Redshirt junior CJ Mifsud, Hillsdale College football team’s backup quarterback, made his collegiate debut in the Oct. 25 game against Tiffin University after starting quarterback Mark LaPrairie suffered an injury. Mifsud then played in Saturday’s game and led the team to a win over Saginaw Valley State University. He is majoring in financial management.
What was it like making your collegiate debut in the Tiffin game?
Being a backup quarterback, it’s my job to always be ready in case something happens. So when our starter Mark got injured and had to come out, I just had to be ready to go in. There really wasn’t much time to get nervous or anything like that. I just had to go in and had to keep us in the game because we had the chance to come back and tie.
How did you feel leading your team to a touchdown for the first time?
I knew we were down two scores when I went in, and then we needed to go in and at least get another touchdown, and then hopefully, an outside kick. I just wanted to put myself in a position to give our team a chance and I just did my best to do that.
Will you be playing more in the future?
Mark’s a year younger than me, and next year will be my last year, so I’m sure we’ll see how it goes. We’ll play spring ball, and you know our coaches are going to put the best players on the field. I’m just really focused on this year right now. I haven’t thought too much into the future about it.
When did you begin your football career?
I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old, in 3rd grade. This is my 14th year playing football and 14th year being a quarterback, so I’ve been doing it a long time. I love playing football. I played all four years in highschool — I started two years on varsity my junior and senior year, and my dad was actually my head coach.
For two seasons you played with your older brother Anthony Mifsud ’13. What was that like?
It was really cool. It’s an opportunity that most collegiate athletes don’t get, to play the same sport with a sibling. He’s my best friend and I just really enjoyed the unique opportunity to play on the same team with him for a couple years.
How did you end up playing football at Hillsdale?
Well, both my parents went here — my dad was on the 1985 national championship team. Then my brother went here. I knew I wanted to play college football, and I was getting recruited by a handful of teams in our conference, the GLIAC, and Hillsdale was just the best option for me. I felt I was going to get the best education while playing football with a group of really good guys — not just good football players, but genuinely good people. I thought that would be the best thing for me. So, when it came down to it, it was a pretty easy decision.
What do you love about the Hillsdale football team?
It’s really just the camaraderie and brotherhood of the team. We all really love each other and it’s really like a family. Nothing gets better than that, just to know that there’s a hundred plus other guys out there that have your back and that you have their back too.
