On January 4, Xaverian Brothers High School’s senior defensive tackle Mo Hurst stepped on to the Home Depot Center field in California and it finally hit him—he was about to play football in a stadium with thousands of people in a nationally televised game. Although Hawk fans have come to know and appreciate Mo’s presence on the field, the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl was the first time he was nationally recognized. The game, which is supported by the United States Marine Corps, was made up of two teams of students from the east coast and west coast. Mo was joined by 100 of the nation's top high school and future NCAA student athletes to play in the game. Students were chosen based on their skills on the field as well as their dedication to their education and the community off the field. By the time the four days of practices concluded, Mo was already making his mark ranking third on the east team for practice performance. Mo was excited to have the opportunity to practice with, and get to know, the other players—one of which he will be playing with next year when he suits up for the University of Michigan (Hurst verbally committed to Michigan last June), and others that he will be playing against. Mo played a notable game and was a candidate for top defensive performer; he had three tackles, one sack, and consistently kept good pressure on the quarterbacks. In the end, the team from the east came out ahead with a 17-14 win. For Mo, the experience was overwhelming. “I had the opportunity to learn a lot from the marines,” says Mo, who noted that the hardest part of the gig was having the marines run their practices. “And it was definitely something that helped prepare me for next year by being able to see what I’m going to be going up against once I get to college.” The preparation has been going strong for many years, however. Mo has always had a passion for football, and though he claims to have started off his freshman year “really small,” by his sophomore year he earned a spot on the starting lineup and has had three years to learn from his varsity teammates at Xaverian. Mo has had an outstanding career at Xaverian and finished his senior year with recognition as a Catholic Conference all-star and the defensive player of the year.