With football season in the rearview mirror and signing day complete, Spring Grove (PA) offensive lineman Michael Hershey has enjoyed one less stress through his senior year after making his six-month Maryland pledge official.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman was on Maryland’s offer in the spring before making his way to campus to work out with the staff. It didn’t take long for an offer to materialize into an official visit for the two-way lineman as head coach Mike Locksley and the staff put a premium in the trenches. From there, all Hershey had to do was wait to make his decision official, but signing day still came with a wave of emotions.
“I was definitely nervous but happy the school had stuff and I got to go through everything,” Michael Hershey told IBG. “It was just cool to get all the coaches and teammates out there to see me. it was fun. It relieves a lot of stress and worries now.”
Since then, the two-time All-County lineman has been able to enjoy the other sport he dominates: wrestling. After compiling a 68-25 record through three years and a seventh-place finish in the PIAA wrestling championships as a junior, Hershey has opened his senior year a perfect 14-0 as he prepares for Rage in the Cage at Garnet Valley High School this weekend.
“I know I’m going to miss it for sure but I’ll end it with a statement,” Hershey said with state championship aspirations.
After wrestling season, Hershey will shift his attention to the weight room where he sees little issue with the task of adding mass. “A typical guard and center weighs around 300 some pounds, but I should come in around 275, 280. It’ll come easy in the summer when it first comes,” he added. “They’ll start sending stuff out here soon, get me on that program and lifting and everything. Start picking up soon, especially once wrestling season is over to try to come in at a suitable weight they want me at. Weight shouldn’t be that big of a deal for me.”
Hershey says he plans to enroll at Maryland on June 15 as he makes his transition into a Power Five offensive lineman, a position he says has never been in question.
“They’ve specifically recruited me for offensive line. To start off I was recruited at defensive line and I had a lot of interest, so a lot of the offers came in. It was 50-50 where I’d end up, some offers then were on offense, some on defense. Then toward the end, it became offensive line offers. I started leaning toward [the offensive] line. I love the Maryland community and the people down there so I knew it’d work out for me. The relationships, the teammates, getting to experience a new area, going down there on my own and trying to figure it out. I’m looking forward to it, just meeting new people.”
Michael Hershey is rated a three-star prospect and an 87 overall by On3, sitting as the 20th-best prospect in Pennsylvania.
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