If there ever was a poster boy for hard work, perseverance and waiting your turn, it would be Catholic High senior Colby Hebert.

The 6-foot-4, 300 pound center most likely would have been a starter for any other team in District 7-2A last season and definitely would have started for many other teams in the Teche Area, much less the state.

But Hebert was stuck behind a senior-laden offensive line that accounted for 600 yards of offense and close to 50 points per game for Catholic High, which used that offensive line as a key weapon in winning the Division III state football championship in 2017.

Now that those seniors have moved on, it’s time for Hebert to take his spot as the starter at center and help groom the next batch of linemen in the Panthers’ hunt to defend the state title in 2018.

“Colby played in JV and now he’s stepping up,” CHS head football coach Brent Indest said. “Through spring right now he’s doing as well or better than anyone on the offensive line.”

Indest said Hebert ended up at center by necessity.

“Last year, after his sophomore year, we were really short at the position,” Indest said. “With his build on the offensive line, he’s either going to be a strong tackle or center. 

“Our guards are smaller guys that can run a little better. We had Jerry Mullin, who was young at his position, so we figured the best way to get Colby on the field as a senior was to move him to center, and it’s worked out well.”

Hebert and the rest of the Panthers wrap up spring football Friday with a scrimmage at Kaplan starting at 5:30 p.m.

For Hebert, it’s been a solid spring working at his position.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” he said. “I’ve had to work hard for it and still be humble about it.”

It’s been hard for Hebert to sit and watch but it’s been a situation where CHS always had a senior center ready to go.

“We had senior centers from my freshman year through now,” Hebert said. “All I could do was watch and learn and see how they did things and copy what they did.

“I’ve watched what they did on film. I’ve watched their steps and do what they do.”

Now that Hebert is the senior, it’s time for him to step up into the starting role and have others watch him.

To be able to take over the starting role on a team that won the state championship in football last season means the world to him. 

He replaces Spencer Broussard at center for the Panthers and will lead an almost entirely brand new offensive line for the 2018 season

“It’s pretty big for me because we won state last year,” Hebert said. “We only have one returning starter from last year. We need to work hard and watch film from last year to see what they did and duplicate that.

“You have to be mentally prepared to get on the field and play. Coach Indest does a great job of getting us ready to play both physically and mentally.”

One thing Hebert said he understands is that there will be teams and players taking their shots at Catholic High in 2018 because they are the defending state champions. He said he also know there will be pressure because they are state champions coming back for the next season.

“There’s pressure,” he said. “But what they did last year was last year. All we can do is play the game this year and hope that we can duplicate what they did.”

For right now, Hebert is just happy to get on the field and play football.

“He’s a team player,” Indest said. “He’s probably disappointed that he didn’t get to play more as a junior but he never complained and worked his tail off at practice.

“We have a motto here that you reap what you sow. He’s been doing a whole lot of sowing and now he’s going to do a whole lot of reaping.”