As a young boy, Jesse Hoskins would dress as the Big Reds mascot and lead the Milan High School football team onto the field.

This fall, he'll lead the team as its head coach.

Milan Area Schools announced the hiring of Hoskins on Tuesday night. He replaces Milan coaching legend Steve Robb, who retired in February after 25 years as coach of the Big Reds.

“I’m very excited,” Hoskins said. “I’ve prepared every day to have the opportunity to be the next head coach at Milan and can’t wait to get started.”

When Hoskins says every day, he’s not just referring to his coaching days. He has been involved with Milan football for nearly as long as Robb.

Hoskins was a ball boy for the team when he was in elementary school and used to lead the team in prayer before meals. As a young boy, Hoskins would dress up like the Big Reds' mascot and lead the team onto the field on Friday nights.

“In a sense, he has been groomed for the job since second grade,” said Robb. “He’s been involved in this program in just about every way you can imagine.”

In high school, Hoskins played on three consecutive league championship and state playoff-qualifying teams and was named all-state as a quarterback as a senior.

Hoskins is a physical education teacher at the high school and a 2001 graduate. He played quarterback at Hillsdale College from 2001-2005.

Hoskins became a freshman football coach at Milan in 2006 and has been a varsity assistant for the past three years, last season as offensive coordinator, before being promoted to the head coaching position.

“It was a tough decision,” said Milan athletic director David Kaiser. “Where the program is currently and the vision (Hoskins) has to where he wants it go, he was the right fit.”

Hoskins said he looks forward to keeping Milan’s strong football tradition alive.

Under Robb, the Big Reds were 163-82 with 19 winning seasons and 12 playoff appearances.

It’s not just the winning tradition that he hopes to maintain.

“What I always loved about Milan football under coach Robb is he wanted our team to be the most physical team on the field at all times,” Hoskins said.

“If I can get players to not worry about themselves as much as the team and appreciate the process ... if we do that, combined with focusing on our players as young men, I will have put my stamp on the program.”

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.