Trey Hubbard always wanted to be a quarterback. It was the position he tried out for as a freshman.
Two days later he was a fullback and linebacker. The next year he was a linebacker and tight end and he was getting some playing time, especially on defense.
As a junior, though, he was moving again, this time to defensive tackle and tight end.
"When they're freshmen we let our kids go for whatever position they want," East Ridge coach Tracy Malone said. "I told Trey then he could try it for a couple of days, but if it wasn't going to work I'd tell him."
*Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/13/15. East Ridge head coach Tracy Malone watches his team play Chattanooga Christian at the Pioneer's home field on Friday, November 13, 2015.The Pioneers in those days were running a quarterback-oriented spread offense with dual threat JoJo Tillery running a lot as well as passing, and Hubbard wasn't from the same mold physically.
It was, though, just the first of several moves Hubbard would make over the next four years.
"I texted Trey back in the summer after we'd started practice and told him we were moving him to offensive guard, that the move was what was best for the team," Malone recalled. "He texted back, 'I'll change jersey (numbers) Monday,' and he's been a stalwart ever since."
It is the mindset that permeates Malone's football team - that ages-old Musketeers motto of all for one and one for all.
"I thought about it and at least I was getting to play and help the team," Hubbard said of Malone's text and his response. "If the coaches felt I could best contribute there, then that's what I was going to do. It was, all of it, an opportunity to get better."
There was, though, another change in the offing. Hubbard found himself at defensive tackle and offensive guard but then also playing fullback when the Pioneers went to their goal-line and wildcat sets.
He often has been a key cog in the sling that catapults running back Traneil Moore, who last week used a 251-yard performance to top the 2,000-yard plateau for the season.
"Trey is extremely football smart. He picks up new concepts or tweaks quickly, and it has allowed us to be very multiple when he's in the backfield," Malone said. "Too, he has an unbelievable motor. He goes hard every snap in both practices and games.
The 5-foot-9, 215-pounder has played every spot along the defensive line.
"He might be a better defensive lineman just because he plays so hard. He's very athletic for a big kid - plays forward on the basketball team. He has a good first step and he's agile," Malone assessed. "I do believe that he could play fullback or H-back in college, but that's predicated on finding a college that utilizes those positions."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.