Star receiver Isaac TeSlaa plans to transfer

By Christian Peck-Dimit Associate Editor

Seven Charger football players were named to one of the three G-MAC

All-Conference teams, headlined by sophomore wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who has entered the transfer portal.

TeSlaa becomes the first Charger in program history to win the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award after finishing top five in the nation in both receiving yards and touchdowns, with 1,325 and 13 respectively.

Following his stellar season, TeSlaa has entered the transfer portal and intends to transfer to a school with a DI football program.

“I’ve been thinking about it since the end of the season,” TeSlaa said. “It’s not an easy decision, but I just feel like I was a step above the competition at the DII level, so I want to challenge myself as a receiver and become the best receiver I can be, and I feel like that will come to fruition quicker at a higher level.”

While TeSlaa said the experience has been both difficult and nerve-wracking, he said it is the right thing for him to do, and he has already gotten a lot of interest.

Head coach Keith Otterbein, however, said he does not like the trend of players transferring schools becoming more popular.

“I hate it, I don’t like it, they know I don’t like it, but the new culture is that ‘I’m going to go somewhere else’ kind of thing,” Otterbein said. “When you are recruited by a school and you go to war with the guys in that locker room, it’s just not in my DNA to go somewhere else and start over.”

TeSlaa will end his career as a Charger with 2,116 total receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns, the sixth and seventh most in program history, respectively. He has played in just two fall seasons as a Charger, appearing in 26 total games.

“We certainly would love to have him back, having him in our program makes us a better program,” Otterbein said. “But we don’t want guys here that want to be somewhere else, so whatever happens as we move forward, we’re gonna field a football team, we’re going to show up September 2nd against the University of Indianapolis and play football in about 280 days.”

Joining TeSlaa on the All-Conference First Team are Charger fifth-years Luke Keller - as a punter - and Kyle Kudla as well as senior running back Michael Herzog. Keller led the G-MAC in punting yards, finishing with nearly 800 yards more than the next closest punter.

“He deserved it, he stepped up,” Otterbein said. “We’ve looked for a punter the last couple of recruiting classes and just haven’t found the right guy, so it was always comforting to know where those guys were.”

Herzog finished second in the conference in rushing yards in his first season playing since 2019.

“Very well deserved recognition for him, there’s some good running backs in this league,” Otterbein said. “That’s a guy that opposing coaches would come up to me and say ‘number one really runs hard after contact and really did a good job.’ So, I’m really happy for Mike, really proud.”

Kudla, the team’s leader on defense, finished third in the G-MAC in total tackles in his final season with the program.

“He built up to play his best football his senior year, he played with passion and was a leader, got us into our calls, so I’m really happy for him,” Otterbein said. “He wore his passion on his sleeve, you could tell how important the game was to him.”

Junior tight end Michael Harding was named to the All-Conference Second Team, while sophomore offensive lineman Nick Affholter and senior defensive lineman Kendall Tobin were named to the Third Team.