Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin senior lineman Michael Hounshell has made it official and, after visiting several colleges since the end of the season, will accept an offer from Lake Erie College to play Division II football next season. This scholarship was made possible by a combination of hard work and hustle by Mike on and off the football field along with tremendous support, backing and promotion by his family and D1 Football.
NDCL LT/DL Michael Hounshell #55Many words can be used to describe Mike, hustle, passion, desire, intensity, toughness all come to mind, but the one that does it best is HEART. Here is a kid that was looked over for two years by his former coach at NDCL prior to this season and never really given a chance. He never gave up and had a very special off-season where he worked very hard and remained focused on getting the most out of football like never before and this year, his senior season he made a monster impact. Mike was named to the 2nd Team All-District team by the AP, 2nd Team All Conference, 2nd Team All-County and 1st Team News Herald All-Star Team. "The Hurricane" even earned the D1 "Shut Up and Play the Game!" GameDay MVP award for week 2 of the 2007 season. He had so many pancakes he could have opened his own IHOP Restaurant after that game against Chagrin Falls. That win was also the 200th win for NDCL head coach Byron Morgan.
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Physical and academic ability
The 6'2" 250 pounder from Willoughby isn't just tearing it up at left tackle and defensive tackle on the gridiron, he's carrying a 3.6 GPA and was even offered an academic scholarship from Mount Union after a recent visit to the school. A true example of the "student-athlete."
His size and strength is impressive with a max bench press of 325 pounds and pressing 225 pounds 20 times at our recent combine, but his speed is what is really eye opening. Michael ran a 4.89 second 40 yard dash (laser timed) and a 4.62 second 20 yard short shuttle. A 29 inch vertical jump coupled with a 8'4" broad jump rounded out his testing scores.
Michael Hounshell has had nothing but tremendous support at home from his parents who are truly dedicated to seeing him achieve his goal of taking his football to the next level, but are even more proud of his hard work and achievements academically. Those of us at D1 Football who have had the honor and privilege to work with Mike and come to know his family are equally as proud. To see this young man's dedication to getting in the best shape physically and mentally for college and college football is something special. He has been a great example to all of the players we've worked with all year long. He has definitely made the most of the opportunity he got to play high school football and now the "Lake Erie Storm has added a Hurricane" to it's arsenal. Good luck Mike!
