Football: North Hunterdon’s Alex Uryniak is the Big Central Defensive Player of the Year
Alex Uryniak isn’t comfortable on the sidelines. It’s can be chilly. There’s not a lot going on. It’s definitely not where he wants to be during a football game.
So, while the senior serves as the middle linebacker in the North 2 Group 4 champion North Hunterdon High School football team’s 3-3 stack defense, and is part of a hugely potent backfield that also includes Navy-bound All-State superstar Kente Edwards, that’s simply not enough.
Uryniak has not only starred on defense and offense, but he’s also all over the special teams. He’s kicked, he’s returned kicks, and he’s recorded double-digit tackles on kick and punt coverage. He’s recovered squib kicks and a playoff onside kick, and he’s blocked a punt.
And neither he nor the Lions would have it any other way.
“I love being on the field at all times,” Uryniak said. “When I’m on the sideline, it kind of gets boring and a little cold. I like to warm myself up always playing football. When I’m out there, I can control the game, so I feel comfortable when I’m out there all the time.”
“He was always on the field,” said North Hunterdon head coach Kevin Kley. “And you just knew he was smart enough to play at all times and more than good enough to play at all times.”
FOOTBALL INDEX: Big Central Conference and area postseason honors links
Uryniak can now add one more title, and that’s MyCentralJersey.com/USA Today Network Big Central Conference Defensive Football Player of the Year.
As impressive as his offensive and special teams numbers are, it’s his impact on the defense that was one of the main reasons North Hunterdon finished 11-2, was able to run away with the Big Central Conference Liberty Silver Division title, and claim its first sectional championship since 2017.
The three-year defensive starter notched a conference-best 180 tackles, including 104 solos and 22 for a loss. He notched seven sacks, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and grabbed an interception to help North allow just 16 points per game. The Lions turned in six games surrendering just one touchdown, and three more where the opponent was held to just a pair of scores.
“I know he has the stats, but it’s also the savvy,” said Kley, who also calls the North Hunterdon defense. “He’s just extremely smart. He is, by far, to me, the best defensive player I’ve seen. He’s the complete package. He knows how to play linebacker. He’s smart and he reads his keys. He knows how to defeat blocks. And he’s strong. He’s had more of those tackles where you tackle and drive somebody back than I’ve seen any high school kid have. And he’s fast.”
It's the speed that not only serves him incredibly well, but it’s also something not a lot of people see coming. At 5-foor-9, 190-something pounds, Uryniak doesn’t strike as a speedster. But once the game is going, opposing teams often pay the price of judging this particular book by its cover.
“The beauty of him is that I know no lineman is really going to get to him, and if the ball goes outside, he chases people down,” Kley said. “We just had him spy the quarterback a lot of the time. We’re playing some of these really, really athletic quarterbacks – like Colonia, Woodbridge and Cranford – and we’re just having him sit there and letting him play and he’s hawking these kids down and sacks and tackles and everything. I’m very confident that nobody’s breaking big runs.”
“People underestimate me for my size,” Uryniak said. “I’m pretty big, but not too tall, so they probably think I’m not the fastest guy in the world. But being able to juke (blockers) out and get them out of the way and make that tackle down field is probably my favorite part. And being able to track the ball anywhere ever. One I lock eyes with that ballcarriers, that’s it. I’m probably making that tackle for a loss.”
That speed – and especially the toughness – also serves Uryniak in the backfield. While Edwards is certainly the lead back – he led conference running backs with 1,442 rushing yards, despite missing two games on offense – Uryniak is the ultimate No. 2, and that was never more evident than when Edwards was limited by injury down the stretch of the season.
No worries. Uryniak simply stepped up.
The senior turned in three straight 100-plus-yard performances with Edwards slowed or absent from the backfield, including a 264-yard, three touchdown performance against Woodbridge. He finished with 1,012 rushing yards on 149 attempts and 13 scores.
“He’s probably the starting running back for, pretty much, everybody else in the state,” Kley said. “He’s fast and he’s physical and he’ll lower his shoulder. He gets low and puts his hand down, and he always falls forward. He’s such a good running back. And there’s no, like, ‘Oh. I want to focus on defense, or I need to come out.’ No. Whether he was getting 10 carries a game when Kente was healthy or 30 when he wasn’t, Alex was the same player the whole time. It’s a testament to how hard he works and how tough he is.”
“I do my job. I’m out there to do whatever they need me to do and I always want to be accountable,” said Uryniak, who finished fourth in the state at 190 pounds last winter and is leaning toward going to Columbia University to wrestle next year. “If I mess up, I’m making the play after. And I like running people over and making people miss.
“It just shows the depth we have. All summer, me and Kente, being able to push each other, that’s the best atmosphere we can have. Having a D1 player push me though all the workouts (was key). In the wresting room, I push guys to work out, and he pushed me to workout in football.”
Of course, as a senior three-year letterwinner who mans the most important defensive position on the football field, Uryniak’s leadership was also key to North Hunterdon’s success. That’s especially true pregame as the Lions prepared to take the field.
“On game day, any coach can give a pregame speech to try and get the kids fired up, but when the kids are walking down the line and into the end zone (to take the field pregame), a player gets the kids more excited than any coach does,” Kley said. “He was that guy last year a good amount, and this year, on game day, I can just say ‘Alex. Get ‘em going,” and the kids would be fired up and focused. It’s just a testament to how he gets people to rally around him.”
“I started chants sophomore year, and junior and senior year it got bigger and bigger and into being a leader,” Uryniak said. “We all play an important part in this team, and I like to motivate the guys before the game. It’s no fun if we lack motivation. We never play well if we aren’t hyped up. Friday night lights. There’s nothing like it.”
Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ football Alex Uryniak of North Hunterdon Def. Player of the Year
