Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
“I literally just want to be here” - Hughes embraces the work to return to MTSU defense
9/26/2024 9:29:00 AM | Football
The returning starter at linebacker made his first appearance of the 2024 season against Duke after rehabbing from a herniated disc.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The most miserable place to be on the Blue Raider football practice field is not in the crosshairs of a coach correcting a mistake, nor is it even on the sideline, waiting for your number to be called at all to jump into a play.
It's off to the side, with Strength and Conditioning Coach Jamie Blatnick, where the Blue Raiders that are injured go through their rehab assignments while their teammates play football. It varies depending on the injury, of course. Some players are on exercise bikes, others do band work. Nearly everyone, however, ends up pushing weights along the ground, or pulling them with their body, to build back strength as they return from injury.
Linebacker Parker Hughes, who rehabbed all of fall camp to return from injury for the Blue Raiders this September, said you have to go into a different zone mentally to focus on your work. And it does help to make it a bit of a game.
"I felt like it was just me over here, working with Coach Blatnick and trying to compete with him," Hughes said. "Put another 45 on there, just trying to work hard between me and me, because I knew that's what I had to do at the time."
Working hard just for himself perhaps defines the Blue Raider career of Hughes, who joined the program for the 2021 season as a walk-on after winning the 4A Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Player of the Year honor following his senior season at Elizabethton High School in 2020, the first Mr. Football ever for the Cyclones.
"Nobody's done that at my school," Hughes said of his alma mater, which he shares with former Dallas Cowboys great Jason Witten. "There's some good players that have come through there and to be the first one to do that, that was cool."
A two-way player in high school that graduated with 4,261 all-purpose yards while playing mostly receiver on offense; while compiling 151 tackles and 10 interceptions as a safety on defense, Hughes' speed made him attractive to many programs throughout college football as an offensive weapon. But Middle Tennessee was the only program who wanted Hughes to play defense, which he preferred.
Hughes made an early impact, earning snaps on special teams in four games as a true freshman while redshirting. But the stress of walking on took its toll. Hughes ended up transferring to Samford on full scholarship ahead of the 2022 season, but quickly felt out of place in Homewood, Ala., where the Bulldogs moved him to more of a true outside linebacker role that was more of a stand-up defensive end at times in the scheme.
"It just wasn't for me," Hughes said. "I wasn't comfortable there. I was just ready to do something else other than football."
Hughes planned to drop football altogether when he left the Samford program that summer. But when his old coaches, namely former MTSU linebackers coach Dustin Royston and former defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, heard he was quitting football, they jumped at the chance to bring the linebacker back to Murfreesboro, again as a walk-on. Hughes, who figured out what he was missing was just being a part of the Blue Raider program, agreed.
"I would not suggest anyone ever do that," Hughes said of transferring briefly away from their program. "But my mindset going forward...I just want to be here. It doesn't even matter if I play. I literally just want to be here. I took that approach and just worked hard."
Working out Hughes' eligibility with the NCAA took some time in 2022, but Hughes eventually got eligible and appeared in nine games down the stretch for the 2022 Hawai'i Bowl Champion team, making five starts at linebacker. Hughes still remembers his first start, on the road at UTEP, where he flashed his speed with five tackles, including a sack, and a blocked punt on special teams.
Hughes stayed in the lineup as a redshirt sophomore in 2023, starting 11 of MTSU's 12 games, finishing fourth on the team with 53 tackles, including 7.0 TFLs, 2.5 sacks. Not wanting to go through another transfer cycle, and also wanting to be the older mentor so many Blue Raiders were for him, Hughes stayed through the coaching change that offseason, something Derek Mason was excited about given Hughes' abilities.
"Parker can play inside the box, outside the box, he can match running backs, he can match tight ends," Mason said. "He can play in the middle zones, he's good versus the run, but he can find space in the pass, and he's a great blitzer."
A herniated disc, first felt during a deadlift during offseason weightlifting when Hughes said he felt numbness and tingling in his legs, put Hughes on the mend shortly after spring practice. While some herniated discs can be treated without surgery, Hughes' had moved so far off from where it was supposed to be that he needed to undergo surgery to repair the problem. That left Hughes with a months-long process to return to the field.
It ranged from the basic, just walking increasingly long distances each day, Hughes said. About six weeks in, he finally got the go-ahead to workout to build up for the season, which is how he spent much of fall camp on the sidelines with Coach Blatnick dragging weights up and down the field.
Not all of the time, though. As Hughes got cleared to do more, he worked in on scout team in practice to get reps ahead of his return to play. As a former walk on, it was a role Hughes was excited to jump back into.
"If you're over there, you go over there to get better," Hughes said. "Mentally, you don't think about it as scout team. You play hard, continue to work on what you've got to work on, detail it up. If you need to be a linebacker that's more physical, you do that over there."
Finally, in MTSU's fourth game of the season, Hughes finally made his return to the lineup. He flashed many of the same skills that made him breakout the previous two seasons, great speed and a good nose for the ball in particular. The linebacker led the Blue Raiders with eight tackles against Duke and even forced a Blue Devil fumble.
But Hughes is mostly glad that return is out of the way. Because now the game can slow back down for him.
"The game was really fast for me at first," Hughes said of his return. "Those first two drives, it wasn't too bad, but I was wanting to play super fast, I needed to slow down a little bit."
For his head coach, he's just excited his defense gets another piece back to get better against Memphis on Saturday.
"For me, you get a great tool coming back," Mason said of Hughes' return to the lineup. "And I think we saw parts of that last week in his first game back...He's one of those guys that allows us to do a lot of things."
It's off to the side, with Strength and Conditioning Coach Jamie Blatnick, where the Blue Raiders that are injured go through their rehab assignments while their teammates play football. It varies depending on the injury, of course. Some players are on exercise bikes, others do band work. Nearly everyone, however, ends up pushing weights along the ground, or pulling them with their body, to build back strength as they return from injury.
Linebacker Parker Hughes, who rehabbed all of fall camp to return from injury for the Blue Raiders this September, said you have to go into a different zone mentally to focus on your work. And it does help to make it a bit of a game.
"I felt like it was just me over here, working with Coach Blatnick and trying to compete with him," Hughes said. "Put another 45 on there, just trying to work hard between me and me, because I knew that's what I had to do at the time."
Working hard just for himself perhaps defines the Blue Raider career of Hughes, who joined the program for the 2021 season as a walk-on after winning the 4A Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Player of the Year honor following his senior season at Elizabethton High School in 2020, the first Mr. Football ever for the Cyclones.
"Nobody's done that at my school," Hughes said of his alma mater, which he shares with former Dallas Cowboys great Jason Witten. "There's some good players that have come through there and to be the first one to do that, that was cool."
A two-way player in high school that graduated with 4,261 all-purpose yards while playing mostly receiver on offense; while compiling 151 tackles and 10 interceptions as a safety on defense, Hughes' speed made him attractive to many programs throughout college football as an offensive weapon. But Middle Tennessee was the only program who wanted Hughes to play defense, which he preferred.
Hughes made an early impact, earning snaps on special teams in four games as a true freshman while redshirting. But the stress of walking on took its toll. Hughes ended up transferring to Samford on full scholarship ahead of the 2022 season, but quickly felt out of place in Homewood, Ala., where the Bulldogs moved him to more of a true outside linebacker role that was more of a stand-up defensive end at times in the scheme.
"It just wasn't for me," Hughes said. "I wasn't comfortable there. I was just ready to do something else other than football."
Hughes planned to drop football altogether when he left the Samford program that summer. But when his old coaches, namely former MTSU linebackers coach Dustin Royston and former defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, heard he was quitting football, they jumped at the chance to bring the linebacker back to Murfreesboro, again as a walk-on. Hughes, who figured out what he was missing was just being a part of the Blue Raider program, agreed.
"I would not suggest anyone ever do that," Hughes said of transferring briefly away from their program. "But my mindset going forward...I just want to be here. It doesn't even matter if I play. I literally just want to be here. I took that approach and just worked hard."
Working out Hughes' eligibility with the NCAA took some time in 2022, but Hughes eventually got eligible and appeared in nine games down the stretch for the 2022 Hawai'i Bowl Champion team, making five starts at linebacker. Hughes still remembers his first start, on the road at UTEP, where he flashed his speed with five tackles, including a sack, and a blocked punt on special teams.
Hughes stayed in the lineup as a redshirt sophomore in 2023, starting 11 of MTSU's 12 games, finishing fourth on the team with 53 tackles, including 7.0 TFLs, 2.5 sacks. Not wanting to go through another transfer cycle, and also wanting to be the older mentor so many Blue Raiders were for him, Hughes stayed through the coaching change that offseason, something Derek Mason was excited about given Hughes' abilities.
"Parker can play inside the box, outside the box, he can match running backs, he can match tight ends," Mason said. "He can play in the middle zones, he's good versus the run, but he can find space in the pass, and he's a great blitzer."
A herniated disc, first felt during a deadlift during offseason weightlifting when Hughes said he felt numbness and tingling in his legs, put Hughes on the mend shortly after spring practice. While some herniated discs can be treated without surgery, Hughes' had moved so far off from where it was supposed to be that he needed to undergo surgery to repair the problem. That left Hughes with a months-long process to return to the field.
It ranged from the basic, just walking increasingly long distances each day, Hughes said. About six weeks in, he finally got the go-ahead to workout to build up for the season, which is how he spent much of fall camp on the sidelines with Coach Blatnick dragging weights up and down the field.
Not all of the time, though. As Hughes got cleared to do more, he worked in on scout team in practice to get reps ahead of his return to play. As a former walk on, it was a role Hughes was excited to jump back into.
"If you're over there, you go over there to get better," Hughes said. "Mentally, you don't think about it as scout team. You play hard, continue to work on what you've got to work on, detail it up. If you need to be a linebacker that's more physical, you do that over there."
Finally, in MTSU's fourth game of the season, Hughes finally made his return to the lineup. He flashed many of the same skills that made him breakout the previous two seasons, great speed and a good nose for the ball in particular. The linebacker led the Blue Raiders with eight tackles against Duke and even forced a Blue Devil fumble.
But Hughes is mostly glad that return is out of the way. Because now the game can slow back down for him.
"The game was really fast for me at first," Hughes said of his return. "Those first two drives, it wasn't too bad, but I was wanting to play super fast, I needed to slow down a little bit."
For his head coach, he's just excited his defense gets another piece back to get better against Memphis on Saturday.
"For me, you get a great tool coming back," Mason said of Hughes' return to the lineup. "And I think we saw parts of that last week in his first game back...He's one of those guys that allows us to do a lot of things."
Players Mentioned
LB
/ FootballMTSU Football Signing Day Press Conference 12/3/25
Wednesday, December 03
MTSU Football at New Mexico State post-game press conference – 11/29/25
Sunday, November 30
MTSU Football at New Mexico State post-game press conference – 11/29/25
Saturday, November 29
Raider Report Game 12 - MTSU vs. New Mexico State University
Friday, November 28
