BY BILL TIPPLE
BCS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Bellefontaine football standout Collin Deitsch signed his letter of intent with Division II Ashland University Friday afternoon.
The wide receiver chose AU after visiting the campus. He was impressed with the academics along with the coaches and athletic facilities.
Deitsch also considered the University of Toledo.
The lanky receiver was a three-year contributor to the Chieftain attack.
Despite playing through a shoulder injury, Deitsch had 43 catches for 460 yards and five touchdowns last fall. He helped the Chiefs earn a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division co-championship.
Deitsch was selected to the CBC second team as a junior and senior.
He also played cornerback and safety for the Chiefs and has starred in high school track as a high jumper.
He has maintained a 3.75 grade point average at BHS. Deitsch plans on studying chemistry at Ashland.
He reflected on his signing, “I really liked the family atmosphere at Ashland. The coaches cared for the person more than the player. They also valued academics. My goal is to make the travel squad as a freshman at AU.”
Deitsch said playing college football has been a goal since junior high.
He’ll be joined by three former Chiefs in the fall: Ryan Pool, Ethan Yoder and Dezmin Lyburtus, who recently transferred there after spending four years at Ferris State.
Bellefontaine football coach Jason Brown added, “Collin has an amazing catch radius. He makes the easy catches all the time, then makes the tough catches look easy. He’s very driven and pushed himself to be a college athlete.”
Ashland has been very successful on the football field. The Eagles are coming off a 12-2 season in which they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.