Defensive Player of the Year

Austin Hoover of Milan High School has been Huron League Defensive Player of the Year by the Huron League Football Blog.

The 6-1, 195 lb. hard hitting senior led the Huron League Champions in tackles with 147 including 7 tackles for loss. He also had two interceptions for a defensive unit that led the league in fewest points allowed per game.

The Milan captain will most likely play football at the next level if he chooses for a college team that values heart, desire and a winner’s mentality. Hoover helped lead Milan to a 20-2 record and two Huron League titles over the least two seasons.

Hoover’s teammate and fellow senior Max Blackburn was also considered for the award along with Riverview LB Jake Walsh.

73 thoughts on “Defensive Player of the Year”

  1. Does anyone else notice the guy ripping on Airport comments all hours of the day and night? Dude maybe you should worry a little less about high school football. Try getting a job.

  2. Yes, Airport won the league outright in 2011. Although I think Airport will have a quality team next season, it is very possible for them only to win 3 games. Especially if they keep Adrian and Tecumseh on the schedule. The 3 league IMO will have 3 very good teams next season in GI, Milan and SMCC. Huron will also have a team capable of winning 6-7 games but who knows if they can actually play up to their abilities.

    Where does Airport fit in? tough to say.

    -bn

  3. Isn't high school football and HS sports in general just about having fun with your friends? Is it all about winning? Boy, I hope not. Lot's of people about there that were great football players or even less than average with great memories that never won a league championship or playoff game. I'm mean who really cares? That is why I don't get the whole transfer thing. Anytime I here "my kid" is going to transfer, I'm thinking to myself, "for sports?". That makes no sense to me.

  4. Chris, please end all this crap talk! It's never too early to post something about next season and the players to watch. Anything is better than this.

  5. Word on the street is that Milan has kids coming out of the woodwork to play next season. If they can beat everyone in the Huron League with 25 kids, better watch out when they get 40.

  6. Airport will have a strong senior class and will compete in the upper half of the league next year. Whoever is saying they will win 2 games is pretty misinformed. EM

    1. Misinformed? Who are they going to beat? Don't give me "this senior class did really good against these teams on JV 2 years ago." I saw the talent this year, and the misuse of that talent. What makes you think it'll be any better other then you hope so. They aren't beating Milan, CC, GI( as long as Mitroka plays) or View. That is the top half, and Huron might be infront of you as well.

    2. Airport's biggest problem was lack of depth in its senior class. That won't be the case next year. In case your not aware teams with good senior classes tend to do better. Look at Riverview this year as an example. Please explain how Milan will be so good next year. They had like 10 juniors on the team and the JV wasnt that good. I dont care how good a coach Hoskins is, he wont win without talent.

    3. How is Riverview a top 4 team next year? They lost the 2 headed monster in the backfield and a senior dominated Oline. And we all know Riverview doesnt play defense.

    4. I can name some big returning talent at almost every school, but I can't name a single one from this deep senior class you're talking about. In case you didn't know, it isn't a requirement to be a senior in order to be good. If you're good, you're good as a junior too. Occasionally you have 1 or 2 guys who are able to help based on the experience of being a senior, but not 20 guys. The cupboard is bare, and it's only gonna get worse as the other HL programs continue to improve. Best care, some other teams don't play to their potential and you go 6-3 and a one and done. Then again that's what Airport does.

    5. I see what the problem is 9:40. Airport would beat your team for the better part of the last decade plus and you didnt like it a whole lot. We have ONE DOWN YEAR and your eatin it up. Suddenly our football future is in shambles after ONE DOWN YEAR. Its not just the senior class, JV went 6-3. Plenty of talent at the lower levels. Don't cry for us. Baas just needs to take a tip from your boy Hoskins and hit the recruiting trail. Nice comment about us going 1 and done. I wish we could get to Ford Field like Milan……..oh wait never mind.

    6. Airport made the playoffs 3 straight years after Redmond left. Your arguement keeps getting weaker & weaker. I'm done wasting my time with you.

    7. And what title did they win? HL title? A district? Oh that's right, nothing. Congrats on being mediocre! Sorry but goijg 6-3 and just getting in is not worth talking about, unless you're a school who hasn't made it forever. You're taking steps back and until you win something worth talking about your argument is weak.

    8. That was still with Redmonds players. We'll see how good of a job the previous coach and Baas do with developing their own talent.

  7. Airport will not win more than 3 games this year. Flat Rock and maybe Jefferson. Not even sure where the 3rd win could be

    1. Airport will beat FR Jeff Milan Riverview Adrian. The other 4 games will be tell the tale. CC and Huron will be tough. Going to the island won't be easy. The Tecumseh game could be for a playoff spot.

    2. We'll make this easy for everyone. Airport lost their best player/ QB. They won't be able to throw the ball so put 9 in the box and just stop the run. They'll beat Flat Rock and maybe Jefferson, 2-7 at best.

    3. Thanks for making it easy 9:51. Never mind the fact Airport's defense will be one of (if not the) best in league. The Oline will be more experiened and they are one of the 2 or 3 deepest in the league at RB. QB play could be the difference between league contender or finishing 4th.

    4. Btw 9:51, nevermind the fact you guys lost one of the best QBs in school history in Kanitz. Who's gonna replace his lost production?

    5. No thank you 3:56, I was unaware that all of a sudden Airport was going to have a stellar defense. They must be building on losing to any good team they play and beating a Mitroka-less GI. When are you going to get yourself another Redmond to right the ship? Bad news for you, it's only going to get worse.

    6. The defense was actually decent this year. With 8 starters coming back they will be better next year. This year had to alot to do with breaking in a new coach. Baas still won 2 more games than your boy Hoskins in his 1st year. Lets give Baas a chance before we run him out of town. Just like some Milan fans wanted to do after Hoskins went 1-8 his 1st year.

    7. I still remember sitting at the Airport-Milan game 2 years ago. I was sitting by a big group of Milan fans and all they wanted to do was talk about how this guy wasnt the right guy and how Milan shoulda hired a proven winner. I would say Hoskins more than made those guys look stupid. Moral of the story: don't judge a coach on his 1st year.

  8. Sorry, but Milan outcoached SMCC the last two years hands down. They won those games with good coaching and tough kids. No one player won either of those games. It was just great preparation and hardwork to stop the T-Formation, which SMCC is exceptional at running. Kanitz and Hoover were both great players, but Milan did not have the best athletes in the league. Riverview did. Milan had 25 guys on the team. Newsflash….. MILAN WAS NOT THAT GOOD THIS YEAR… No size, No depth, just a bunch of blue-collar kids who worked their buts to have a good season.

    SMCC is not a regular D5-D6 school and everyone knows it. They had twice as many guys as Milan on the sidelines. Anyone who understands high school football understands that private schools have an advantage in athletics. This has nothing to do with recruiting either.
    Its about "tradition and winning."

    The top public school teams can compete with the best private school teams in most divisions. Clarkston, Lake Orion, Dakota, Rockford, Lowell, Cass, King, Marine City, Canton, Ithica, Constantine, Muskegon, Zeeland, DeWitt, Walled Lake Western, East Grand Rapids. A few more, but this is a very short list.

    So trying to say that beating SMCC is not an accomplishment just becuase their a D-5 team is foolish. They are a very good team with good players and good coaches.

  9. Milan won the league with the league's best players – Hoover and Kanitz. You beat a D6 team in SMCC by 7, at home. You barely won a playoff game. Don't mention how good quarterbacks are on the other team until you face two Division 1 quarterbacks in back to back state title games. You clearly do not know what "out-coached" means, as the team with better athletes does not usually win by 7 when you out-coach the other team (speaking of the game I mentioned above).

    I do not want to take anything from Milan, they had a great year. I do have a problem with ignorant fans of any team, including my own. Please don't act like you are world beaters. Have the humility to hold your opinion when your football experience is limited (you know what I mean).

    1. Truer words have never been spoken on this blog. The way some of these Milan fans act, you would think they won a state title or 2.

  10. Not sure who the idiot is who said Milan will win a regional title, but as a Milan fan I will say this…. They have soundly out coached everyone in the Huron league over the last two years. That being said anyone who knows football understands that the Huron league is an average to below average football league.

    In 2012, they lost to a very good Tecumseh team with a 1st team all state QB that came within a last second field goal of beating Battle Creek Harper Creek for a regional title. In 2013, they ran into a Melvindale team that was noticeably bigger, faster, and more athletic then them and a D-1 reciever who was pretty special. With that said, they lost 35-31 missing three extra points and dropping a two point conversion to tie the game before halftime. Things you can't do in the playoffs especially when you're outmatched personnel wise.

    Milan will have a tough time making a playoff run until they get their numbers up. 26 guys on a division 3 football team will not cut it once they get out of the Huron League and playing good teams in the Playoffs.

    However, not many people understand how Milan's enrollment is dropping and should be right around 740 when they do the count in the spring for next year. This would most likely put them into division 4 which would make things easier to make a playoff run assuming they make it and don't run into Detrioit Country day in the district lol

  11. I don't dislike Milan but you blow your horn like they are the best thing around and they are just an average team year after year. Their playoff record proves that.

  12. Well if Milan is soooooooooooooo good then they should win in D3. But really we know that they are not that good. Just like Airport use to be. They made the playoffs 15 years in a row but just like Milan they would always lose in the first or second round.

    1. 2 for 15, Airport getting to the regional. And in those 4 wins beat Carlson, Trenton twice and Techumseh. So they haven't beaten any good teams in the playoffs either.

    2. As good as Milan was this year they only beat Airport by 10. Airport has wayyyy more talent coming back next year. They will beat Milan handily.

    3. As much as we are all sick of the Milan talk at least they won 10 games. I wish everyone well against Airport next year. Another 3-6 may shut them up. What a joke

  13. Ithaca-26 guys on the varsity and another state championship. Four straight state titles and a 56 game winning streak only trailing Huson Tigers 72 straight state record. Now that's not bad!!

    1. No excuses but they have 5'6 170 linemen who wins and competes game after game. They will have some size in two yrs. GUARANTEED REGIONAL CHAMPS 2015!

    2. How do you figure? Milan's JV wasnt that good this year. They lost soundly to SMCC Riverview and Airport's JV teams. I GUARANTEE they will not make a run in 2015.

    3. Milan has NEVER won a regional title. Please explain how these kids go from middle of the pack JV to one game from Ford Field in 2 years. I know JV records doesnt always translate to varsity, but come on let's live in the real world.

    4. Hey idiot 2:04 poster, winning regional means you are 1 game from Ford Field. Read the post before commenting you idiot. Idiot is not hard to spell btw.

    5. Milan will 3peat when h!// freezes over. SMCC GI Airport Huron are all much better than Milan next year. Coaching will keep them competitive but you just dont have the talent plain and simple.

  14. Jessie Hoskins wins the AP Division 3-4 Coach of the Year. Pretty major accomplishment considering only 4 coaches in the state can win the award each year per the 8 divisions. Congrats… He's got Milan on the upswing.

  15. Hoover and Blackburn were the 2 best linebackers I watched in the Huron League this year. Congratulations to all 3 players considered.

  16. Chris,
    Can you do your pre season all league teams for next season based on what happened last year? It'd be nice to see who you have tabbed for next year and how it changes by the end of next season. Just to show some people how kids can change and some kids come from no where to make all leage!

  17. Hey Chris, you picked a good one.

    Go Hoov! You earned it.

    You'll add a lot to any college program. Hope you find the right one.

  18. This young man is very deserving. Congrats, he is a very good football player. I saw play a few times this year and based on my personal observations I completely agree with this selection. But be very careful when relying on stats alone.

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