Boys Athlete of the Year: Zion Rutledge, Hillgrove

Hillgrove’s Zion Rutledge is a unique combination of athletic and intellectual prowess.

As both a dominant linebacker and wrestler for the Hawks, he led Cobb County in tackles last season with 142 and added 4.5 sacks and an interception. He also won a Class AAAAAAA state wrestling title in the 220-pound weight division and finished the season with a 45-2 record.

In the classroom he holds a 4.18 GPA. His best subject is calculus, and he plans to study engineering in college.

For his complete resume, he has been named the Cobb County Boys Athlete of the Year.

“It wasn’t it wasn’t easy, but I definitely had to just duck my head and work,” Rutledge said of competing in two varsity sports simultaneously. “One of the things that I adopted in my mind was to enjoy the grind and enjoy the storm so that you see the rainbow on the other side.”

Rutledge, a senior, said his day during the height of the school year starts around 6 a.m., with a morning football team lift, quickly followed by his first period — weight training. After the school day, another hour of team wrestling training, followed by an hour of supplemental training outside of school, which has him home around 9 p.m.

Add a few hours dedicated to homework, and he finally gets to rest for the night. He said the routine is a grind, and that at times it’s testing, but that ultimately, he would have it no other way.

“There were definitely times where I didn’t want to do the work. Wrestling, in particular, is brutal when it comes to the condition that you have to be in,” Rutledge said. “There were times where I get home and I physically could not stand up. I couldn’t do it, but you have to learn to love every part of the process, not just when you get the reward”

To this point, his dedicated training regimen has him poised to peak in both sports as a senior this fall. Rutledge indicated he wants to take steps in both fields, including earning Defensive Player of the Year, All-American honors and competing in national wrestling competitions.

Although lofty goals, Shawn Slenczka, the wrestling coach at Hillgrove, thinks Rutledge’s drive is more than enough to excel in both areas. Having only started wrestling in eighth Grade, Slenczka said Rutledge is among the most talented, raw athletes he had seen in high school.

“It’s extraordinary the way he’s able to push himself, and sometimes you’ve even got to rein him in,” Slenczka said. “People see him, and they see this big, strong athletic kid, but not the work that he puts in behind the scenes. His work ethic is just off the charts, and he’s always one of the hardest workers in the room.”

Rutledge said the athletic movements shared between football and wrestling help him develop explosive skill sets in both sports. This includes raw strength, grappling techniques and general aerobic fitness.

Football coach Justin DeShon said he already sees tangible evidence of improvement in his abilities in the past season.

“He really understands the game from spring football to now in this offseason, and he diagnoses plays a whole lot faster,” DeShon said. “He’s become a more mature tackler, improved his lateral quickness and he’s really just completed himself as a tackler.”

Although prolific in both sports, Rutledge said that he has a preference for one, but recognizes the value of a tandem high school sports calendar.

“I’m a football player at heart and that’s my passion, but I definitely have a deep passion for wrestling,” Rutledge said. “It took me to a place mentally and athletically that I never thought I’d be.”

Rutledge’s physical and mental makeup have garnered attention from several sectors of Division I athletics. He said he has entertained the idea of playing football and wrestling in college but acknowledged the increased levels of commitments associated with collegiate sports.

Rutledge said much of his interest in playing at the next level lies with Ivy League schools, but that he is also considering other offers from mid-major and Group of 5 schools.

“I’m a football player, and there are certain places that can offer you a large amount of opportunities, football wise, but academics is 100% a thing that I’m focused on and it’s a thing that I find important,” Rutledge said.

DeShon said he is confident that with another strong season from the senior linebacker, coupled with Rutledge’s unwavering athletic drive, that other schools will come calling.

That’s if they aren’t already.

“I think he’s going to have a great senior season and be even more productive and dynamic, so I can see some bigger schools and some more Group of 5s jumping on him,” DeShon said. “He’s so smart, and the kid can be a leader one day, so I’m just excited for him that he’s put himself in that spot.”