Sports
Twin Receivers An Integral Part Of Athens Dynamic Offense
By: Josh Gregory
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Seven weeks into the 2014 season, the Athens Bulldogs are still the top team in the TVC-Ohio. Most of the Bulldogs’ spotlight gets shined on quarterback Joe Burrow and running back Trae Williams. However there are two 6-foot-4 receivers that are just integral to the Bulldogs success in twin brothers Adam and Ryan Luehrman.
“There’s always been a sense of brotherly love,” Adam said in an interview. “It’s just cool to see your brother do well as I’m sure it’s good for him to see me do well. It makes you feel better knowing that you have that with you on the football field.”
Even with their brotherly love, the Luehrman’s definitely have great competition amongst each other to better themselves.
“Yeah it (the brotherly competition) has always been there whenever we go up against each other, there has always been a greater competition there between us,” Ryan Luehrman said.
And it’s brotherly love and brotherly competition that would build Ryan and Adam up as leaders through hard work and dedication to football.
“Both of them are pretty quiet individuals. They lead by examples. There’s not a whole lot of ‘Ra-Ra’ from those two guys, but they come in everyday and work as hard as they can to put in whatever it is they can to make the team successful.” Athens coach Ryan Adams said.
The two may be quiet off the field, but on the field, the two create a sound that resonates with every fan.
So far this season, the Luehrman’s have combined for 37 catches, 875 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns, helping the Bulldogs’ offense to an average of 58 points per game.
“Offensively, I think that when you put two 6’4’’ guys out on each side it certainly creates an issue for opposing defenses,” Adams said.
Adams also said that Burrow owes much of his success to the twin receivers.
“Joe’s got great placement, but on the same tune, you’ve got two kids that have got big hands and a lot of athletic ability, and that hardly ever drop the football,” he said.
The fact that both brothers play sports in the winter and spring has helped develop their athletic ability even further.
“In addition to football, we also play basketball and baseball together. Pretty much sports are what we both enjoy doing together,” Ryan said.
With sports revolving around the Luehrman’s lives, it’s no surprise that they have come back for their senior year stronger and faster than ever.
Nevertheless, with their senior football season starting to come to a close, each brother must make the biggest decision thus far in each of their lives—where to go to college.
“We haven’t really decided whether we will play on the same college team yet. We have our own choice and we’ll understand if one of us goes one way and the other goes another way,” Ryan said.
Although the brothers are not sure they will play football together in college, their journey through the sport has helped shape who they are as individuals, and their relationship together.
'Gridiron Glory' airs every Friday night at 11:30 p.m. on WOUB. You can follow the show on Twitter @gridironglory, like the Gridiron Glory page on Facebook, and follow along on Instagram @woubsports. You can also join the conversation throughout the season by using the hashtag #GridGlory!