As a sophomore, Union’s Michael Rush Jr. was forced into action on the offensive line.
Three years later, Rush is signing to play football at East Central Community College.
Union coach Brad Breland said he has seen Rush continually grow and get stronger through the years.
“He’s been with us since the seventh grade,” Breland said. “He’s always been a lineman, always been a little bigger but he’s gotten a lot bigger the last couple of years. He has had to start for the last three or four years because we were really inexperienced there. It’s been fun to see him develop since starting as a 10th grader to where he is now. He has gotten so much bigger and stronger. He took some lumps as a sophomore.”
Rush is also an accomplished powerlifter, finishing second in Class 2A behind state record holder Jacob Moore. Rush had a 1,505-pound total in last year’s 2A meet with a 625-pound squat, 260-pound bench and 565-pound dead lift. Since then, Rush said he’s gotten his squat up to 685, bench up to 315 and deadlift up to 600 pounds.
“He’s extremely strong and has really good feet,” Breland said. “He can play a lot of different positions on the college level. He has grown a lot over the last couple of years. He was a 210-pounder when he started as a sophomore and now weighs 275 pounds and has really good feet. He has great strength and I think East Central is getting a good one. I think he has a really high ceiling.”
Rush said he chose East Central because it felt like home.
“It seems like more of a family program,” Rush said. “The coach reached out to me and really wanted to talk to me and thought I had potential. I wanted to go there and see what I can do. It’s an amazing opportunity. It’s not just a chance to continue to play football, it’s an opportunity to further my education.”
Rush said he wants to major in phytology and perhaps be a counselor after graduating.
