By Blake Chadwick
The Halstead Dragons’ Joey Millspaugh is a true swiss army knife who is ready to make big plays at any moment.
Millspaugh is a running back, fullback, kick and punt returner and athlete on defense, who keeps opposing coaches up at night.
“I feel like my biggest strengths are my pass coverage and my ability to tackle on defense,” Millspaugh said. “And then on offense I feel like I’m difficult to tackle. Most of the time one person won’t take me down. I also feel like I have good vision.”
The senior, who has been playing since fourth grade, is regarded as one of the best running backs in the area, but knows his work isn’t done yet.
“My personal goal is to have 1000 yards rushing and at least one kick return or punt return touchdown,” Millspaugh said. “Then on defense, have a few picks and I am looking to make the all-state team on both offense and defense. Our goal as a team is to win a playoff game. We haven’t won one in a little over 5 years.”
The senior put up 1,300 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns on offense, with seven yards per carry, 72 tackles on defense and was top 10 in the state in total return yards, which helped him be named to the first team all-league team as a defensive back and second team all-league as a running back.
Millspaugh has received a lot of interest from Division II and NAIA programs such as have heard from Harding University, Sterling College, Bethany College, and has even picked up an offer from Friends University.