File photo by Travis Rosenau During a home football game Oct. 26 at MLC, Martin Luther University defensive end Andrew Esmay, 9, spun away from a Westminster blocker.
NEW ULM — For someone who sat out his freshman year of college football by choice, Martin Luther University defensive end Andrew Esmay is no longer the Knights’ best-kept secret.
Long gone are the days when a 6-foot-6 defensive end was needed, and now he’s arguably the team’s top defensive playmaker. Esmay, a 2022 graduate of Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wis., is the Division III leader in sacks (12.5) and forced fumbles (six) and lost 46-14 at home to Westminster last Saturday. He just won and helped the Knights move up to fifth place. -2 for the season.
In this game, Esmay also set the MLC record for most sacks in a single season, passing Ben Ewings who had 11 sacks in 2013.
Esmay said while records and highlights are great accomplishments, he’s more interested in seeing the team succeed.
“It’s great to be able to come out on top in these categories.” Esmay said. “But what’s important to me is what we’re doing as a team, that we’re winning. The statistics aren’t that big of a deal, but it’s really nice to be able to lead that, and hopefully lead in the final as well. If I can keep going.”Once the season is over, I’ll just keep doing what I can and do my job for the team.”
Esmay, who uses all of his 210-pound frame to evade big offensive tackles, also knows that he needs craftiness and a speed rush to beat opposing quarterbacks.
“My favorite (trick) is definitely the ghost rush. Line up outside and try to take them down from the bottom and take them to the edge because I’m a lot faster than them.” Esmay said. “And the spin move, I always love the spin move, it always catches them off guard.”
Esmay said he never considered himself to be the team’s best player on both sides of the ball, as he played football for fun in high school and played right tackle and defensive end. .
“Luther Prep I played all four years and was a right tackle and defensive end all four years.” Esmay said. “I was actually a wide receiver and a running back in middle school, so I thought that’s what I was going to do when I got to high school. But at Luther Prep, it’s not a big school, so you’re big and you play on the O-line. , also play on the D-line. And I wasn’t — I was pretty good — I won’t say if I was a threat or not (laughs), but I had fun, we were pretty good. It was a good team.”
However, Esmay’s college football career almost never materialized. He initially dismissed the idea because he only wanted to study to become a minister.
“I’ve always wanted to be a chiropractor, and on the last day of my senior year, I decided I wanted to try this out (at MLC), so I came here.” Esmay said. “I didn’t play football my freshman year of college. I thought it was totally stupid to play sports in college, especially when you know you’re here to be a pastor. , that’s what I’m studying. And my father is a pastor. I love watching pastors work, so I wanted to become a pastor.”
Esmay’s thoughts about playing sports in college changed after her freshman year at MLC. A big reason for that is junior teammate and Knights wide receiver Thomas Kelpin and Knights head football coach Paul Huebner.
“A close friend of mine (Thomas) enrolled at the end of his freshman year and he encouraged me to do it.” Esmay said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but Coach Hübner contacted me and said, ‘We’d love to have you on the team and see what you can do.’ I thought, “Okay, I’ll come and practice a few times and see how it goes,” and I really liked it, so I just kept going.”
Esmay’s first year as a sophomore in college football wasn’t a painless transition, as he played in five games and totaled 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks. But the biggest reason was that he was dealing with an injury that ultimately ended his season prematurely.
“I broke my little finger in the second game (last season).” Esmay said. “It wasn’t fun. … In the middle of the season they stripped me of my club and I couldn’t play anymore for the rest of the season.”
Returning to full health this season, Esmay had a standout performance against Westminster with three tackles, two sacks, and two fumbles, and was recently named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Weekly Player of the Week. He was selected as the Outstanding Defensive Player for the second time. , he recovered it and gained 51 yards for a second-half touchdown.
“Every time I step off the field, I thank God for keeping me healthy and allowing me to continue playing.” Esmay said. “Having the injury and knowing what it was like really created a desire in me to keep playing and stay healthy.”
The Knights’ last five-win season is coming in 2021 (5-4), and it’s clear Esmay played a big role in the team’s success this year. But he credits having some of the best coaches in DIII as a reason for the Knights’ success this year.
As for the rest of the season, Esmay has the playoffs in mind.
“I guess our goal is to win and get to the playoffs and see what we can do there.” Esmay said.
The Knights will look for another win this Saturday when they take on Northwestern on the road in St. Paul against UMAC. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
The Big South Conference announces its all-conference girls tennis team, with New Ulm’s Carly Prall joining the East.
Courtesy of Adam Hasman/MLC SID ST. Paul — Martin Luther College Football received many solid individual reviews…
