HILLSDALE COUNTY — Two straight 6-5 seasons have left Hillsdale College football with unfinished business. The Chargers ended 2024 under first-year coach Nate Shreffler by beating G-MAC power Tiffin and closing with their best stretch of the season, but early stumbles and close losses kept them just short of the program’s first conference title run in years.
Now, with two juniors who have already earned national recognition, Hillsdale is looking to change that script in 2025.
Wide receiver/return specialist Shea Ruddy and linebacker Jacob Vance were both named to the D2Football.com Preseason Elite 100 Watch List and selected as preseason All-Americans, a testament to their production and importance in all three phases of the game. Both know the accolades are nice — but also that they don’t win games in September or November.
“You appreciate the recognition, but it doesn’t win you any games,” Ruddy said. “My focus has been on the little things — running cleaner routes, making sure timing with Colin (McKernan) is sharp, and being consistent as a returner. Those are the things that can really change a game.”
Ruddy’s next step
Ruddy emerged last fall as Hillsdale’s most dangerous weapon, piling up more than 1,700 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged more than 28 yards per catch and turned multiple returns into game-changing field position. He said the offseason was about taking what he learned in 2024 and applying it sooner this fall.
“We obviously didn’t start well last year — kind of figured out that hurdle too late in the season, which was unfortunate, but our second half of the season went well,” Ruddy said. “Personally, this year, I’m just trying to improve on what I did last year, help the team win more. Obviously, the goal is a conference championship, and I think that’s doable this year.”
Ruddy added that with a veteran quarterback and an experienced receiver corps, the Chargers’ passing game should be ready to reach another level.
“Especially between the receivers and quarterbacks, we have a great connection,” Ruddy said. “Colin’s experienced now, he’s had a whole year under his belt. The receiver room is particularly experienced this year… we’re hoping to take our passing game to another level and kind of exploit defenses that way.”
Vance anchoring the defense
On the other side of the ball, Vance has become the anchor and heartbeat of Hillsdale’s defense. Despite missing time last fall with an ankle injury, he still led the team in tackles, added 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, and closed the year with what he called the best game of his college career.
“Last year was a good year, not just for me,” Vance said. “But as a team, we started off a little rough, 0-4. It’s not an ideal way to start. But the one thing about our team that I think is pretty unique is how we can show up every single Monday, regardless of what happened on Saturday, and put in the same work, the same process.”
He said the ankle injury taught him the value of depth and resilience, and returning to lead wins over Tiffin and Ohio Dominican set the tone for this year.
“Coming back from that, being able to finish the last two games of the season and beat Tiffin at home was incredible,” Vance said. “That was a great win for us, just kind of giving us some confidence going into this season.”
Competition has been the emphasis in camp, he said, from lifting to conditioning to every rep in practice.
“Every single rep you have to act like you’re trying to prove yourself,” Vance said. “Even if you are the starter like myself, it’s not guaranteed. I think we’ve done a good job of bringing that into our culture.”
Chasing a title
Hillsdale was again picked to finish fourth in the G-MAC preseason poll, but Vance said expectations in the locker room are higher.
“For conference play, there’s no doubt our expectation is to win the conference and go undefeated,” Vance said. “That has to be the goal, because if that’s not, what are we doing? Like that’s our end goal as a team.”
Both players pointed to the importance of finishing close games that slipped away in 2024.
“As a team last year, we kind of learned how to lose,” Ruddy said. “So I think from that, we can learn how to play in close games and not lose. We can learn how to win now.”
McKendree
The season begins on the road Sept. 6 at McKendree, a program the Chargers will see for only the second time in school history. Both leaders said that game will set the tone.
“I definitely think McKendree week one is going to be one of our biggest games, to get our feet wet and to get a win under our belts,” Ruddy said. “Week one has not notoriously been going well for us the past couple of years. So I think getting that just kind of win and settling in is going to be big for us.”
Vance agreed, adding that the focus is on starting fast and being mentally ready.
“The mindset we have to have now is that it’s already week one, like it’s already game week,” Vance said. “So then when that ball is kicked off down in McKendree, it’s nothing new. It’s like, all right, we know what to do. We put in the work, the time.”
With Ruddy stretching the field and Vance controlling the defense, the Chargers believe they have the firepower and leadership to do more than just compete in 2025. They believe they can contend. The only prior meeting between the Chargers and Bearcats came on Sept. 16, 2017, when McKendree won a tight 24-21 contest at Hillsdale. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
There will be a new streaming home for Hillsdale College athletics in the 2025 season as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has agreed to a media rights deal with FloSports. All Hillsdale home and conference contests will stream with FloSports as a part of its FloCollege brand. FloSports is a subscription-based livestreaming service that hosts 40,000 contests and has deals with over 20 conferences in the NCAA. You can find out more information and sign up to watch the Chargers online.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Ruddy, Vance share mindset shift as Hillsdale football chases long-awaited G-MAC title
Reporting by Joseph Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
