Each Tuesday, BRSN sits down for a Q & A session with the BRSN Athlete of the Week. This week, we caught up with our fifth Athlete of the Week Junior Big Red Football running back Luke Hagy following his strong performance leading the Big Red to a 30-27 victory over Columbia for the team’s first win of the season.
BRSN: Luke thanks for taking the time out to speak with us and congrats on the victory this weekend. Personally, you had a huge game, arguably the best of your college career with 3 touchdowns, 167 yards of offense (148 rushing, 19 receiving) which marked a career high. What were some of the contributing factors to your success against Columbia?
LH: I had a lot of success on Saturday, but that was because the offense as a whole played well. It all starts with the offensive line and they did a great job of making holes for me to run in and we did a nice job in the passing game to help open up the run game. It was more that the offense had great success on Saturday!
BRSN: It seems like you’ve progressively improved as the season has gone with some of your best games coming in the last few weeks. Is there any correlation between that success and the stability that Robert Somborn has brought to the offense, specifically by opening up the passing game?
LH: It seems that every year I finish off the season better than I had started, but I would say that Robert has definitely played a big role in that as well. He has been playing great and has made a lot of great throws that make it easier to run the ball. It makes it more difficult for the defense when we can run and throw the ball.
BRSN: You broke a season high 63 yard touchdown run which ended up being the deciding factor in the team’s 30-27 victory. What was going through your mind on that play and where does it rank among your favorite plays of your career?
LH: After I broke the tackle from the safety I just kept thinking to myself “Don’t get caught, don’t get caught!”. The offensive line did a great job of opening up a huge hole for me. It was definitely one of my favorite plays just because it was such a big play in the game and gave us the lead in a very close game.
BRSN: You and the team are finally back in the win column for the first time since the 2013 season. For a team that is going through a growth and development process this season, how important was this win for improving confidence and validating the progress that this team has made this year?
LH: The win meant a lot because our goal each week is to keep getting better and that is something that we have done all season long, but unfortunately we hadn’t had a win to show that to everyone else. We knew we were getting better and it was nice to get that first W.
BRSN: This season you have shown of your ability to be a duel threat on offense through your success as both a running back and a receiver. Can you share a little bit about your approach as a player and what leads to your ability to impact the offense in more ways than one.
LH: I love running the ball but I also have a ton of fun running routes. When I came to Cornell I knew I was going to have the ability to run the ball and also catch a lot of passes just from the type of offense we had at the time. I think it is good for the offense because it makes the defense game plan for more situations.
BRSN: With just one game left in your Junior year season, what have you enjoyed most about playing football for the Big Red over the past 3 years?
LH: I definitely enjoy the people and the players in the Big Red football program the most. It is always sad when the senior class leaves because they have made such an impact on us, but at the same time the next year we are getting a whole new freshman class of great kids. We have a great coaching staff that only recruit great kids, so the best thing about playing football is playing such a great game with all of your best friends.
BRSN: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you that you’d like to share with fans of Cornell and more specifically Big Red Football?
LH: Hmmm that’s a tough one. This is kind of lame, but I am a huge Pitch Perfect fan. It’s probably my favorite movie.
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