Martinsburg WR Hudson Clement is WV Gatorade Player of the Year following 8 TD performance in state championship
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (BVM) — Martinsburg senior wide receiver Hudson Clement’s stock couldn’t be higher right now if he tried. As one of the leaders of the Bulldogs offense this season, Clement went off in the team’s West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission Class AAA state title game against Huntington High with an astonishing Super Six record-setting eight touchdowns, catching four, rushing three and even throwing one in the team’s 62-21 win.
“I was thinking about it a little bit, but I was more worried about as long as our score on the scoreboard was going up more than them because at the end of the day that was what I was really there for, putting as many points on the board for my team to win,” Clement said. “I wasn’t trying to go for the record to get all those touchdowns but it did happen. But with a great team like this, they put me in a position to succeed and that’s what I’m going to do.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTpYv9VVfM8&t=1s
The win nabbed the Bulldogs their ninth state title since 2010 and earned Clement some individual hardware as well as on Dec. 7 he was named the 2021-22 Gatorade West Virginia Football Player of the Year.
“It means a lot,” Clement said of the honor. “It means that my hardwork and everything is paying off and I’m getting looked at and that they think that I’m the best player in West Virginia and that means a lot to me.”
I am very honored and proud to represent the city of Martinsburg and the great state of West Virginia as the West Virginia Gatorade Football Player of the Year. Thank you @Gatorade for this opportunity #GatoradePOY pic.twitter.com/349mLwWYXv
— Hudson Clement (@hudsonclement3) December 7, 2021
Clement had an outstanding season, the championship game notwithstanding. In total, the senior wideout finished with 88 receptions for 1,711 yards and 23 touchdowns. Playing both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs, Clement also recorded 65 tackles, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown to give him a total of 24 scores on the year.
“Hudson is an exceptional athlete who has played five or more positions for us,” Martinsburg head coach Britt Sherman said in the Gatorade press release. “He has a very high football IQ and the best hands we’ve put on the field in a decade or more.”
With his award, Clement becomes the fifth Martinsburg Bulldog to earn the honor, including the most recent recipient Tyson Bagent who won it following the 2017-18 season.
Unfortunately for Clement, his excellent on field work hasn’t yet translated into scholarship offers. The senior wideout only holds two scholarship offers, most recently receiving one from Division II Frostburg State located in Frostburg, Maryland.
“Some of these coaches or people don’t really pay attention to you after the season so you almost have to give them something to pay attention to,” Clement said. “Being on a stage like the state championship and performing like that, no matter who it is, that’s going to draw attention. It’s good attention and it’s what you need so to have that be my last game and to perform like that as a senior and needing these looks it was huge for me.”
While this could be discouraging for a young athlete looking to make a career out of their on field skills, Clement doesn’t have to look far for inspiration of small school opportunities turning into big league success.
Former Bulldog wide receiver Juwan Green was once in a similar situation as Clement. Instead of going to a big, Division I school, Green took his talents to JUCO power Lackawanna College which has produced such NFL players as Kevin White and Bryant McKinnie among others. Following two seasons at Lackawanna, Green would transfer to FCS University of Albany where he would become a standout by his senior year recording 83 catches for 1,386 yards and 17 touchdowns leading the FCS in touchdown receptions. Going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, Green would sign with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent and was even elevated to the team’s active roster for the first time this past season, proving that the path to the NFL doesn’t matter, but rather the destination.
“It’s inspirational to think about that and to think I can do something like that,” Clement said. “To know that you don’t always have to have the best top DI school knocking at your door, you can do it through other ways, it is good to know that too.”
.@304_wan has officially been flexed to the @AtlantaFalcons active roster 🔥🔥🔥🔥@CAAFootball ➡️ @NFL#BeGreat #WinTheDay 🟪 🟨 pic.twitter.com/tBZQRUz6oF
— UAlbany Football (@UAlbanyFootball) September 25, 2021
However, with his recent winning of the Gatorade Player of the Year award and his eight touchdown performance, Clement has certainly gained some people’s attention. Whichever team earns the right to Clement, they will be receiving a highly talented player with great upside. For Clement, it won’t be a matter of how big the opportunity is, but rather the right one to prove his abilities and help him reach his ultimate goal.
“It’s been fun, but I’m still just taking it slow,” Clement said. “I’m trying to really visit and understand all these places that offered me or are talking to me and really weigh out my options and find where’s best for me.”
Regardless of where his football life takes him, Clement will always be able to look back on his final senior game as one for the memory books. While he may have some football left in him going forward, even he knows this moment may be difficult to top.
“This is probably No. 1 for me honestly,” Clement said. “Senior year, had the game of my life and a state title? I don’t think there’s any better memory from football than this right here.”
