Max Hyson won’t have to go far to continue his football career after the Durango High School senior signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks.
Hyson, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker, chose the hometown Skyhawks over Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes Colorado Mesa University and Colorado School of Mines. He made his commitment official on National Signing Day on Wednesday in a special celebration at DHS.
“Interacting with the coaching staff made me feel like this is where I want to be, and all my other visits didn’t give me that feeling,” Hyson said. “Someone made a good point and asked, ‘If you had a career-ending injury on the first day of your first practice, is this still where you want to go to school?’ That made me really look in the mirror and realize this is where I want to be.”
Hyson was a three-year starter for the Demons and recorded at least 74 tackles and eight tackles for a loss in each of his three seasons. For his career, Hyson has 251 total tackles, 31 tackles for a loss, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
“Max is a great athlete and he can do a lot of different things,” FLC head coach Joe Morris said. “You can play him all over the place and I think he’s going to be a great linebacker. He’s aggressive and a guy who will play 1,000 miles per hour.”
Staying close to home was a bonus for Hyson, as was getting the opportunity to play with a fellow DHS alum and current FLC linebacker in Isiah Mayberry.
“Isiah’s up there, and I’ll get to play with Isiah and we’ll be the Durango guys,” Hyson said. “And I’m excited to hopefully bring an RMAC title back to Durango and see how excited everybody would be.”
At FLC, Hyson plans to major in the sciences with a career path toward engineering or the medical field, but he isn’t sure which at this time.
Hyson and the Skyhawks will begin their 2018 season on Sept. 1 when they host New Mexico Highlands University at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
