WPIAL
Freedom Area’s Kyle Borgman Ready to Compete for D-1 Scholarship
When you talk about defensive backs from Beaver County, the first name that rolls off most tongues is Aliquippa’s Kwantel Raines. The 4-star safety holds offers from some of the top programs in the nation. But there’s another safety playing 20 minutes away from Raines who may not have his size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), but is still garnering attention from FBS and FCS schools.
Kyle Borgman is getting set for senior season with Freedom Area High School. Borgman is the leader of a defense that he has started on since his freshmen season. Last year, the 5-foot-10, 182 pound safety racked up 71 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 8 pass deflections. On offense, he was able to churn out 800 rushing yards on 111 attempts for a Bulldog team that was able to advance to the WPIAL Class 2A Quarterfinals.
https://twitter.com/sauce__2/status/795811780488523777
Despite his success on the ground, Borgman is being looked as a safety and slot corner at the collegiate level. Though he doesn’t have any current scholarship offers from any schools, programs like Cincinnati, Buffalo, Akron, Columbia, RMU, Syracuse and Louisville have shown interest in the Class of 2018 defensive back. To play on the D-1 level, Borgman says he will need to keep improving on all the little things in that comes with playing in the secondary.
“To compete at that level I need to master all of the small fundamentals that come along with playing as a DB at the FCS/FBS levels,” Borgman said. “My speed, change of direction and power is great as of now, but there is always room for improvement. … I am working to keep on improving.”
Photo courtesy of Kyle Borgman
Though playing for a Power 5 school like Louisville or Pitt would be ideal, Borgman feels the MAC Conference or Ivy League would suit him best.
“I would love to pursue the FBS MAC Conference because I feel I could stand out there,” Borgman said. “I definitely will not overlook the FCS Conference especially the Ivy League due to their amazing academics.”
Two of the MAC schools high on Borgman’s list are Akron and Buffalo. The safety spoke very highly of Zips head coach Terry Bowden, who has been a head coach all over college football and is the son of Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden. What Borgman really liked about Bowden is the way he pushes his players, something that really draws him to a coach. Akron may have been great visit, but for now, Buffalo is the leader in the clubhouse for the Freedom safety.
“I would go there (Akron) for the atmosphere of the team, the great facilities, and the great school,” Borgman said. “However, right now my heart is really set on Buffalo. I really love it there and the coaches are great.”
As for his senior season, Borgman and his Bulldog teammates have a chance to make some real noise this fall in Class 2A. Freedom’s defense could be one of the more underrated in the WPIAL; and features not only Borgman, but rising junior Cody Ross, who is getting some D-1 interest of his own.
Keep with Pittsburgh Sports Now this fall for our coverage of Beaver County football. Don’t be surprised to hear Borgman’s name a mentioned a number of times in the coming months.
