Editor’s note: Over the next three weeks, the Star is counting down the top high school football players in Southern Arizona. Up next: Walden Grove wide receiver Duncan Hoover.
Name: Duncan Hoover
Rundown: The 6-foot-4-inch, 205-pound senior will start at wide receiver for Walden Grove.
Who he is: At 17 years of age, Hoover already towers over both his parents. His mom is 5-10 and his dad is 6-1, so Duncan’s growth spurt surprised the whole family.
“We always joke about it,” Hoover said. “It just sort of came out of nowhere.”
And with great height, comes a great catch radius on the field for the star receiver.
“Duncan comes down with any ball I throw his way,” said Jason Stevens, Hoover’s quarterback at Walden Grove.
Added Walden Grove coach Corey Noble, “Duncan is a freak.”
In 2020, the Red Wolves played in just four games. In those contests, Hoover caught 27 passes for 336 yards and four touchdowns.
“That guy is special when the ball is in the air,” Noble said.
Heading into his final high school football season, Hoover wants to accomplish as much as possible in hopes of standing out to college teams. After not playing much his freshman and sophomore seasons, Hoover has a sense of urgency.
“I’m just super motivated this season after not having a full year of tape,” Hoover said. “It drives me and all of the other players on our team, too.”
He spent the offseason training with former Santa Rita High School and Pima College product Cam Gaddis as well as former Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Kyle Day in order to maximize his potential. Hoover said the pair of mentors has helped him become more explosive, develop better route running techniques and increase his strength.
The Red Wolves’ receiver gained 25 pounds since last season, a development that’s caught the attention of the Walden Grove coaches during preseason practices.
“He’s one of the strongest guys on the team now,” Noble said.
Proof he’s good: In Walden Grove’s second game of the season last year, senior wide receiver Ty McDermott suffered an injury and had to exit the game.
Hoover, the team’s No. 2 receiver at the time, became Steven’s top target and torched the Cougars to set a school-record 13 catches for nearly 200 yards.
“I took that as it was my time to step up and really show what I could do,” Hoover said.
In addition to his receiving success, Hoover excels in the classroom as well, boasting a 4.0 GPA. Noble says that Hoover excelling on and off the field is a primary reason why the pass-catcher is one of Walden Grove’s team captains.
“He’s going to be that dominant No. 1 receiver for us this season,” Noble said.
He said it: “Any ball thrown to me is a catchable ball. Whenever a ball is thrown toward me, everything in my mind is just focused on it. It’s like slow motion.” — Hoover
