Joe Hutter, a Spring Valley graduate who is now the middle school principal and head football coach at Somerset, was inducted into the Winona State Athletic Hall of Fame in October.

“It was very unexpected but greatly appreciated,” Hutter said. “Being an offensive lineman, you don’t see those guys being put up in that recognition, but it’s also a tribute to all the awesome players I played with.”

Hutter said his era was widely considered some of the best years of any sport in the school’s history, thanking players and coaches that helped make the time so great.

“For four seasons, the Winona State Football offensive line was anchored by Hutter. Hutter and the offensive line blocked for two running backs who were Harlon Hill Nominees and a Harlon Hill nominated quarterback. Hutter was a key part of the protection that allowed their quarterback to be second all-time in passing. The offensive line during Hutter's career also helped produce five of the top-20 rushers in WSU history. During each of his four years, Hutter blocked for the NSIC Offensive Player of the Year. Throughout his career from 1993-1997, Hutter never missed a game and earned All-Conference and All-America status on multiple occasions,” a release from Winona State Athletics states.

Offensive line can be an interesting group because while all positions need to have chemistry with each other, arguably none do more than the line. Each play is not only about what the player can do, but how well they can recognize what their teammates are doing.

“That tight knit group, sometimes a bit of a cast of characters because you get to know each other really well,” Hutter said. “Those in-game or practice moments where it all comes together and you just enjoy playing with the guy next to you because you know he’s got your back and you’ve got his.”

Hutter did not forget what Spring Valley meant for his journey, not only helping him get to the college level, but also the coaches who would still watch his games and support him after he moved on. He said those people played a big part in who he is, giving them credit for the honor.

Football has greatly affected Hutter’s life, both leading him down a path to teaching and coaching and providing life lessons along the way. Through it all, one stood out to Hutter above the rest.

“Learning to be humble because, especially in the offensive line, you’re going to put in a lot of work that makes things happen, and you’re not going to have people banging down your door to come to see you to congratulate you or recognize it,” Hutter said.

This message came from his coaches in high school and college, especially his college coach Tom Sawyer, and now applies while coaching Somerset. Sawyer was inducted into the Hall of Fame in this year’s class with Hutter.

“It’s the impact of those people that you had along the way,” Hutter said.

There were a lot of coaches Hutter had to thank for his journey including Spring Valley’s Rick Gould, Larry Kreibich, Larry Hoolihan, Brad Sauve and Winona State's Sawyer, Tom Hosier, Ron Williams and Myron Smith.

“All the things that you gain from how they did things, how they led people, how they invest in you as a person, I think has created a great foundation for when I left college and then got into teaching and eventually coaching,” Hutter said.

Since getting into coaching and teaching, he has worked with legendary coaches like Ed Langham in Clayton and Bruce Larson in Somerset which has taught him a lot on and off the field. The reason he has gotten so invested in coaching is the number of lives he can impact by giving students a good experience and helping them get to the level they want to be.

To players that want to achieve the things Hutter has, the message is simple: Focus on what you can do.

“Quit looking around at other people and take care of you,” Hutter said. “If you’re going every day, hitting the weight room, you’re doing the things in the classroom, you’re finding ways to make yourself better, the rest of it takes care of itself.”