Eli Vanderveen: Hope College Football Commit
MIAA Class of 2023 Profile Series #1 by Vincent Cook
Good afternoon from Great Lakes State Football on this beautiful, snowy March day in Michigan! We are very excited to begin providing our followers with articles via Substack. We have had an itch, collectively, to break into writing articles and doing athlete interviews in this format. This does NOT mean we will stop our normal recorded audio and video podcast episodes. It simply means that we will be supplementing gaps in between episodes with other cool content via articles which the 3 of us are able to do individually.
Kory wrote our very first article at the end of February breaking down the incoming classes for the 9 NCAA Division II schools here in the state of Michigan. Check it out here: Ranking & Breaking Down the Class of 2023 for Michigan D2 Schools
He is hard at work writing an article regarding the Detroit Lion’s draft class, and Brett also has some ideas for articles that he is working on. I (Vince) will be providing a breakdown of the incoming classes for the 7 MIAA (NCAA Division III) schools here in Michigan (I am also including Calvin University’s first football class!). It is a very tough task in terms of the research required to put these classes together and rank them. I will explain more about why that is when I am ready to release that article. Look for it near the end of March / beginning of April.
Before that article is ready, I am going to be reaching out to several high profile MIAA commits here in Michigan and interview them as part of a “preview” to the incoming class of 2023 for the MIAA schools. So, without further ado, I bring you our first in a series of MIAA commit interviews: Eli Vanderveen of Hudsonville High School, Hope College Football Commit.
Eli Vanderveen Quick Info
School: Hudsonville High School (Class of 2023), Hudsonville, MI
Height & Weight: 6’4, 195 lbs
Position(s): Wide Receiver / Cornerback
2022 Stats: 32 receptions, 780 yards, 9 TDs / 29 tackles, 3 INTs, Pick-6
2022 Senior Highlights via HUDL: Eli Vanderveen 2022 Highlights
2022 Notable Accolades: All-Conference (OK-Red), All-Region (MHSFCA), All-State - 1st Team (MHSFCA), All-State - 2nd Team (AP)
247Sports: 2-Star (75 grade), #101 Player in MI, #433 WR Nationally
Notable Offers: Northwood, Findlay, Michigan State (PWO), Western Michigan (PWO)
Committed: Hope College (December 8th, 2022)
Interview Questions
In your time playing for Hudsonville High School, what do you think has prepared you the most for playing football collegiately? EV: Playing Hudsonville football was one of the best moments of my high school career. The memories and friendships made will never be forgotten. My WR coach trained me like a college athlete, and not a high school player, and that prepared me the most.
You received D2 offers from Findlay & Northwood as well as PWO’s from Michigan State & Western Michigan, but you ended up committing to Hope. What was it about Hope College and Hope Football that led you to commit to them over the bigger schools that showed interest in you? EV: Hope recruiting is some of the best recruiting in the country. They show you what you are gonna get all 4 years you play for them. They care about you and your family and make sure the recruits know it as well.
What excites you the most about Hope Football’s 2023 class? EV: The incoming Hope class is amazing. We have ATHLETES coming in that got looks from D2 and D1 just like I did. They are all hungry to work and win Hope a championship, and I can’t wait to surround myself with players that all want the same thing.
What excites you the most about playing for Coach Stuursma? EV: Coach Stuursma is the coach everyone wants. Loves his players and the game and shows every one of his players why he is the best coach around.
You are a dual-sport athlete at Hudsonville. Any intentions of playing basketball in addition to football while at Hope? EV: I have no intentions of playing basketball at Hope. I love the sport, but I only played it to be a part of a good group of friends. I have a stronger love for football.
What personal and team goals do you have heading into your college football career? EV: My personal goal for this season is being a good learner. The wide receiver returning class for Hope is by far the best in D3. I also want to help the team however I can this season and get some playing time as a freshman. I think the whole team has one common goal: to win the [MIAA] championship, and we will do whatever it takes to do that.
Quick questions
a) Favorite Sports team (regardless of sport or level)? EV: Michigan Football
b) If you could play any sport OTHER than football or basketball, and be good at it, what sport would you choose? EV: Volleyball has always been a sport I loved playing and was good at.
c) Favorite Sports Movie? EV: The Blindside
d) Favorite pre-game hype song? EV: Whoopty by CJ
e) Final fun fact about you? EV: I am the oldest of 5 kids, and I have 2 adopted sisters.
Good luck to Eli this fall and all of Hope College Football! Go Dutch!
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