His season is over, but his collection of awards continues to grow.

Northwestern’s Shane Hulmes, a three-time All-State selection, was named the 2025-26 Lehigh Chapter National Football Foundation Small School Player of the Year.

The award was presented at a recent scholar-athlete banquet held at the Northampton Community Center and attended by 300 athletes, families and coaches. Hulmes was the lone winner in the Group 1A-3A classification. He’s the second Northwestern player selected for the award. Last year, Eli Zimmerman was the recipient.

“This award means a lot to me,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in the efforts I put into the classroom and on the field.”

For four years, Hulmes was a major contributor to the Tigers’ gridiron success, which included winning a state championship two years ago. Northwestern was also a two-time state runner-up during his tenure.

Head coach Josh Snyder praised Hulmes, who played tight end on offense and inside linebacker on defense.

“Shane is a throwback when it comes to his performance on the football field,” Snyder said. “He’s totally committed from the weight room to the football field. He’s physical. He’s disciplined at his positions. At linebacker, he holds school records for most tackles, most quarterback sacks and most tackles behind the line of scrimmage.”

Hulmes credits his coaches and teammates for helping him reach his level of excellence.

“I had an amazing four years,” he said. “My teammates were my friends. We won a lot of games together, and my coaches helped me prepare for each opponent every week.”

“Shane is a student of the game,” said Snyder, “and at linebacker he’s another coach on the field. He reads offensive formations and communicates adjustments to our team to put them in the right places on every play. At tight end, he did a great job with his hook, reach and down blocks and getting to the second level.”

Hulmes did not know he was going to be selected as the NFF Player of the Year until his name was announced at the banquet.

“I was surprised at first even though I thought I had a good chance to win,” he said.

Recruited by six colleges, Hulmes will take his heavy bag of skills to Bucknell University next fall, where he will play middle linebacker for the Bison.

“It was a no-brainer for me to choose Bucknell. I met the new coach, Jeff Behrman, who I had known before. He’s all in on building a winning program. Bucknell is a great academic school, which is most important to me,” said Hulmes, who will major in economics at the university.

“Shane will bring a lot to the table at Bucknell,” said Snyder. “At linebacker, he’s a violent tackler. He causes turnovers. He has the right mentality to play the position.”

During his career, Hulmes scored 27 touchdowns, 14 of them through the air in the Tigers’ run-first offense. This past fall, he scored 12 touchdowns.

On defense, he recorded 184 solo tackles and 413 total tackles in his career, along with 20 sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

He also delivered in big games. In this past year’s classic matchup with Southern Lehigh — won by Northwestern — Hulmes had 124 all-purpose yards on offense and one touchdown. On defense, he made 11 tackles and had an interception. He recorded double-digit tackle totals in nine of Northwestern’s regular-season games this year.

At Northwestern, he leaves a legacy of all-time records and a team state championship he will cherish forever.

A leader on the field and a scholar in the classroom, Shane Hulmes will continue to raise the bar for himself at Bucknell, where he will dedicate himself to academic and athletic excellence.