GATES CHILI, N.Y. — Clint Hurtt, a Super Bowl champion, remains an involved figure in the Gates Chili community. Ian Mills from News10NBC reports on Hurtt’s enduring connection to his roots.

FOR THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH COACH HURTT, GO HERE.

When you win a Super Bowl and achieve your wildest dreams. It’s easy to forget where you came from, but Clint Hurtt doesn’t.

“There’s a lot of people in that community to help take care of me,” Hurtt said. “If I could pass that forward, I’m more than happy to do so.”

“We always text Clint after every game just to say how proud we are,” Donna Bazer said. Martha Cappotelli added, “He got back to us that night. Just like that.”

It’s people like Donna Bazer, Martha Cappotelli and his coaches who helped a young Clinton find his potential.

“I was in a lot of fights in high school. I got suspended a lot in high school. I was not this picture-perfect kid by any means,” Hurtt said.

At times maybe a temper that ran short, but anything but when it came to his size.

“Well, when you’re as big as he is,” said Jason Benham, Hurtt’s JV coach at Gates Chili. Yeah. “He’s always had an unbelievable way about him. Great character, phenomenal guy.”

He was a star on the gridiron, winning a section five championship before transferring away his senior year to a prep school, but returned for his National Letter of Intent signing to the University of Miami.

“Mrs. Bazer, I don’t know if I’d be here right now, if it weren’t for you,” Hurtt said at the 1997 signing.

Nearly thirty years later, it’s a moment that’s immortalized on Mrs. Bazer’s bookshelf.

“It was in that moment that I knew that if I can ever repay and say thank you, I was going to definitely do that in the future,” Hurtt said.

Hurtt’s talent on the football field was undeniable, leading Gates Chili to a Section V Championship. “That was unbelievable. You know, just the experience I would never forget,” he shared.

The Super Bowl champion now gets a chance to live up to his word.

“I was looking for a bicycle for a student who got his bike stolen,” Bazer said. “And immediately he was like, what kind of bike does he need? What do you need? I’ll get it for you.”

Even helping Mrs. Capp when her son got sick.

“Somebody started a GoFundMe and Clint was the first one to [donate],” Cappotelli said. “And it was a, significant contribution that he made and I couldn’t believe it.”

Even donating back to the Gates Chili football program and Coach Benham’s Spartans.

“He sent bags and bags of cleats,” Benham said.

As Hurtt continues his successful NFL career, Gates Chili remains a significant part of his life, and his legacy there endures.

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