Three Devils Lake High School seniors signed letters of intent to play football on last Wednesday’s National Signing Day. All around the country, high school football players committed to various universities, and three from Devils Lake had the honor of announcing their advancement to the next level.
Hudson Hodous, Reggie Cavanaugh and Drew Hofstad will be taking their talents beyond the confines of Devils Lake.
“They worked for it, and they’re three great young men,” Devils Lake football coach Todd Lambrecht said. “They accomplished that, and I’m proud of them for doing that. They took the extra steps to get in touch with the colleges and show them film and stuff.”
In attendance were the families of the three players, who each took pictures with their respective sons. The three Firebirds also took pictures together while signing their papers, in addition to a picture with their coach.
Hodous and Hofstad will be moving on to Division 2 schools: Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Minnesota State University Moorhead in Moorhead, Minnesota. Cavanaugh committed to Dakota State University, which is an NAIA school in Madison, South Dakota.
“They worked hard in the offseason, and that helped. And just learning and being coachable,” Lambrecht said. “And just having that desire. You see it. And you ask them; you inquire about it, and they say ‘Yes.’ And they want to look at that next step.”
Devils Lake went 3-6 last fall while taking home close losses to West Fargo Horace and Grand Forks Central. All three commits are listed as both offensive and defensive players for Devils Lake, though Hodous is signing as an offensive lineman while Cavanaugh is signing as a running back.
Hofstad, who scored nine points for the Devils Lake basketball team the night before signing to play football, is still being considered a two-way player, per the MSUM Dragons football Twitter account. His versatility was listed as a key reason they chose to sign him. Hofstad has been a key presence and a pesky guard on the No. 2 basketball team in Division A, but he’s pursuing football as his focus.
“He’s always liked football. He’s an all-around athlete,” Lambrecht said. “He chose football because that’s what he loves to play. Not that he doesn’t love basketball; it’s one of those things that he really enjoys being on the football field. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision. It never is.”
The trio’s signing sets a precedent for success within the Devils Lake football program. Despite being a relatively small town, it has the ability to produce collegiate athletes who get the chance to pursue their dreams at an even higher level.
“It makes us happy. We have those guys that are capable of playing at the next level,” Lambrecht said. “It’s out there. Guys just need to realize how hard they have to work to get to it. So as a program, I love seeing it. I really do. It’s good for the younger kids to see it too because they could say, ‘Hey, I could do that at the next level.’”
For now, Lambrecht will have to say goodbye to this talented crew of seniors and work on developing the next wave. But he’ll have three more college football teams to follow in the fall as he watches them continue their careers from afar. He recalled visiting recent alums Jack Kuntz, Caleb Schneider and Colton Schneider to watch them play; Kuntz plays for the University of North Dakota, while the Schneiders play for the University of Jamestown.
But college football will also bring greater challenges for these players. Lambrecht knows how tough it will be, as a longtime coach and former University of Mary football player himself.
“The commitment’s different. In high school, you play three sports, go to school, do some other things. In college, it’s your one sport, and everything you work for is working for that,” Lambrecht said. “You can really focus on it. And you can really tune your abilities to that. It’s different because you can see yourself grow as an individual, and especially as a player. And the camaraderie and the friends that you make when you’re doing it, it’s hard to explain. It really is. You’d have to experience it. And they’ll get that experience.”
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
