Peters Township’s Hondru commits to Miami (Ohio)
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Corban Hondru gave Peters Township football fans plenty to celebrate in his four seasons as a starter.
Corban Hondru
Eleanor Bailey
Corban Hondru (10) and Logan Pfeuffer (8) celebrate after Peters Township defeats Penn-Trafford to advance to the WPIAL Class 5A football championship game for the first time in school history. Hondru committed to Miami of Ohio Saturday.
With all the uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic, Peters Township’s Corban Hondru made one thing certain Friday afternoon.
Hondru, an inside linebacker for the Indians, will remain in red and white colors by orally committing to Miami University (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference.
“Why wait?” he said. “They checked all the boxes for me as far as having a nice campus, a winning tradition and great academics. I loved everything about it. I wanted to get the process over with.”
The 6-1, 225-pound Hondru visited the campus in Oxford, Ohio in December for the program’s junior day. A few months later, he received the scholarship offer.
Defined as a cerebral competitor by Peters Township football coach T.J. Plack, Hondru has been an Observer-Reporter Fab 15 selection each of the past two seasons. He also was named to this year’s Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ All-State team after finishing his junior season with 69 tackles, including 16 for losses, 10 sacks and helping the Indians limit opponents to only 9.4 points per game.
The Indians played in their first WPIAL championship in program history, losing to Gateway in the Class 5A title game, 21-20.
“We are all hungry to get back,” Hondru said. “We all remember how we felt after that game. We don’t want to feel that way ever again. We’ve been pushing each other with the intent to come out more motivated than ever.”
As a sophomore, Hondru had similar numbers with 67 tackles, 17 tackles for losses, and seven sacks.
He had 27 total offers, and strongly considered the University of Pennsylvania and other MAC schools such as Ball State, Toledo and Bowling Green. Former Peters Township teammate Josh Casilli, who was Hondru’s neighbor throughout childhood, will be a freshman at Penn this upcoming season.
Miami won the MAC championship last season.
“I loved how the coaches treat the players and how the respect goes both ways,” Hondru said. “I didn’t have an offer when I went for the junior day in December. I was hoping they would offer. It was always at the top of my list.”