MONTICELLO, Arkansas – Fans of the University of Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils got their money’s worth last week, as fifth-year senior signal-caller Hunter Leppert led a furious air attack with 392 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-10 homecoming win over Southern Nazarene University.
Leppert, a business marketing major with a minor in coaching, was deadly accurate on Saturday, completing 25 of 32 passes for a 78 percent completion percentage. For his efforts, Leppert was named GAC Co-Player of the Week.
“My offensive line did a great job, because they blitzed a pretty good bit,” Leppert said. “I had all day and when you have all day, it’s pretty easy. They pressed our receivers a lot and we have one of the top receiving cores in the conference. We just exposed them really. It was just me putting the ball where it was supposed to be for those guys to make the plays.”
Leppert was the starting quarterback as a freshman when the Glenbrook Apaches earned their only football state championship in 2008. He then transferred to Minden High School where he led the Tide for two years. setting or tying a handful of passing records.
Plagued by injury throughout high school and then suffering a pair of ACL tears during his first two seasons at Arkansas-Monticello, Leppert came back strong following a year away from the game as a medical redshirt and had a stellar 2014 season.
Leppert believed his career was over, but he received some good news over the summer, a fifth-year of eligibility.
“I was given the chance to come back and play one more year and I couldn’t say no,” Leppert said. “I love the game, I had to come back. This year hasn’t been that good to us, we’ve lost a lot of close games, but we finally got it turned around and got a win this past week.”
Leppert said one of the best parts of being back on the field is the support he gets from his hometown.
“Minden is one of those towns where no matter where you go people remember who you are,” Leppert said. “You always feel at home when you come back and even when you’re away people give you support. It’s crazy how you can be somewhere else but the people back home are still paying attention. I’m glad to be from there (Minden).”