Trey Farley
tlf001@marietta.edu
In a world that is always changing it is hard to find consistency, however Corey Hunsberger has been a model for consistency for Marietta’s defense since day one. The senior safety from Washington, Pennsylvania has started in all 30 games since joining the Pioneer squad in 2013.
“Corey has been a leader of this team since first coming to Marietta his freshman year and has really stepped up to the task of being a collegiate football player,” Head Coach Andy Waddle said.
Statistically, Hunsberger has been one of the top defenders for the Pioneers as he has recorded 191 tackles in three seasons in the secondary for Coach Waddle. Waddle is going to rely heavily on Hunsberger and his tackling ability to lead the defense this season after losing multiple seniors from the front lines this year. Despite being a secondary player, Hunsberger has been able to find his way behind the line of scrimmage, racking up five tackles for loss accumulating a total loss of 16 yards from the safety position. It is Hunsberger’s speed and athleticism that allow him to get in the back field with such ease, this in turn allows him to help the younger guys up front. Hunsberger’s myriad of skills will place a big role in the Pioneer defense this year as it has for the past three years.
These skills have earned Hunsberger honors on the field, but he excels even more off the field. He earned Academic All-American honors last season, becoming the first Academic All-American for Marietta College since Matt Wurtzbacher in 1983, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in Petroleum Engineering.
“It’s a routine for me balancing academics and athletics,” Hunsberger said “I’ve done it since high school and I made it a priority to work hard in the classroom during the day and then push myself as hard as I could on the football field after school. I feel that as long as I’m dedicated to pushing myself on an off the field I can be successful.”
“Corey is an incredibly hard worker and it has shown on and off the field,” head Coach Andy Waddle continued. “He’s been one of our most consistent and biggest cogs in the defense since he arrived on campus and will be the leader of the defense this year as he has been since his freshman year, especially after we lost several seniors on that side of the ball from last season. I’m looking to Corey to continue to play at a high level and lead this team day in and day out.”
“We got a lot of young guys coming up and we have a small group of seniors that are really the leaders of this program,” Hunsberger continued. “I think we can do a lot on the field this season with the way the guys have bought into Coach Waddle’s program and the dedication they have shown in workouts and during practice.”
Dedication and commitment have been words that Corey Hunsberger has lived by his entire career and he doesn’t have any plans of slowing down in his last season in the navy blue and white.
After an 0-2 start, Pioneer football returns to action this Saturday at Muskingum University, 1:00 p.m.
