Brandon Folsom - Hillsdale Football: Mark Laprairie exits Spring as top quarterback

HILLSDALE – The process of replacing former Hillsdale College quarterback Sam Landry began this spring.

Sophomore Mark LaPrairie has emerged as the team’s unofficial No. 1 signal caller but has big shoes to fill.

As a senior last season, Landry completed 217 passes for 2,509 yards, 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Laprairie, on the other hand, attempted and completed only one pass as a relief quarterback last year.

“I think that’s pretty much been determined here,” said Hillsdale coach Keith Otterbein when asked if LaPrairie will start this fall. “We haven’t had our finally meetings yet, and we’ll talk as a staff (before making a decision).”

Although he is a raw talent, LaPrairie possesses great qualities as a quarterback. He comes from a high school powerhouse in Rockford where his Rams appeared in three consecutive Division 1 semifinal playoff games. He set school records for single season touchdown passes (22), career touchdown passes (39) and career passing yards (3,784), among other historical marks.

Otterbein said he was delighted in how well LaPrairie played throughout the spring.

“Mark has done a good job of managing the football team,” Otterbein said. “He’s taken care of the football.”

If the season were to start today, junior quarterback Jacob Richter would be second on the Chargers’ depth chart while junior C.J. Mifsud would be third.

“From the way they’ve performed here in the spring, all have done some nice stuff and all have made some mistakes in trying to get better,” Otterbein said.

Read full article at Peninsula Daily.

Cam White signs free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts

Cam White, who suffered serious injuries to both knees during his senior season of 2012, never gave up on his dream of playing in the NFL. Now 17 months later he gets his chance.

The former All-American h-back from Hillsdale College signed a free agent contract today with the Indianapolis Colts.

Below is a little glimpse into the hard work he put in as a trainer and athlete at Jared Veldheer's PowerStrength training center since graduation.

Congrats Cam!

Chargers Wrap up Spring Drills Tonight at Muddy Waters Stadium

QB Mark Laprairie

Whether it is fair or not, the biggest question that always swirls around Spring Practice when a team graduates its quarterback is "Who's the next guy going to be?"

Although most Division II schools don't make a big public announcement, the tea leaves around Hillsdale College this extended winter are floating in the direction of current RS-Freshman Mark Laprairie from Rockford.

Laprairie rewrote the passing record books for the storied program north of Grand Rapids and will have 3 years of eligibility to put a dent into the ones at Hillsdale.

Hopefully, Laprairie will get some help from the backfield and the return of Bennett Lewis. Lewis showed glimpses of breakaway talent in the 2013 season opener but was lost for the year due to injury during that game. Emerging alongside is Oklahoman Jake Wiseman. While Lewis will be more of a slasher, Wiseman will provide a change of pace and be the pounder. Both guys will be just Sophomores.

The offensive line is another area where some wholesale changes will be noticed. Currently it appears that a big battle is brewing over who will play where. The unit has had some injuries throw a wrench into early placement. More than likely whoever works the hardest between now and the beginning of the season is going to find himself in the starting line-up. We  know Nate Shreffler is one of the top offensive line coaches in the GLIAC and he will have this group ready.

The offensive group with the most experience is the wide receivers with Evan Bach, the team's leading receiver last season, back for one more go. Junior-to-be John Haley and Sophomore-to-be Joe Srebernak will give Laprairie a number of options and were near the top statistically last year for Hillsdale.

We will take a look at the defense a little later this Spring.

Jared Veldheer lands 5 year deal with the Arizona Cardinals

New Arizona Cardinal Jared Veldheer at Hillsdale

When the Oakland Raiders chose not to apply the franchise to former Hillsdale College All-American Jared Veldheer last Monday he became an unrestricted fee agent.

Despite having stated repeatedly that he wanted to remain a Raider, contract negotiations never got close enough to the numbers Arizona offered when additional teams were permitted to contact players on Saturday.

The offensive tackle was widely considered to be Oakland's best offensive player. He will be in Phoenix tomorrow to meet with the Cardinals' officials and take a physical.

Several media outlets reported Jared's deal to be worth 35 million dollars over four year with 17 of that being guaranteed.

Helping make all of this happen is Jared's brother Aaron, a former Hillsdale Charger himself. The older Veldheer was a captain of the Hillsdale basketball team and has served as Jared's agent since the end of the 2012 season.

Hillsdale Football great passes away

Stephen M. Roddick ranks ninth on the all-time Hillsdale College rushing list, having amassed 1,986 yards from 1976-1976. Among the many honors he earned as a Charger, he was regarded by many long-time fans as one of their favorite players in program history. After Hillsdale he went on to a long career of coaching young athletes.

Sadly, Roddick's friends, family, and teammates will be saying a final goodbye to him this weekend. Roddick died Tuesday afternoon after he was pulled from the icy St. Joseph River near South Bend, Indiana.

Visitation will be held for Roddick on Friday with the funeral on Saturday in South Bend. Full obituary and details can be found here.

Embry brings McAvoy Award back where it belongs

Hillsdale LB Steven Embry - photo: gliac.org

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Release:

Hillsdale’s Steven Embry Named Recipient of the 2013 GLIAC Jack H. McAvoy Award



BAY CITY, Mich. - Hillsdale College senior linebacker Steven Embry has been named recipient of the 2013 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Jack H. McAvoy Award as announced by Commissioner Dell Robinson.   The award is presented annually to the GLIAC football player who best combines outstanding character and leadership on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.

    A native of Clinton, Michigan, Embry has earned a 3.6 grade point average (4.0 scale) while majoring in biology.  He has been named to the GLIAC All-Academic football team three times, and is a two-time member of the All-GLIAC Football  Honorable Mention Team. A winner of the Michigan Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, the Howard “Champ” Messenger Award, and the Leonard Urbanick Award for Scholarship, Leadership and Ability. Embry leads the Charger football team’s weekly bible study group, while mentoring twin boys in Hillsdale who lost their father when they were very young. He also volunteers at Hot Rock, a mission-based basketball camp in Adrian, Mich. while also volunteering at the Hillsdale Community Health Center in operating rooms and with patient pockets.  In 2011 he volunteered for Habitat for Humanity at Spring Break in Immokalee, Fla. Embry has been a volunteer at the Hillsdale Center Youth Football Camp in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and volunteers his time to coach at his high school alma mater, Clinton High School, during two-a-days. He is a member of the Tri-Beta biology honorary, and volunteered as a teacher’s assistant in the spring of 2013 at the Biological Statistics Lab. In the 2013 Summer Session he worked as a lab assistant on campus in anatomy and physiology classes.

    This season, Embry led the GLIAC with four interceptions in the regular season, good for 79 yards and one touchdown. He was third on the team with 74 total tackles on the season, with two half tackles for losses. He also had season-high 15 total tackles in a win  over Ferris State University and had two interceptions versus the eventual Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) champion University of Indianapolis.

    “The GLIAC is proud of the accomplishments of Steven Embry,” stated Commissioner Robinson.  “He exemplifies outstanding character and embodies all of the qualities that the Jack McAvoy Award and Division II athletics represent.”

    Embry becomes the third Hillsdale athlete to win the award. Ferris State University has had the most recipients of the award (4), with Michigan Technological University, Northwood, and Saginaw Valley State University in third with two apiece.   The Award is named for former Hillsdale College director of athletics and head football coach, Jack McAvoy, who was instrumental in the founding of the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC), now known as the GLIAC.

Jack H. McAvoy Award Winners

2013 Steven Embry, Hillsdale
2012 Ryan Whittum, Northwood
2011 Josh Renel, Wayne State
2010        Phil Doerfler, Hillsdale
2009        Nick Bellanco, Ashland
2008        Jake Visser, Ferris State
2007        Mark Nicolet, Hillsdale
2006        Mike Klobucher, Ferris State
2005        Matthew Shem, Northern Michigan
2004        Neil Baumgartner, Saginaw Valley State
2003        Josh Sherko, Northern Michigan       Scott Stuible, Northwood
2002        Jason Battershell, Saginaw Valley State
2001       Chris Volz, Indianapolis
2000      Alex Kowalski, Michigan Tech
1999       Mo Harris, Ferris State
1998       Jeff Fox, Grand Valley State
1997     Matt Fishburn, Wayne State    Eric Tree, Michigan Tech
1996    Chris Pulliams, Ferris State

Happy 20th!

Happy 20th Anniversary of your first date Dean and Mrs. Petersen. I am lucky to have gotten to spend 1994 in Hillsdale with you both.