HALL OF FAME FEATURE: Originally An Auburn Commit, One Visit to MSU Changed History for David Hyland
By Mark Maloney, MSUEagles.com
THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN JUNE. HYLAND, ALONG WITH KAREN LUTES AND NICK ATZINGER, WILL BE INDUCTED INTO THE MSU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME ON FRIDAY, OCT. 19.
As a high school senior, David Hyland mapped out his college career. A big-time football player from Woodstock, Ga. – that's about 30 miles north of Atlanta – he committed to crossing the state line of Alabama in order to play for the Auburn Tigers.
Before he could go, though, he fielded a phone call from Morehead State University.
Just take a visit and let us show you the school, he was told.
"I went up. The guys that hosted me were all great. The campus was gorgeous," he said. "I just really felt like I fit in there. After having conversations with the coaches, they basically told me if I came there, there was a chance I'd play all four years. I started thinking about it a little bit more and decided I'd rather enjoy my experience in school and actually get to play than maybe go to Auburn and potentially play my junior and senior year, and play special teams or whatever the case might have been."
And that's how Hyland became an MSU Eagle.
Playing defensive back 2005 through 2008, he became a three-time All-Pioneer Football League selection and was recognized as a 2007 mid-major All-American by Sports Network and Football Gazette.
He still holds the school record for career interceptions (21) and set a since-broken single-season interceptions record (8). He finished his career with 167 tackles and a then FCS-record 61 pass break-ups. He even saw action on offense, grabbing 12 passes for 155 yards.
No wonder he is among three athletes recently elected to the Morehead State Athletics Hall of Fame. Along with track and cross country standout Karen Lutes and golfer Nick Atzinger, Hyland will be inducted Friday, Oct. 19, at the Morehead Conference Center. A day later, the trio will be honored at MSU's Homecoming football game against Valparaiso.
"It's a really special feeling. I know it's a pretty exclusive group and there's some big names," Hyland said of his election. "Phil Simms is the biggest one that comes to mind when I think of that, and he's a Super Bowl-winning champion. So to be in with the likes of him and, I'm assuming, Kenneth Faried in the near future – the history of Morehead athletics has got a pretty impressive track record. And it's just a pretty cool feeling to be acknowledged for my time there."
Many people played a role in shaping his football career, Hyland said. At the top of his list, though, are parents Steve and Karen, backing him every step of the way. Steve attended 41 of David's 43 college games. Running a close second to his parents are "all the coaches along the way and people who saw something in me enough to get me on the field and give me a chance to play football and teach me the right way to do everything."
He says he'll accept his Hall of Fame recognition not so much because of what he did, but because of the success he had that came as a result of the coaches and players around him. It is, in his eyes, a team award.
He stays in touch with "the majority of the guys" from his playing days, and heard from most of them when he turned 31 on May 30. He certainly remembers some of his on-field exploits, though.
It would be difficult to forget a school-record 100-yard interception return against Campbell. That came in the final game of his college career and was his second pick of the day. The Camels had been looking towards an especially tall receiver all game.
"I kind of knew the play was coming and just knew that he was probably going to run a fade," Hyland said. "… I gave him a good jam to pause his timing up with the quarterback at the line of scrimmage. And, when he threw the ball up, I was just in a better position than he was and went up and got it.
"Then I was in the end zone. 'Should I take a knee?' Then, "no, just try and score it; last game of your senior year.' So, against the rules coaches will probably tell you in that situation, I found a hole and took off. Had to make a couple guys miss. But that was a pretty special moment, too, to end a pretty fun career on such a big play."
Hyland went on to play pro football until retiring on his 30th birthday.
He was with the NFL's Cleveland Browns through rookie camp and OTAs (organized team activities), but did not stick. He landed with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League in 2010, named Rookie of the Year and the team's Defensive MVP. That opened the door for a two-year move to the Canadian Football League, where he played for the B.C. Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He returned to Arena ball, playing two seasons with the Utah Blaze, two with the San Jose SaberCats and two for the Jacksonville Sharks. With San Jose in 2015, he won an ArenaBowl title and was picked as Defensive Player of the Game and Ironman of the Game.
These days Hyland, who is single, lives in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and works in medical sales for Stryker Spine. With a business degree from MSU, Hyland deals in equipment dealing with back surgery and spinal implants.
He often stands in on surgeries to consult with doctors who may not be fully familiar with the equipment.
"It shares a lot of characteristics of football and sports in general," Hyland said. "For one, working in a team setting. There's five guys that I work with and they all kind of rally together to support the staff that we have. And it's competitive. It's really fast-paced, high energy and every day's different. So that's really dynamic. And it fits well with the background that I have. What I'm doing now, it doesn't seem like too severe of a transition."
Not exactly the career he was thinking of when he committed to Auburn. He's glad, though, that he chose Morehead State.
"No regrets. I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to."
