MVL football stars make college choices official
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Multiple high school athletes made their college choices known recently.
Here is a breakdown of where they’re headed:
Lincicome picks Ashland
Philo’s Jack Lincicome, now 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, will follow in his father Dirk’s footsteps and play for the Eagles, a Division II school located just west of Mansfield.
Jack, a quarterback and safety, also visited Ohio State before settling on the Division II route. The third-team All-Ohio performer, who battled multiple injuries his senior year, joins an Ashland program that has been a popular landing spot for Muskingum Valley League players in an array of sports.
Jake McLoughlin, a key two-way starter during Tri-Valley’s run to the 2017 Division III state finals, was a three-year starter at receiver after originally signing to play basketball.
Former Tri-Valley All-Ohio basketball player Kailee Howe, Crooksville state runner-up golfer Riley McKenzie and Coshocton volleyball player Ella Bible are current Eagles, and River View’s Haley Balo is headed there to play volleyball this fall.
MVL gridders include West M quarterback/safety Jake Anton and Meadowbrook lineman Mitchell George, both of whom just finished their freshman seasons.
Lincicome will be joined on campus by former football teammate and defending Division II state high jump champion Aiden Mahon, who made his pledge earlier in the winter to the highly respected track and field program.
Coupled with his dad’s history there and stability of the Eagles’ staff, Lincicome’s decision was made quickly after his visit. He was also encouraged by the fact the Eagles only signed two players from the transfer portal, neither of which were at his positions.
“All-around it’s just a nice campus, nice staff, and then academics play a big part of it,” Lincicome said. “We took a tour up there, and it was very, very nice.”
Lincicome said he wanted to find a landing spot that felt “very homey.” In his discussions with the Eagles’ coaches, he said that if he didn’t play football there, they’d see to it he could play somewhere else.
“And I really enjoy that,” Lincicome said.
He also considered Ohio University, where his older brother, Drew, wrestles, but he didn’t get much feedback from the Bobcats’ football staff after attending a camp there in summer of 2025.
He also is a left-handed pitcher on the Electrics’ baseball team and twice qualified for districts in wrestling, but he is set on the gridiron, citing how he enjoys being part of the environment of a football team.
A high ankle sprain suffered in a home loss to Sheridan all but eliminated his dual-threat ability in the second half of the season.
He will likely play defense for the Eagles, much like his dad, who starred at linebacker in the late 1990s before playing in the Arena Football League. He finished with 61 tackles, 41 being solos, with three for losses, four passes broken up and a forced fumble.
At quarterback, he passed for 1,108 yards with 10 TDs and ran for 776 yards on 131 carries with 14 scores, playing through the injury that didn’t full heal until the turn of the calendar year.
“We obviously didn’t like the outcome, but in our minds we still won that year,” Lincicome sad. “It was a successful season. The past three years we went 5-5, and this year we went 6-5. It’s a letdown losing in the first round of the playoffs, but our fate is our fate.”
Dragon Warrior? Metzger picks Tiffin
A multidimensional running back in John Glenn’s spread offense, Reese Metzger chose the Division II Dragons after being verbally committed to Central Michigan.
A last-minute visit to Tiffin, located an hour south of Toledo, changed his path.
“You got to a lot of visits and (the message) is really about what they can get out of me as a player,” said Metzger, who ran for 913 yards, caught 23 passes for 277 and scored 17 touchdowns. “Tiffin was all about what I can get out of the university. That is what really sold me. They weren’t just looking at what I could get athletic-wise, but also what I could get academic-wise out of the university.”
Metzger, a first-team All-East District performer in Division III, said that some 80 percent of students at Tiffin participate in athletics. He also became intrigued by their athletic science program, as he hopes to obtain a degree in the field with eyes on someday opening his own gym.
As for the football program, he said he could have a similar role as he had with John Glenn — capable of doing many things as a runner, pass catcher and return man.
“(The coaches) told me I am going to be like the Swiss Army Knife,” Metzger said.
Like many high schoolers seeking scholarships, Metzger was affected by the transfer portal. He thought he would sign with Virginia Tech, but head coach Brent Pry was fired in favor of former Penn State coach James Franklin, who brought multiple former players with him.
“So now I’ve got all these 5-star guys ahead of me, you know, multiple, multiple top-tier guys,” Metzger said. “So that sent me in a different direction. I lost all contact with (Virginia Tech) after (Spry) got fired.
“It would have been great to go D-I,” Metzger added. “But the portal has changed things so much, and I knew could go to Tiffin and get bigger, stronger and faster for two years, and if I wanted could go right back up to D-I. But it’s just what is best for me.”
He’s excited to see how his skills translate to the college game.
“I love to compete,” Metzger said. “That’s the reason I chose Tiffin. I love that it’s an athletic school, and you know they are going to have some good competition. I’m just ready to show them I am the best.”
Sheridan trio makes choices official
Sheridan football senior Creed Hill, the youngest of Luther and Kendra’s boys, mulled over multiple scholarship offers before deciding on Division II Sagniaw Valley State.
He made his decision official on the same day as classmates Logan Hupp, who will play football at Wooster, and Noah Wamer, who will play baseball at Wilmington.
Hill found a home in Saginaw, Michigan, near the Sagniaw River, which is just 20 minutes as the crow flies from Lake Huron.
Part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the football team often competes in the upper tier of a rugged conference with the likes of Michigan schools Grand Valley State and Ferris State.
Hill, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive end and offensive tackle, started both ways for coach Paul Culver III, following the same path as elder brothers Collin and Luken. Creed was a first-team All-Ohio pick on defense as a senior, where he led the team in sacks.
Collin signed with Division II Findlay before becoming a mainstay at Denison, while Luken signed to play basketball with Division II Concord (West Virginia), where he played two years before finishing his career at Muskingum.
Creed said he chose Saginaw because of what he described as an “amazing culture.” He picked them over Dayton and Indianapolis, another D-II school, and also visited Walsh. He may throw the shot for the track team.
“It felt very similar to Sheridan,” Creed said.
Creed said Saginaw was the best fit, citing his enjoyment of the dorms and campus, and overall filled more boxes in his search criteria. A history connoisseur, he will major in political science.
“Considering Collin and Luken’s journeys through college was very useful in deciding a school,” Creed said. “They already had so much experience at the D-II level, and it really helped figure out my final options.”
Culver said after Creed was named All-Ohio that he was “a captain, a leader, a team-first guy and an extraordinary football player. And that pales in comparison to the student he is and, more importantly, the teammate and quality young man he is. He’s one of the all-time greats here at Sheridan.”
Hupp, a first-team All-Southeast District pick, was arguably the MVL’s most explosive gamebreaker, lining up in multiple positions on offense to utilize his unique blend of speed and ball skills.
He finished with 45 catches for 587 yards as a receiver and also ran fir a 6.2-yard average on 28 carries as an option quarterback. He also threw a TD and averaged 15.8 yards on 11 punt returns.
Like Hill, Hupp also enjoyed the Wooster campus and academics. He also gained a quick appreciation of the coaching staff, calling them “fantastic.”
“It just felt like home as soon as I came up on campus,” Hupp said. “And the football aspect of it fits my playing style and what I want in a team going forward the next four years.”
That included the academic element, which he said was a “huge role” in his decision making throughout the process of his visits.
“I wasn’t too sure where I wanted to go,” Hupp said. “But after seeing where they were educational-wise and where it could put me out into the world, they had the biggest upside.”
Hupp also has family ties to Wooster — his uncle, former Sheridan quarterback Clint Rhodes, played safety at Wooster. His other uncle, Jordan Rhodes, starred at safety at Muskingum a few years later.
Jordan didn’t try to sway him to New Concord, as tempting as it may have been.
“He just kind of talked to me and was like, ‘you gotta pick where you want to go, whether it’s here or somewhere else,'” Hupp explained. “I had the same conversation with Clint, just having him there to try to help me figure out the best place, and obviously make the right decision for the rest of life. Those two were big influences.”
He will likely be a slot receiver with the Fighting Scots, but Hupp said there is a position within their offense that allows for moving around in formations at different spots. He is currently on a 7-on-7 team and has added 10 pounds to his now-190-pound frame.
Hupp, who has worked with a speed coach, said he was recently timed at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
“I’ve definitely gotten faster and my vertical has gotten higher,” Hupp said. “I feel like I am on the right track, and my explosiveness is starting to kick in.”
sblackbu@usatodayco.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Muskingum Valley League football stars make college choices official
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