2021 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
The Hillsdale College football team enters its 129th season as underdogs in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, but confident they have the tools to be a dark horse in the G-MAC title race.
The Chargers were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the G-MAC in the conference's Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour, the lowest preseason placement in their five seasons in the G-MAC.
But Hillsdale has reasons to believe it's capable of outperforming that initial ranking. The team returns 18 starters from a squad whose most recent game in the spring of 2021 was a 35-28 road win over an Ohio Dominican squad picked to finish third in the preseason poll with 37 votes.
Tiffin was picked to win a third-straight G-MAC title with 48 votes, including six of the eight first place votes, and Findlay was picked second with 38 votes, including one first place vote. You can see the full poll below.
The Chargers remain a young team overall, with more than half of their roster in either their first or second seasons in college. But that youth on paper potentially underestimates a group that includes several players who cut their teeth in significant action in the four-game spring 2021 season and got better as the campaign wore on.
Many of those players are slated for even bigger roles in 2021, and that experience should serve them well in their second seasons for the Chargers.
Hillsdale went 2-2 in the spring season but closed out the campaign with two wins on the road where the Chargers not only earned victories but established an offensive identity that should carry over into the fall 2021 season with so many of the players involved returning.
The Chargers' road map to success offensively in 2021 starts up front with an offensive line that returns four of its five starters from the spring, and helped pave the way for 181 rushing yards a contest, the second-best number in the GLIAC. Led by right guard and first-team All-G-MAC honoree Cole Johnson (Grand Ledge, MI/Grand Ledge), and second-team All-G-MAC center Jack McCarthy (Orchard Lake, MI/St. Mary's), the Chargers have a strong unit capable of playing smash-mouth football and wearing down opposing defenses.
That plays to the strengths of dual-threat quarterback Luke Keller (Zionsville, IN/Guerin Catholic), entering his third year as a starter, as well as the Chargers' deep stable of running backs with playing experience. Injuries in the spring saw the Chargers give substantial playing time to four different tailbacks, but the silver lining is that all four showed they could be effective behind the Charger line and all four return for the fall, including senior Josef Hissom (Spring Lake, MI/Spring Lake), and redshirt freshmen Jack Robinson (Chardon, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) and Logan VanEnkevort (Holt, MI/Holt).
Keller also can lean on a young but talented receiving corps led by senior Konnor Maloney (Lansing, MI/Lansing Catholic), one of just seven players in Charger history with more than 2,000 receiving yards for his career. Hillsdale has several targets who could have breakout years, including veterans Joe Bentley (Ithaca, MI/Ithaca) and Alec Foos (Bellevue, OH/Bellevue), as well as second year players Isaac TeSlaa (Hudsonville, MI/Unity Christian), Austen Williams (Akron, OH/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) and Michael Harding (Detroit, MI/Catholic Central).
Defensively, the Chargers are experienced and talented, returning 10 starters and six All-G-MAC honorees to a unit that will be tested once again by strong opponents in and out of conference play.
Junior Zach Herzog (Windsor, ONT/Holy Names) was a first-team All-G-MAC pick at safety in both 2019 and 2021 and is a playmaker for the Chargers, while seniors Nate Chambers (Otsego, MI/Otsego), Kyle Parran (Petersburg, MI/Ida) and Joe Royer (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Brother Rice) all have earned G-MAC recognition as well and anchor a defensive line that should be one of the team's strengths.
Senior STAR Alex Anschutz (Grand Rapids, MI/Lowell) is a leader for the Chargers at a critical position in Hillsdale's flexible 4-2-5 scheme and junior linebacker Kyle Kudla (Avon, OH/Avon) and senior linebacker Jonathan Burton (Baroda, MI/Lakeshore) look to build off of breakout campaigns in the spring.
At cornerback, senior Matt Harding (Detroit, MI/Catholic Central) leads the unit and provides a stable veteran presence, while several young players are competing to fill the only vacancy in the defensive lineup after the graduation of spring starter Tommy Froman.
Special teams should once again be a strength for the Chargers. Hillsdale boasts one of the best kicking-game combinations in the conference in Jack Shannon (Huntertown, IN/Carroll), who led the G-MAC in average yards per punt in the spring, and Julian Lee (White Lake, MI/Notre Dame Prep) who was the only kicker in the conference to attempt multiple field goals and make every kick he attempted.
While Hillsdale has a promising squad for the upcoming season, that promise will be tested by a difficult schedule. The Chargers open the season on Sept. 4 with a trip to always-tough Michigan Tech, looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Huskies, and then face three of the top four teams in the GLVC, Indianapolis, Truman St., and Missouri S&T, in consecutive weeks.
In conference play, winning a G-MAC title will be tougher than ever with the addition to the league of Ashland, a strong program that hasn't had a losing season since 2006 and has made three playoff appearances in the last decade, to an impressive group of contenders that includes two-time defending champion Tiffin, Findlay, Ohio Dominican and the Chargers.
Hillsdale has a six-game home slate in 2021 that kicks off on Sept. 11 with a 7 p.m. night contest against Indianapolis, ranked 14th in the nation in the AFCA preseason poll. You can find a full schedule and access ticket sales for each of the six games here.
Great Midwest Football Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
(1) Tiffin – 48 points (6 first-place votes)
(2) Findlay – 38 points (1 first-place vote)
(3) Ohio Dominican – 37 points (1 first-place vote)
(4) Ashland – 33 points
(5) Hillsdale – 27 points
(6) Walsh – 20 points
(7) Kentucky Wesleyan – 14 points
(8) Lake Erie – 7 points