2023 D2CCA All-Super Region 1 Football Teams
The accolades keep rolling in for Hillsdale College senior tailback Michael Herzog after a stellar 2023 season.
Just one day after becoming Hillsdale's first Harlon Hill Trophy finalist since 2018, Herzog has been recognized with first team All-Super Region 1 honors by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association on Thursday morning.
This honor comes on top of not only the Harlon Hill nod, but also recognition as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year and first-team All-G-MAC honors.
Herzog is one of two running backs in the region to earn first team honors, and gives Hillsdale an All-Region honoree to the D2CCA for the fifth consecutive season.
The senior from Windsor, Ontario put together a stellar campaign in 2023 as a senior for the Chargers, breaking or tying five G-MAC records while also ranking among the top running backs in the country at the NCAA DII level throughout. He led the G-MAC in carries (230), rushing yards (1,333), rushing touchdowns (21), yards per game average (121.2), scoring (11.5 points per game), All-Purpose yards (172.2 per game), single game rushing attempts (28 against Michigan Tech) and single-game rushing touchdowns (five against Ohio Dominican), while ranking in the top 10 in the nation at the NCAA DII level in all of those categories, and in the top five in many of them.
In the process of his historic season, Herzog broke G-MAC records for single season rushing touchdowns, finishing with 21 to surpass Daouda Sylla of Findlay's old record of 19, and, with 126 total points scored, also broke the record for points in a single season of 114 held by Sylla and former Hillsdale great David Graham. All told, his 2023 season ranks in the top four in G-MAC history in rushing yards, touchdowns, attempts, rushing yards per game and all-purpose yards.
His epic game in Hillsdale's 35-17 win over Ohio Dominican to finish the 2023 season and cap Herzog's career will live in legends for years to come. Against a defense that was surrendering 88 yards on the ground on average entering the contest, Herzog rushed for 175 yards on 20 carries and five touchdowns, breaking the G-MAC record for rushing touchdowns in a single contest and tying the Hillsdale record for single game rushing touchdowns, held jointly by Gordon Piatt (1939), Nate Clark (1955) and Willis Miles (1982).
It's an impressive finish for a player who came to Hillsdale as a wide receiver before moving to tailback, and then missed both the spring 2021 Covid season and the fall 2021 campaign with a knee injury suffered in practice. The painful adversity didn't shake Herzog in the slightest, as he attacked rehab with ferocity and returned to the squad in 2022 to finish his career as one of the all-time great running backs in Hillsdale College history. He ends his career ranked eighth all-time at Hillsdale in career rushing yardage with 2,273 accumulated in just two seasons, and his 2023 season ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in rushing yards, touchdowns and attempts as well.
Herzog joins his brother, Zach, in receiving All-Region honors from the D2CCA. Zach, a safety, received second-team All-Region honors in 2021, along with teammate Alex Anschutz. Former Chargers wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa was a second-team All-Region honoree in 2022, while offensive linemam Mark Konkle was a first team honoree in 2019. Hillsdale started its recent streak of All-Region honorees in 2018, with six players earning recognition, including quarterback Chance Stewart, wide receiver Trey Brock and offensive lineman Drew Callahan receiving first-team All-Region honors. All-Region awards were not handed out in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a first-team All-Region honoree, Herzog will now receive consideration for D2CCA All-American honors, which will be voted on next week and announced on Dec. 14. If selected as an All-American by the D2CCA, Herzog would be Hillsdale's first All-American in the D2CCA's eyes in a decade.
Photo by Reva Ludwig