Kyle Crusan (second from left) and Bryson Hughes (second from right) show their letters of intent they signed on Monday to play football at Olivet College. At left are Kyle's parents, Robert and Ember Crusan, and at right is Hughes' mother, Cathy Baker.
Pioneer photo/John RaffelREED CITY – Bryson Hughes and Kyle Crusan enjoyed playing together during their high school careers for the Reed City Coyotes especially when RC went to the state semifinals this season.
Now both will look to enjoy being teammates on the collegiate level.
Hughes, a Pioneer Dream Team offensive player of the year as a running back, and Crusan, a two-way lineman, signed letters of intent on Monday to play football at Olivet College, an NCAA Division III school in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
An all conference player in the CSAA Gold Division, Hughes had 136 carries for 1,215 yards and 15 touchdowns for 8.0 yards per carry and 15 touchdown, plus two TD catches. He had two kickoff returns, one punt return and one interception return for touchdowns.
“Bryson is in his second year on varsity,” Reed City coach Scott Shankel said. “Bryson starts on both sides of the ball for us as a running back and corner back on defense. Bryson never came off the field for us. Bryson is strong, fast, and powerful, the perfect storm for a running back. He is part of the three-headed monster in the backfield.
“When Bryson touches the ball good things happen for us. He can score multiple ways as he has proved that on offense, defense and special teams. Bryson has great vision, speed and breaks tackles for extra yards. He is also a good blocker for his fellow running backs in the back field.”
Olivet , Hughes said, “is a small town with small community and some really good people. I like their football program with the coach there and the community.
“I think I can give speed and skill and overall leadership to their team,” Hughes said.
Hughes indicated he made contact with Olivet two months ago and kept communicating. He will be used as a running back at Olivet. He’s looking to major in sports management.
He’s in wrestling right now and is four wins away from 150 in his career. He hasn’t eliminated the possibility of wrestling at Olivet but is focusing on football for now.
“This is really big,” he said. “This will be a third generation of going to college.”
The decision for he and Crusan to go to the same school was basically done independently of each other, Hughes said. But the prospect was intriguing and they’re looking forward to continuing to be teammates.
“I love it,” Crusan said. “We’ve been playing together for four years and have been doing well together. Hopefully we can play another four years together.”
He may also do track, Crusan said.
Crusan was an all-conference offensive tackle in the CSAA Gold Division and also an all-region player in Division 6 for the Michigan High School Football coaches Association. He paved the way for an RC offense which had 4,527 total yard, 3,820 rushing yards, 65 total touchdowns, 52 rushing touchdowns and 7.3 yards per carry.
“Kyle was in his third year of varsity football,” Shankel said. “Kyle started on both sides of the ball for us as a defensive tackle and offensive tackle. Kyle is a big physical player that gets off the ball and moves people down the field. He is a huge reason why we are pretty successful as an offense that was averaging 44 points per game and 377 yards per game.”
Crusan said he will be studying insurance management and is being targeted to be an interior offensive lineman.
He’s looking to improve his quickness as a lineman.
“About halfway during the season I started talking to them,” Crusan said. “They contacted me.
“This is pretty exciting. (College football) has always been a dream of mine.”
