Charger Chatter: Joe Reverman

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Joe Reverman-1

Joe Reverman, a tailback on the Hillsdale College football team, was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year on Nov. 17, becoming the first Hillsdale football player to ever win the award. Joe was also named Second Team All-GLIAC after finishing the season with 1,083 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Joe is planning to major in financial management.
How did it feel scoring that final touchdown in the last game of the season?
It was super exciting. That game was the perfect way to cap the season and send the seniors out, winning in overtime. It was probably the most fun game I’ve ever played in.

What are your thoughts on the season as a whole? Did it meet your expectations?
Obviously it didn’t exactly start where we wanted it to at 1-6. But we finished really strong, winning our last four. I think that was a really good way to send the seniors out, and build some momentum for next year.

What do you think contributed to the team’s upswing at the end of the season?
Well, I think we had a lot of young players playing at the beginning of the season, so I think halfway through the season everyone started to get comfortable with their roles. Really, I don’t know if it was one exact thing, but everything just kind of clicked and we started playing really well.

What about your own performance on the team? Did you surprise yourself?
I didn’t expect to get that much playing time so early. But, of course, people got injured, so I was called upon. And I’m definitely happy with how it turned out.

What was it like being voted MVP by your team at the end of the season?
Definitely pretty humbling, especially with all the other great players we have on the team. But it means a lot for my teammates to vote me that, and hopefully this will motivate me to keep working harder.

How did you first get into football?
We couldn’t play until fourth grade where I’m from, but I was interested for as long as I can remember, ever since I was really young. I don’t really know how it happened. My mom’s a pretty big football fan. But it’s just kind of the first thing I fell in love with and nothing really changed as I grew older.

How did you end up playing at Hillsdale?
I had a few other offers from other schools in the GLIAC and some other schools, but I came here and it just felt different than all the other schools. The academics were really important, and I liked the coaches and the whole football program. It just felt like the perfect fit.

What has your experience been being a part of this particular team? What do you love about Hillsdale football?
I like the brotherhood of everybody. Obviously it’s fun when you win games, but besides that it’s just meeting so many great people.

What are your expectations for next season?
Well, like I said, we won our last four games, so hopefully we can have a really good offseason. We have a new strength coach, Pat Gifford, so hopefully that helps us all get a lot better and build off of the success that we finished the season with.

How has being on the football team affected your college experience?
I definitely have a lot less time to do stuff, but I think it’s introduced me to a lot more people. I mean, a hundred friends that I probably wouldn’t have known if I didn’t play football, so it’s definitely worth it.

Any idea what you plan to do after college?
No, I’m pretty clueless right now to be honest. I just picked out my major.

What are some of your interests outside of the football team?
All of sports, really. But besides sports, my faith is really important to me, and just having a good relationship with family and friends.

– Compiled by Stacey Egger