Posted by
Jennifer Wake-Floyd
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Mon, Apr 26, 2010
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Football
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University of the Cumberlands PJ Hughes (Montezuma, GA) has been selected as the 2009-10 Mid-South Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. This honor is decided by vote of the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives and announced by Commissioner Mike Pollio.
Hughes, a senior, has been a four year member of the Patriots football team where he plays in the linebacker position. He has a double major in Business Administration and Communication and is on track to graduate with the highest honors Cumberlands bestows in May having maintained a minimum of a 3.85 cumulative standing throughout his career. He has been named to the Dean's List at Cumberlands for six semesters, is a three time member of the Mid-South Conference All-Academic team, and a two time NAIA Academic All-American. PJ plans to complete an internship with the Rollins Corporation in Atlanta this summer.
While at Cumberlands, Hughes has experienced a lot of success over his collegiate career. Three Mid-South Conference East Division championships, three trips to the NAIA National Football Play-off Series, the 2009 East Division Defensive Player of the Year, the only NAIA member named to the 2009 AFCA Good Works Team, and 2008 Mid-South Conference Honorable Mention are just a few. Defensively, Hughes stepped up in his third year as a starter and led the Patriots this season with 97 total tackles and recorded an interception. Hughes ended his career with 334 total tackles which ranks him second all-time in the record book for most tackles in a career.
Hughes is modest in his statements of what he does for others. He really is sacrificing and giving in multiple areas. He has served as a S.T.A.R. (Student Trained and Read) in the Freshman Insights program at the University of the Cumberlands and as an academic peer tutor in the University's Academic Resource Center. Hughes is also an active member in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and also leads a Life Group for Baptist Campus Ministries at Cumberlands. Reading at the local elementary schools for Dr. Seuss week and other special events as well as escorting patients at the Nursing Home in their annual beauty pageant are just additional items that Hughes does without noticing the impact he makes on others.
The icing on the cake may be his mission trips. He traveled with his Uncle's church, Social Circle Methodist in Social Circle, Georgia, to Hollis, Alaska for a mission trip in the summer of 2007. They were there for eight days and worked about 12 hours a day finishing building a church and fixing the pastor's house. In the spring of 2009, Hughes traveled to New Orleans with Cumberlands Baptist Campus Ministries to help with an after school program in a local neighborhood. While there his group also helped fix up the Baptist Center that they stayed in and did some street evangelism in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Athletic Director Randy Vernon commented, "Congratulations to PJ Hughes for being named the Mid-South Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This is the most prestigious award given by the conference and I can't think of a more deserving student-athlete. He is to be commended for his ability to balance his academics with his athletic participation and to do soon a very high level. My best wishes go to PJ in his future endeavors."
Hughes is the son of Bobby and Sydney Hughes.
In a recent interview about his career, Hughes stated, "I have learned that as a student-athlete people are always watching everything we do. And, I have also learned that our true character is not defined by how we act when people are watching, but by the things we do when no one is around."
Cumberlands athletic program prides themselves in not only hard work and discipline on the athletic fields but off as well. Hughes has been an excellent example of the necessary traits required to be a Patriot.
