta be all-in. I have to give everything that I have.’”
Proof he’s good: Schlagel received Class 5A Southern Region Defensive Player of the Year honors after recording 43 tackles and three sacks as a junior.
“That’s unheard of that a nose guard gets to be Defensive Player of the Year, but that just shows the dominant presence he has on the defensive line,” Nugent said.
Schlagel has received scholarship offers from Northern Arizona and Tarleton State, and New Mexico is also interested. Schlagel also has scholarship offers from Division II Washburn, Western New Mexico and Western Minnesota.
He said it: “His confidence level is through the roof and he plays angry. He was a passive kid his freshman and sophomore year. He was nice and didn’t say boo, but right now? He’s a killer. You get him mad on the field and he’s just a dominant force and I think the mentality that he plays with, compared to where he was two years ago, he wants to dominate and embarrass kids. … People are going to be scared of Hunter this year.” — Nugent
