Hobby picking up Pitt life

Back home, his high school friends are preparing for their senior prom.

They’re finalizing… Back home, his high school friends are preparing for their senior prom.

They’re finalizing college plans and looking toward graduation.

Nearly 300 miles away, Ronald Hobby is missing it all.

But he’s doing it for something he cares about – something he believes in.

He’s doing it for football.

Hobby, who graduated from Maryland’s Gwynn Park High School in December, enrolled early at Pitt to begin taking classes and to practice with the football team.

The transition from high school football to college football has been immense. But the transition off the field has been immeasurable.

“It’s taken me some time to adjust,” Hobby said. “[But] I was hearing from a lot of people that it’s better to go early and get adapted to the life.”

When he arrived on campus in January, Hobby had to adjust to a new way of living. On his own for the first time, he was tossed into the mix of athletics and academics. He had to get used to a new city far from home where the rest of his friends still roam the high school halls.

But Hobby found comfort in football.

Now three weeks into spring practice, Hobby has been splitting time on the second-team secondary with Buddy Jackson, who redshirted last season. He’s been matched up with receivers who are faster, stronger and more talented than those he saw in his high school career.

But that’s exactly what Hobby expected. It’s the reason he enrolled early in the first place.

As a sophomore at Gwynn Park, Hobby planned on coming to college a semester early. In order to meet the requirements to do that, he took summer courses and kept his grades up.

By the time December rolled around, he earned his eligibility.

Although he said it hasn’t been easy, Hobby did it to get ahead.

“It will definitely give me an advantage,” Hobby said. “[When] summer camp starts, I’ll be used to it. I’ll already know most of the plays.”

Jeff Hafley, who coaches Pitt’s secondary, agreed. He said Hobby will already be comfortable with the system the team runs and the campus he lives on by the time the season starts.

At that time, the rest of the freshmen will still be trying to adapt to a new life.

Hafley said Hobby has improved drastically on the field in the first three weeks of practice and has shown the entire coaching staff how talented he is.

But while he’s happy with what Hobby has shown on the field, he’s even more impressed with what he’s done off it.

“I don’t think people realize how hard it is to do what he’s doing right now,” said Hafley, who was promoted to secondary coach in the offseason.

“The kid should be going to his high school prom in a few weeks. Rather than that, he’s playing football with some of the best kids in the country. When you put that all together, it’s not all about football.”

Still, football is what Hobby is focused on.

In high school, things came easy for Hobby.

A starter for two and a half years on both sides of the ball, he was one of the top recruits in Maryland.

During his senior year, Hobby averaged 26.1 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns at receiver.

On the defensive side he added 51 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

But things aren’t as easy in the college game. And Hobby still has a lot to learn.

Hobby said the speed of the receivers is the biggest difference between the two levels.

In high school, he had room to make mistakes. Here, the margin for error is virtually nonexistent.

“I’m faster than most people in high school,” Hobby said. “Up here, everybody has that blazing speed.”

Hobby also said there was a mental aspect of the game he’s trying to pick up on – things like focus and fundamentals.

Hafley said those are the things he’s trying to stress to Hobby more than anything on the field. At such a high level of play against Big East receivers, the slightest mistake could mean a touchdown for the other team.

“If he doesn’t bend his knees right and get in the right stance, he’s not going to be in position to make the right play,” Hafley said.

“It’s our job as coaches to make sure the fundamentals are right.”

Starting linebacker Shane Murray said he’s seen reasons to expect the best from Hobby.

“He’s a young guy,” Murray said. “Naturally he’s going to make some mistakes. But he does the right things, and he’s working hard.”

Hafley said he couldn’t agree more.

“The future’s so bright for him,” he said.

“Not just as an athlete, but he’s a really good kid. We know we can count on him.”