2024-10-01 04:30:03
Football
There’s no doubt who the best return man in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has been through four weeks of the 2024 football season.
On Saturday, Hillsdale College sophomore Shea Ruddy reinforced his claim with his best day yet in Hillsdale’s 28-21 road loss to Findlay, and that performance was strong enough to earn the wide receiver G-MAC Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.
Ruddy was responsible for all three of Hillsdale’s touchdowns in the contest against the Oilers, but it was his 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that sealed his G-MAC honor. The return was Hillsdale’s first kickoff return TD since Josh Peroni’s effort on Oct. 16, 2021 against Lake Erie, and just the second by a G-MAC player in 2024, as well as the longest kick return to date.
Ruddy’s touchdown wasn’t a fluke return. The sophomore put up 158 yards on five kickoff and punt returns against Findlay, adding to his 93-yard score a 34-yard return on the opening kickoff of the second half that helped set up Hillsdale’s first touchdown of the contest. His 428 yards on kickoff returns so far leads not only the G-MAC by nearly 150 yards, but currently tops the entire nation at the NCAA DII level.
Ruddy also is a menace on punt returns, with a G-MAC-leading 14 yards per punt return, and an effective wide receiver, with 344 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 catches.
The sophomore’s all-around performance as a receiver, rusher and returner have made him one of the most prolific players in the country to date, with 895 all-purpose yards, leading the country by nearly 200 yards at the NCAA DII level. His 223 yards per game is the highest among any player in FBS, FCS, and NCAA DII, and third behind two NCAA DIII players through the fourth week of the season.
Ruddy will look to help the Chargers pick up their first win of the season this Saturday as Hillsdale travels to Northwood for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Photo by Elaine Kutas
