Gus Malzahn Field dedicated in Hughes, where Auburn coach's career began

HUGHES, Ark. – Gus Malzahn had no idea what he was getting himself into, or where he was going, in 1991.

After graduating from Henderson State in 1990, Malzahn worked as the "rag man" for the uniform company Cintas, while looking for work as a high school coach in Arkansas. He nearly landed an assistant position at West Memphis, which passed his name on to then Hughes High School athletic director Charlie Patrick.

"I lived (in Arkansas) all my life," Malzahn said during a speaking engagement last month. "I had never heard of Hughes."

Now the Auburn coach's name will be a part of the small Delta town's existence forever more. The school where Malzahn cut his teeth, first as a defensive coordinator for a year then as a head coach for four years, named its football field for its former coach on Monday afternoon before a gathering of 15 of his former players, their families, friends and members of the small farming community.

"It's a huge honor for me, it means a lot to me," Malzahn said. "When you get older you look back and you think about different people, different places, different situations that impacted your life in a positive way and this place definitely did that.

"Me and Kristi, we got special memories, we have special friends here. Kenzie, my youngest daughter, was born here when we were here in Hughes. My oldest daughter Kylie was in kindergarten here. There's a lot of great memories."

Gus and Kristi Malzahn walked the halls of the old school, pointing out former players who graduated in the early and mid 1990s when Malzahn spent his time in Hughes.

A luncheon with former players included several warm speeches and reminiscing of the 1994 Blue Devils team that made it to the Class AA state championship game, coming up big in two must-win games at the end of the season and three road playoff wins before coming up short in the title game.

His former players never doubted Malzahn was destined for bigger things.

"Everybody knew he was going to be successful," said Michael Bradley, who played fullback for Malzahn on the 1994 team. "Whether he went to another high school, went to a college, even went to the NFL, everybody knew whatever he did, wherever he went, he was going to be successful. He didn't have to try to convince you to follow him, it was natural. It was hard not to follow him."

Malzahn has been back to Hughes on several occasions since leaving in 1996, mostly to see Patrick, who was in attendance at Monday's ceremony with his daughter, Paige.

Gus and Kristi rented the house next door to the Patricks for three years before spending their final two years in town in a small trailer just around the corner, off U.S. Route 79.

"They were like our little kids when they lived here," said Melinda Patrick, Charlie's wife. "(Saturday) I just sat and thought about them, about how far they had come. I just felt overwhelmed by it and happy for them for what they've accomplished since they started out from such meager things."

Malzahn's humble beginnings took place on the field as well.

He had to cut the grass, on what 20 years later is now Gus Malzahn Field, and drive the bus, among menial duties.

It all was part of building the "foundation" for Malzahn's career and instilling in him the work ethic evident today.

"You think about certain games and certain plays and mowing the grass on the tractor and moving the water pipes around," he said. "This was a special field for me to coach on."

Those aluminum water pipes are still here, along the eastern fence line of field, which definitely was in better condition when Malzahn was coaching than it has been in the better part of the last decade.

Hughes has not fielded a football team since 2010 and the Blue Devils lost their final 39 games.

There were hopes of having a junior high team in the fall and a varsity team by 2016, but the district, which is in state fiscal distress, may not be permitted to start a new athletic program. Even if granted permission to make the financial commitment, the enrollment at Hughes hovers around 350 students, the state minimum whereby a district would be consolidated, and even then that figure is too low to field a football team without a petition to compete in a larger classification.

Malzahn would like to see the day another football game is played on what is now the field with his namesake.

"There's been a lot of good games, good players on this field," he said, citing the 1994 and 1995 seasons specifically. "Hopefully there will be football on the field again, that would be my hope."

Malzahn was also presented with a key to the city, a plaque from the current student body and a personalized letterman's jacket.

"This is real humbling for me; I had a couple of tears in my eyes," Malzahn said. "I am proud, I'm unbelievably proud to say I started coaching at Hughes. This place helped me get to where I'm at."

Now if the very poor community Malzahn left behind many years ago can capitalize on the week's festivities, and bring life back to Gus Malzahn Field, it would be a greater upset than any that ever took place on its grass.

"This is the field that Gus built," said LeMonte Harper, a member of the 1994 Hughes team. "This was his first coaching job so he was just as raw as we were. We got our bumps and bruises together so to see this happen, this is our way of telling him thank you for taking those bumps and bruises with this small community."