By Chandler McDougal, Intern
Karl Dorn, a Senior Linebacker for the Huntingdon Hawks Football program decided to
use his fifth year of eligibility to return for the Hawks in the 2022 Fall Semester. Karl is from Destin, Florida and chose to enroll at Huntingdon because “I wanted to stay in the South, and I love the coaches and the environment they bring to the program.”
Head Coach, Mike Turk, always preaches to his team that his main goal is to have his players become better men once they leave Huntingdon College.
Huntingdon has been known for its prestigious academics as well as athletics. Dorn would note that “time-management” is crucial to balancing the nature of being a student-athlete. This, as well as the fact that Huntingdon had recent success winning their conference appealed to Dorn, and the connection was mutual. Thus, the beginning of a stellar career began for Dorn as he enrolled for the Hawks in the fall of 2018.
Dorn would choose to become a History major to one day achieve his main goal in his career. Having the effective time-management balance of a student-athlete has allowed Dorn to advance in the classroom and eventually graduating in the fall of 2022. The motivation to achieve his goals as a student-athlete motivated Dorn to become the best version of himself. Often times, he would write his goals down and keep them somewhere tangible so that he could acknowledge them on a daily basis and keep striving until he accomplished those goals.
One of Dorn’s goals when he was younger was to become an USA South All-Conference player. In the Spring of 2021, Dorn accomplished just that in the shortened season for the Hawks. Currently, Dorn’s goal is to get into coaching “because I want to be able to make a difference in people’s lives and do something
positive. Football is one way I know how to do it. Being successful in that career will be about relationships and how I can treat people to help them and honor God while doing so.”
The growth that this young man has had over the course of four years is stupendous as I have been a witness myself as a brother in the locker room, and a close friend outside the gridiron.
Dorn would grow up in the game of football as his father was also a coach. As stated by Dorn “It’s all I’ve known since I was little. My dad is a coach, so I grew up on the field going to games, practices, etc. I fell in love with the whole process.”
Dorn was nominated to be a team captain by his peers for the fall 2021 season.
Unfortunately, with only three games into the season, Dorn tore his ACL during practice, effectively shutting him down for the remainder of the season. The injury would leave a void in both Dorn and the team as younger players had to step up in his absence.
The Hawks finished with an overall record of 8-3, a USA South Conference Championship, but left disappointed as they had a first-round exit against their rival Birmingham Southern in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
The Hawks look forward to their 2022 season with Dorn as an impactful leader for both the defense and the team overall.
All rights reserved, Gumptown Magazine, LLC. Copyright 2022.
