By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Salisbury senior Hank Webb, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound small forward, hated to miss Saturday’s basketball game with Dudley, but it all worked out.

The Hornets won 68-66, their 12th victory in a row, without Webb, who was busy making one of the biggest decisions of his life.

Webb scored seven points in Friday’s win at North Rowan before he left for a weekend visit to Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. The three-sport athlete liked what he saw well enough to make up his mind about his next step in life. He announced a commitment to the Tigers as a student and as a football player.

“Great campus, nice facilities, just really enjoyed everything about the visit,” Webb said. “The social life was great. I don’t ever want to be in the transfer portal. I was looking for a place where I could spend four years enjoying college life, and I believe I found it. It’s the perfect distance, exactly three hours from Salisbury, so it’s far enough away, but not too far from home.”

While Hampden-Sydney is an all-male school, Longwood University is about five miles away, and several other colleges with female students are in the area.

“I think Hampden-Sydney is all guys during the week, but I was there on the weekend, and I probably saw more girls there than their guys,” Webb said with a laugh.

Webb was the Post’s Special Teams Player of the Year for the football season. He kicked 11 field goals for the Hornets, including a 49-yarder that was the longest in Rowan County history for a playoff game. He averaged better than 46 yards per punt. He put a lot of kickoffs in the end zone. While some colleges divide those duties among three players, Webb can be a one-man kicking game. He was named first team All-State for special teams by High School OT.

Webb also turned in an astounding senior season as a first-time starter at quarterback for Salisbury, throwing for two major school records for a season — 2,483 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Hampden-Sydney competes at the Division III level. Webb could have signed at a higher level for football. He had offers to kick from a number of Division II schools, including Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne, but he was more excited about branching out than he was in staying close to home.

“I talked over things with my coaches,” Webb said. “Some of the Division III schools that recruited me did talk to me about competing at the quarterback position, but I’m planning to focus on kicking and punting and doing well in school. I plan to study business. Hampden-Sydney is a prestigious academic school with a strong alumni network. I can make great connections there. This college decision was much more than a football decision for me — it was a rest-of-my life decision.”

Hampden-Sydney has been around a long time.  It was founded when the British were still in charge of the colonies. The school has an Ivy League look and has produced many notable alumni in the worlds of commerce, finance and government, including a U.S. president.

Webb has a 4.46 GPA. In addition to being a star for the football team and a starter for the Salisbury basketball team — he’ll score well over 500 career points for the Hornets — he’s one of the standouts for Salisbury baseball. He’s primarily a pitcher on the diamond.

“With the college decision made, I’ll be able to focus on school and basketball,” Webb said. “We’re having a great basketball season. It’s been a lot of fun playing with Myles Smith. He’s a really good guy and a freak athlete.”