(Pella) A move to defense could pay dividends for Griswold graduate Derek Mueller at Central College.
The junior for the Dutch will be playing the Stud position on defense. “I played tight end, but I was with the two’s and three’s so I didn’t get much time there. This year I moved to Stud on defense which is like a hybrid DE/LB so hopefully I can work my way up on to the two-deep roster. Stud is basically you can stack them and have them blitz or hit a pulling guard and create chaos.”
He previously had been put at tight end. “Freshman year was a transitioning experience, but this last year I got a handle on things and became more comfortable with the offense and the football team in general. I was able to enjoy it more last year and am looking forward to it a lot more this year. Freshman year we didn’t really have a season. We had three games in the spring. Last year we finally got a full season and I saw the field a lot on special teams and was able to make the travelling roster for the players and was able to go up to Wisconsin-Whitewater. That was pretty fun.”
Mueller was asked about the biggest adjustment going from high school to college. “Probably the physicality and the practices are way different. It’s a lot more time consuming. You really have to devote yourself. You have school and football and during the season you don’t don’t really have much free time. You really have to devote yourself and be dedicated to do it and love the sport to play it in college.”
Playing college football wasn’t exactly on the front burner for Mueller, but a connection with fellow Griswold alum Evan Kelly paved the way. “When track got cancelled my senior year I wanted to play sports again. During that summer I looked into Central because Evan was enrolled there and he recommended it. I talked to the coaches and went on a visit and I loved it there.”
Central went 11-1 last season. They begin the 2022 campaign at home against St. Olaf on September 3rd.
