Chargers add 32 players on 2022 National Signing Day

The Hillsdale College football program is pleased to announce its newest class of incoming freshmen who have signed their letters of intent to become Chargers today.

The Chargers signed 32 players on National Signing Day, Wednesday, Feb. 2, with additional signings expected to help fill out the roster for Team 130 in the days and weeks to come.

Hillsdale College's football program is built around the importance of family, and as is true almost every year, there are multiple recruits with family ties to the Chargers in this year's class. Incoming wide receiver Christian Hinrichs is the younger brother of current Charger Ben Hinrichs, a soon-to-be sophomore tight end for Hillsdale, while quarterback and signee Kyler Carson has an older sister, Kasidy, who is a senior on the Hillsdale College softball team.

The Chargers also are bringing in several players who helped their high school teams reach the biggest stages their states had to offer. Incoming wide receiver Connor Pratt helped Van Wert win an OHSAA Division IV state title in 2020, catching a touchdown pass in the state championship game to give Hillsdale College football alumnus Keith Recker his first state title as a head coach. Signee Hayden McDonald also won a state championship in 2020 at the Division 6 level in Michigan while playing for Montague, and Jeffrey Roskopp was a part of two Warren De La Salle teams that played in the MHSAA Division 2 state finals, winning a state title in 2021 and finishing as the runner-up in 2020. As a sophomore, incoming safety Colin Morrow also was a part of a Jackson Lumen Christi team that finished runner-up in the MHSAA Division 7 state final.

As impressive as this class was on the field in high school, it was equally impressive off it. Combined, the class averages a 3.78 high school GPA, a sign the group will be up to the task of meeting the high academic standards Hillsdale College has for its student-athletes.

"We were lucky to get really talented players in this class, but it's just as important that we found kids who are a good fit for Hillsdale College and this program," Charger head coach Keith Otterbein, preparing to enter his 21st season this fall, stated. "This group is full of guys who are ready to embrace the hard work on the field that's necessary to become a great football player, as well as the challenges they'll face in the classroom on the path to receiving a rigorous education, and the pressure that comes with representing this school and this program in the right way.

"They're hungry for success, both in the short-term and the long-term, and that's exactly the kind of attitude you want to see when you're adding players to your program."

Hillsdale is coming off a 6-6 season where the Chargers overcame an 0-3 start and significant adversity through injuries to finish 5-2 in G-MAC play and earn the program's first bowl appearance since 1960. While key players, including All-American defensive tackle Nate Chambers and punter Jack Shannon, have graduated, the Chargers return several experienced and talented starters on both sides of the ball and optimism is high about the possibilities for the upcoming campaign.

The 2022 freshman class will look to play an immediate role in that success and help keep the Charger program moving forward toward its ultimate goal of recapturing the G-MAC championship it last won in 2018.

2022 Charger Football Recruiting Class