Herremans' Focus on 'Dadding,' Giving Kids Similar Small-Town Childhood
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
August 5, 2021
Todd Herremans played 11 seasons in the NFL, battling big-name defensive linemen every Sunday and ascending to celebrity status in Philadelphia.
But make no mistake: He’s still a small-town, Ravenna boy at heart.
“We lived in downtown Philly for the last 10 years and then the kids came along,” said Herremans, a 2001 graduate of Ravenna High School. “I tried to make it work, but one day it just hit me that I have no idea how to raise kids in the city.”
So, in a scene straight out of the 1960’s television comedy “Green Acres,” in January he loaded up his wife, Elizabeth, daughter Olivia (5) and son Jaxon (3) and moved to a farm in West Chester, a small town about 50 miles east of Philadelphia.
One of the goals of the move has been to provide his kids with a childhood something like his idyllic upbringing in Ravenna, a rural village in eastern Muskegon County with about 1,200 residents.
Herremans’ father, Paul, is approaching his 31st season as the varsity baseball coach at Ravenna, despite retiring as a math teacher in 2010. He has also coached football and basketball at Ravenna since the 1970s and, as a result, his sons John, Scott and Todd basically grew up under the bleachers.
“I remember being really little and I couldn’t wait to be old enough to be the bat boy,” said Todd Herremans, now 38, whose mother, Marilee, was also a teacher. “Then once I did that, I was itching to put on the pads and the uniforms. Then I couldn’t wait to be on the varsity.”
He grew up to be a four-sport athlete at Ravenna – starring in football, basketball and baseball (along with helping out the track & field team in his senior year, throwing the discus and shot put) – and he credits playing multiple sports for helping him not only make it to the NFL, but to stay there for 11 years and remain healthy enough to start 126 of 135 career games.
“There’s no doubt playing other sports helped me make it to the NFL – the footwork I developed playing basketball and things like that,” said Herremans. “But it really helped me stay there. When you play different sports you are in different scenarios and fill different roles on each team. I think I was more adaptable than some of the other guys I played with.”
Herremans earned all-West Michigan Conference honors in football, basketball and baseball at Ravenna, but he was a late bloomer in many ways as his skill set grew into his big frame.
He went on to start for four years at Saginaw Valley State, playing in 48 games and starting 40 of them at left or right offensive tackle. During his senior year at Saginaw Valley he earned first-team Little All-America honors from The Associated Press, which put him firmly on the NFL radar.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, when the Eagles traded up to take him with Green Bay’s pick (126th overall). He started his first NFL game Nov. 27, 2005, and remained a fixture on the Eagles’ offensive front for the next decade.
Herremans, who played at 6-foot-6 and 323 pounds, was known for his consistency and durability, as well as his versatility – playing every interior line position for the Eagles except for center.
The versatility didn’t stop there, however, as he is one of the few interior offensive linemen in NFL history to catch two touchdown passes, one each in 2008 and 2010.
After being released by the Eagles in 2015, he was picked up right away by Indianapolis, where he started two games.
These days, Herremans spends much of his time taking care of his children at the farm in West Chester and also at his cottage on Torch Lake in northern Michigan.
“I do a lot of dadding,” he said with a laugh.
Since his retirement, Herremans and a partner started BodyChek Wellness, a company that makes hemp-based products to help with wellness, balance and recovery. He is also a member of Athletes for Care, a group that advocates for athletes on various issues of health and safety, including the use of cannabis as medicine.
He looks forward to the summer months, when he spends most of his days at his northern Michigan cottage, allowing him a perfect place and opportunity to catch up with his family and friends from both Ravenna and Saginaw Valley.
Even better is having time to watch his kids grow up, which he said would have been nearly impossible during his NFL playing days.
“I have a lot of fun being with them,” Herremans said. “Ever since we moved out to the country, my son has been obsessed with tractors and tools. I love that.”
2020-21 Made in Michigan
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PHOTOS: (Top) Past Ravenna standout Todd Herremans, here with the Philadelphia Eagles, spikes after scoring in 2008. (Middle) Herremans with wife Elizabeth and children Olivia and Jaxon. (Below) Todd’s high school memories include kicking field goals and earning the Homecoming crown. (Top photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles; middle photo courtesy of the Herremans family; below photos courtesy of Ravenna High School.)
Zeeland West Rumbles to Another Title
November 27, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
DETROIT — The Zeeland West offensive machine was in good hands the last three seasons with Casey Brinks directing the attack.
The Dux’ senior quarterback brought two teams to Ford Field during his varsity career, and ended it Friday night helping hoist a second MHSAA championship trophy.
West scored its first of five touchdowns with 35 seconds left in the first quarter and didn't let up from there, pounding its way to a 40-14 victory over Flint Powers Catholic for a fourth championship in 10 years.
"That one (in 2013) was really fun, but this one to me is a lot better, just being a senior and it's my last year," Brinks said. "To end my football career playing on a state championship team in Ford Field is amazing."
Brinks was the starting quarterback as a sophomore when West won its last title, throwing for one touchdown and running for another in a 34-27 victory over DeWitt in the Division 3 championship game. He also led West to the Semifinal round a year ago.
Brinks was one of three Dux who played in the 2013 championship game, the others being running back Dakota Geurink and lineman Zach VanValkenburg. Geurink ran 14 times for 71 yards and a touchdown Friday. VanValkenburg had two sacks among three tackles for losses.
With his team facing fourth-and five near the end of the first quarter, fullback Darius Perisee scored on an 8-yard run for the opening touchdown and then added a 2-point conversion run. He was the top gainer for West's powerful T offense, finishing this season with 1,982 yards and 30 touchdowns rushing.
Brinks doesn't pass often but he was highly effective when he did. He finished 4 for 4 for 103 yards, with three straight completions on the team’s third possession. Tyler Thompson capped that drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, then added a 2-point run to make it 16-0 with 4:03 left in the second quarter.
Powers (11-3) drove to the West 18 late in the first half, only to be denied on the final play before halftime when Brinks picked off a pass in the end zone. He also had an interception in the third quarter, playing defense for only the second time this season.
"I played defense last week for the first time," said Brinks, who ran five times for 45 yards and a touchdown. "Otherwise, I didn't play defense. It was nice to play. Mostly in the playoffs, we've been playing running teams. We've played two passing teams the past two weeks."
West came into the game running the ball 94 percent of the time and averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Even though Powers knew what was coming, the Chargers were unable to stop the Dux’ power-running attack.
Powers did get a huge stop when Reese Morgan caught Brinks for no gain on fourth-and-three from the Chargers' 5-yard line on the first series of the game, but West went on to score on its next five drives before running out the final 3:55 on its final possession.
"It's just a very deceiving offense they run," Morgan said. "It's hard to know who has the ball."
The Chargers nearly turned the momentum from that first defensive stop into a scoring drive of their own, marching down to West's 14-yard line on their first possession. On fourth-and-one, however, quarterback Noah Sargent came up inches short of a first down with 4:53 left in the first quarter.
"That was tough, but you can't say we lost the game on one play," said Sargent, who ran 17 times for 89 yards and a touchdown while going 12 for 19 for 158 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions through the air. "You've got to play the whole game."
Powers got on the board on the first possession of the second half, scoring on a 15-yard run by Sargent, but a 2-point run by Morgan was stopped by Riley Brinks. With West cashing in on all five of its 2-point conversion tries, the Chargers couldn't afford to miss theirs.
West (14-0) responded with a 13-play, 80-yard march that ended on a 4-yard run by Geurink with 3:14 to go in the third quarter. Following Casey Brinks' second interception, West built its lead to 32-6 on a 2-yard run by Thompson with 10:36 to go in the game.
Luke Brcic caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sargent and threw a 2-point conversion to Morgan with 7:28 remaining, getting Powers within 32-14, but Aaron Sleeman recovered the onside kick for the Dux.
Four plays later, West capped the scoring on a 39-yard run by Casey Brinks and Perisee's third 2-point run with 5:13 remaining.
Geurink picked off a pass with 3:55 remaining, and West was able to run out the rest of the clock and celebrate another championship.
"We've won four," West coach John Shillito said. "They're all different, but this one might have been the most complete on both sides of the ball. It's maybe not the deepest team, because we were playing a lot of guys two ways. I looked out there and we looked a little tired at times, because it's warm in here. It's maybe not the deepest (team), but the guys on the field were probably the best we've had."
West was able to score 40 points against a Powers team that had a school-record six shutouts, allowing only 21 points over its first four playoff games.
"I really just figured we had to score every time we had the ball, because no one has really stopped them all year," Powers coach Bob Buckel said. "Playing them, you start doing things you're uncomfortable doing, because you don't want to turn the ball over to them."
Thompson ran 16 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns to lead a West ground attack that had 318 yards and five touchdowns on 55 carries.
Matt Wiskur caught five passes for 70 yards, while Morgan ran 13 times for 61 yards for Powers. Both of them had brothers on the Chargers' 2011 Division 5 championship team.
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Darius Perisee breaks free for yardage in leading the Zeeland West rushing attack Friday. (Middle) The Dux hoist a championship trophy for the second time in three seasons.