An Early Look at Hillsdale Football Commitments

Chargerblue.com has learned through a series of sources that following players have made commitments to play football at Hillsdale College.

Skill Players:

Anthony Mifsud, Dearborn, MI, QB, 6'4", 185 lb.,
Division II All-State (offensive captain), son of former record setting Charger receiver, 2 star Rivals.com prospect who was in the mix of possible D1 offers late in the process, Video

Corey Gilbert, Sandusky, OH, WR, 6'2", 180 lb.,
The definition of a playmaker, ran 4.44 40 yrd. dash at Ohio State camp, Rivals.com 1 star prospect, 38 catches for school record 10 tds., Division I All-Northwest District, Division I All-Ohio 1st team,video

Ben Karaba, Brunswick, OH, DB, 5'11", 170 lb.,
Division I All-Northwest Region, All-Ohio special mention, 5th longest TD reception in Ohio history (95 yards), 15 consecutive games with a reception

Cameron White, Forest Hills Central High School, Grand Rapids, MI, HB, 6'1", 215 lb., great possession receiver, had 130 yards receiving in opening season win at Coopersville, leader on FHC basketball team as well

Andrew Young, Oakland, Ore., WR/DB, 6'0", 155 lb.,
2A All-Oregon 1st team, Playing in Oregon East-West Shrine Game Aug. 2

Kevin Tabone, Churchill High School, Livonia, MI, TE, 6'3" 240 lb.,
3 Year starter, Ranked by recruiting expert Jim Stefani as the #4 TE in Michigan, 1st Team all conference, 2nd team Western Metro Detroit as defensive lineman

Nate Wade, Salem, IN Eastern HS, DB, 5'10", 190 lb.
2 way player at DB and QB led Eastern High into its first season of football, had a 60 yard run for a score against Brownstown Central


Linemen

Zach Brown, Canal Winchester High School (Columbus area), OH, OL/DL, 6'2", 312 lb. This kid is a monster at center and defensive tackle. He has surprisingly quick and agile feet for such a big man. Brown plays with a real nasty streak but is a leader on and off of the field. He earned Division III All-Central region 1st team honors and All-Ohio special mention. Check out his YouTube.com video.

Trevor Putnam, Worthington Kilbourne High School (Columbus area), OH, OL, 6'5", 268 lb.
Division I All-Central region 1st team and All-Ohio special mention.

Kevin Cunningham, Olentangy (Columbus area), OH, DT, 6'2", 270 lb.,
Division I All-Central region 1st team and All-Ohio special mention.

D.J. Loy, Westerville Central (Columbus area), OH, OL, 6'4", 265 lb.
Division I All-Central region 2nd Team, All-Metro honorable mention,

Michael Kendrick, Maine Twnshp. South, Park Ridge, IL, 6'0", 256 lb.
selected to Illinois Coaches Association All-Star Game, 3 year varsity player

Jim Plaskey, Brother Rice HS, Birmingham, MI, DT, 6'4", 255 lb.,
Turned down offers from Air Force and Army. Scout.com ranked him as a 2 star prospect and had this to say: "Plaskey has a big frame and a long wingspan, he also plays a mean and aggressive game and has Big Ten and MAC schools looking closer." Ranked as the 93rd senior prospect in MI.

Sam Holton, Howell, MI, OL/DT, 6'2" 280 lb.
Division I first-team all-state, Livingston Community News Lineman of the Year, Columnist Jason Deegan writes about Holton: "The senior tackle led a senior-laden offensive line that allowed the Highlander offense to roll up roughly 300 yards per game, including 200 on the ground."

Linebacker:
Ryan Egnatuk, Rockford, MI, LB, 5'10", 195 lb.
Grand Rapids Press Dream Team, Detroit Free Press Dream Team, From freep.com: "Ryan is one tough, hard-nosed, tenacious, competitive inside linebacker, who is simply passionate about football," Rockford coach Ralph Munger said. "He plays sideline-to-sideline and is a dynamite tackler. And on top of all that, he's a young man with a dynamic personality." Egnatuk totaled 118 tackles and had three sacks. The previous two years, he helped the Rams reach the state finals. Freep.com: Highlights: He had 118 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. Played in state championship game as a sophomore and started the last two years as an inside linebacker.

Punter:

Andrew Wilburn, Rockford, MI, P, 6'1", 187 lb.,
Division I All-State 1st team Linebacker, punted 3 times in 2006 state championship game for 104 yards

Just added: Nate Wade, DB Salem, IN Eastern HS

Signing Day is Here!

Check back for live updates throughout Wednesday February 6.

Blue Chipper Commits to Chargers

Through Tom Markowski's columns in the Detroit News, Chargerblue.com readers have been able to follow the recruiting process of Dearborn quarterback Anthony Mifsud. The most recent report had Mifsud sitting on Division 1 opportunities, but still considering Hillsdale.

That consideration got a lot more serious this past weekend for the #58 ranked player by the Detroit News and 2 Star Rivals.com prospect as he made his final decision in favor of Hillsdale.

This from Markowski's latest article.

Dearborn QB picks Hillsdale

Anthony Mifsud , Dearborn's starting quarterback for the past three seasons, committed to Hillsdale College on Tuesday. His father, Dave Mifsud , the head coach at Dearborn, played receiver for Hillsdale in the mid-1980s.

Anthony Mifsud said this was not the determining factor in his decision. What turned Mifsud toward Hillsdale was a visit there last Saturday. The unplanned visit provided that final push.

More Mifsud links:
Michiganstate.scout.com: Dearborn's Mifsud Shines at MSU Camp.
Rivals.com Profile with video
Jim Stefani's Michigan Camp Preview

Mifsud Waiting on Villanova

Mifsud waiting on Villanova

Tom Markowski / Detroit News (Full Article)

The recruiting process, however, is a tad cloudy for Dearborn quarterback Anthony Mifsud .

Mifsud has received an offer from Hillsdale -- the school his father, Dearborn coach Dave Mifsud , attended -- and says Delaware and Davidson remain in the picture.

But he's hoping to receive an offer from Villanova.

"They're a real good school academically," he said. "I like their offense. They have their quarterbacks run a lot. As the season wore on I ran it more with quarterback traps and quarterback blasts. Villanova's offense is like a spread. They have a zone read with a one-back and three receivers."

Mifsud said Hillsdale "wants an answer by the 17th (of January). If I don't hear from Villanova, I'm going to ask Hillsdale to extend their deadline to the 21st. And Davidson? I told them I would be interested if I don't receive an offer from Villanova."

Mifsud (6-4, 190) is No. 58 on the Blue Chip list, and is on Villanova's B list.

According to Mifsud, Villanova is waiting to hear from its A list quarterback. He said that recruit is expected to take a visit to a different school this weekend, leaving Villanova in the dark until late Sunday or Monday.

Mifsud also was interested in attending Princeton, but officials received a commitment from their A list quarterback.

"Others told me I was on their second or third list," Mifsud said. "I haven't heard back from most of them."

He has made an official visit to Hillsdale and liked what he saw.

"I really like their coach (Keith Otterbein )," he said. "If I don't go there, I don't want to leave them hanging. When I talk to the coaches at Villanova this week, I'm not sure they will be able to tell me anything."

Big Night for Chargers in Cactus Bowl

Mark Nicolet had one more big game left.

10/18 for 103 yards, 3 tds
4 rushes for 41 yards while splitting time with Catawba's Kory Fisher.

That was good enough to garner offensive MVP honors for the game and a big rise in pro stock after being virtually unknown by scouts before the season.

Hillsdale's Matt Vanover had a 38 yard average on two punts and dropped one inside the opposing 20.

Other GLIAC players had big nights including Grand Valley's Anthony Adams who scored for the East defense. Fellow Laker Brandon Barnes was the game's top o-lineman.

3 Chargers Win First GLIAC Comissioner's Award

Hillsdale College Release

Three Charger athletes honored with first GLIAC Commissioner's Award
Melissa Bartlett, Mark Nicolet, Nick Gurica earn honors from conference
January 10, 2008 - For the first time, the GLIAC presented a total of 12 Commissioner's Awards - six to female athletes and six to male athletes - inconjunction with the presentation of the Fall All-Academic teams. The awards went to the top student-athletes in the conference for the fall season.

Hillsdale College was the only school with three winners: senior volleyball player Melissa Bartlett, and senior football players Mark Nicolet and Nick Gurica.

The awards cap memorable 2007 seasons for all three athletes. Bartlett earned First-Team All-American honors from both Daktronics and the AVCA, and was named the GLIAC Player of the Year. Bartlett finished this season with 635 kills, three shy of the school record. She led the conference in kills and was also named First-Team All-Region. The Chargers advanced to the GLIACChampionship match for the first time in school history, and qualified for the NCAA Division II regional tournament for the fourth year in a row.

Nicolet and Gurica led Hillsdale College's football team to an 8-3 record in 2007, the best mark by the team this decade.

Full Release

Cactus Bowl Tonight!

Chargers Matt Vanover and Mark Nicolet pull on their Hillsdale helmets one last time tonight as they participate in the D2 All Star Valero Cactus Bowl game tonight in Kingsville, TX.

Game time is set for 8:00 PM Eastern.

The game will be telecast on Fox Sports Southwest for those of you with the fancy satellite sports packages.