King of the Hill(er) - UPDATED: Through Ball St. game

Not slighting any other Orrville alum playing college ball, they will occupy an entirely separate post, but this post will focus on all things Tim Hiller.

For the 2nd straight week, Hiller and the WMU Broncos could be found on local TV, this past weekend, the sweet stylings of Fox Sports' Michael Reghi made the Toledo/WMU game even more watchable. Honestly, is there a better TV guy than Reghi? He loves to put a little extra mustard on the hot dog, but you can't say he doesn't love what he does. I still remember him doing the Orrville basketball state championship games back when he worked for SportsChannel.....Reghi loved the Red Riders.

Back to the game, it was a sluggish start, but Hiller led the Broncos on two straight scoring drives, one to end the 2nd quarter, and the other on their first drive in the 3rd, to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 17-7 lead, and eventually a 27-17 win.

It wasn't one of Tim's best games statistically, but I'm sure he's just as happy with the team's 9th win of the season and the 30th ranked Broncos in latest AP poll. OLD NEWS.

The Broncos have the week off as they prepare for their final regular season game of the season at Ball State on November 25th (Tuesday). A win would put WMU back into the running for a spot in the MAC championship game.

For the game he was 22/36 for 225 yds and 3 TD's and 1 INT, raising his season totals to an impressive 305/448 for 3382 yds, 33 TD's and 6 INT's.

UPDATE: The Broncos were manhandled by Ball St., 45-22. Tim needed to have a big game to give the Broncos a chance, but he only managed 145 passing yards, on 15 for 32 passing, with 1 TD and 2 INT's.

At this point, even with a loss to Ball St., the Broncos are still in line to play a bowl game somewhere (the Motor City, GMAC & International Bowls are the 3 that have contracts with the MAC).

Latest projections have the playing Rice in the Texas Bowl (played at Reliant Stadium in Houston) on December 30th.

Through the end of the regular season, his numbers are still excellent. 320/480 (66.7%) for 3527 yds...34 TD's and 8 INT's

Tim has already eclipsed a few school records, and is on the verge of adding a few more before the season is over. Here are the different passing categories, and where Tim stands, an asterik denotes a record Tim already holds.

Passing Yards, Season
School record is 3639, set in 1999 by Tim Lester. Currently, Tim Hiller has 3527 with 1 games left. Barring an injury, this record should fall.

Passing Yards, Career
Current record is again held by Tim Lester with 11,299, with Hiller having 7882 to date.

*Passing Yards, Game
Tim already holds this record, throwing for 471 yards in a loss to Central Michigan. Previous record was 450 yds.

Passing Attempts, Career
Tim currently has 1052 career pass attempts, more than likely, that number will be around 1100 by years end. The school record is 1507, again held by Tim Lester.

Passing Attempts, Season
Tim now holds the school record of 480.

*Passing Attempts, Game
This was another record broken earlier this year when Tim threw 63 times against Buffalo. Previous mark was 58.

Pass Completions, Career
Tim currently has 685 and is 2nd on the all-time list, school record is 875.

*Pass Completions, Season
Another record Tim already has, throwing 320 completions this year already. Previous record was 282.

*Pass Completions, Game
Another record Tim holds, completing 42 passes against Buffalo. His 38 completions the following week versus Central Michigan was the 2nd most completions in school history.

Completion Percentage
School record for completion percentage in a season is 67%, currently Tim is at 66.7%. The record for completion percentage in a career is 60.2%, Tim is currently at 65.2% for his career.

Touchdown Passes, Career
Tim is all alone in 2nd place with 74, record is 87. This record will fall very early next season.

Touchdown Passes, Season
Tim is tied for the school record with 34 TD passes.

Touchdown Passes, Game
Tim has thrown 5 TD passes in a game only twice, once last season and once this season. School record is 6. If I'm a betting man, I say he has a 7 TD game before it's all over with.

There you go, barring injury (always possible), or an early departure to the NFL (unlikely, but you never know), Hiller will likely rewrite almost every WMU passing record.

Hiller's performance, both on and off the field, is earning him some national recognition, as well as getting his name on a few post season awards list. He's a finalist for the Danny Weurffel Trophy, which is presented to the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement as well as the National Awards and Recognition Association's annual Sportsmanship Award given to an NCAA Bowl Division player who best personifies the spirit of sportsmanship.

If Ball State goes undefeated, the MAC player of the year award will most likely go to Nate Davis, but if they slip, Mr. Hiller might have an outside shot at MAC POY, he certianly has the numbers. MAC player of the year is Nate Davis....hands down.

Here's a few more links....

20 questions with Tim Hiller (MAC-Sports.com)

Hiller founds FCA chapter at WMU (Western Herald)

Here's a 4 part interview with Face to Face, focusing on his play, but also his faith. Scroll to Tim's picture, right click the "Listen Now" button, click "Save Target As" and save it to your hard drive. For some reason, it works better this way. (face-2-face.org)

So what are his prospects for the NFL? If you can tell me that there isn't a single NFL team that would take a look at a 6'5" 230 lb. quarterback with great character, a 4.0 GPA and a Master's Degree coming out of college, then I guess you could say he has no future in the NFL. I think if he entered next April's draft, he get selected, but he's got one more year of eligibility left.

If there's room for Daunte Caulpepper in the NFL, there's plenty of room for Tim Hiller. I'd venture to say that the nearby Detroit Lions would love a player like Hiller.

Whatever is to come, one this is for sure....Hiller is doing his family, and Orrville proud. Continued success Tim.