By Shae Brophy
Meet #11, defensive end Corey Steele. Originally from Greenville, Steele graduated from Greenville High School in 2009. He has been playing football since he was 7 years old and also wrestled in school. While he might not be the biggest in stature on the team, the amount of heart he displays every play is second to none. It has almost become an expectation to see an exciting celebration after Steele makes a big play, and the team feeds off that excitement. So far this season, Corey has two sacks and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. Add in the timely tackles he has had this season, and you can see why he is a valuable part of the team.
While growing up, Corey’s favorite football players were (NFL Hall of Famer) Junior Seau, and (former Detroit Lions running back) Barry Sanders. Outside of football, Steele enjoys boating, hunting, and fishing.
When asked why he wanted to be a West Michigan Hawk, Steele replied, “I’ve loved the game of football my entire life. I was approached by a friend, who told me there would be a semi-pro football team playing in Cedar, so I took advantage of the chance to step back on the field. I could not have asked for a better group of guys to play this game with.”
Owner/head coach David Lange had this to say about Steele: “Corey is a great kid and looks at every challenge as an opportunity to get better. He shows up to practice and puts in his work! He is one of our ‘surprise’ players. Nobody really expected him to be a force on the defensive line because of his size, but he has surpassed expectations, and turned into the force that we needed.”
After taking last weekend off to celebrate the holiday, the Hawks will be in action this weekend. They will travel to Detroit to take on the Michigan Renegades (1-3) this Saturday, as the team looks for their first win of the season. All Hawks fans are invited to make the trip to Detroit with the team, as they travel in to enemy territory. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m. For information on the address of where the game will be play, be sure to follow the West Michigan Hawks on Facebook!
Shae Brophy is the Media/Public Relations Director for the West Michigan Hawks.
