Berlin Brothersvalley football player makes college declaration

BERLIN — Rockwood senior Cody Kimmel has competed in a co-op with Berlin Brothersvalley for both football and wrestling.

The co-op has proven beneficial to Kimmel on and off the gridiron and mats. Monday, Kimmel announced his intentions to attend and play football at Division III Lycoming College.

"The coaches are very competitive over there. They like to compete," Kimmel said of what aided in his decision to attend Lycoming. "They aren't like a lot of other programs that have had coaches coming through over and over again. When I was up there for my visit, all they kept talking about was winning a championship. That would be cool to have in the future."

Kimmel thrived as a linebacker after moving from cornerback during his sophomore season. He is a two-time Somerset All-County Defensive MVP. Kimmel also earned Daily American Somerset County All-23 Football Team All-Star Defensive MVP in 2022.

"Absolutely unbelievable. I don't know if we've seen a kid transform in our football program from their freshman to even their junior year as to what he did," veteran Berlin coach Doug Paul said. "When he was in junior high, he was a defensive back. It just wasn't clicking his freshman year. I'll never forget, it was about halfway through his sophomore year, we're running scout team defense, and he jumps in at linebacker, and he's just running all over the place making tackles."

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Paul moved Kimmel to linebacker permanently, and he flourished.

Kimmel racked up 126 tackles, including 70 solo to go along with six sacks a season ago. He finished his career with 269 tackles in 43 games played.

"Lycoming's getting a kid who is a phenomenal linebacker but has been playing the position for two years," Paul said. "He's still got so much room to grow at that level. He was a coach on the field, just the total package at linebacker with his speed. When he got there, he got there in a bad mood, pretty aggressive. Just a great young man."

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Berlin's defensive brand of ball is similar to what Lycoming runs, which will benefit Kimmel at the next level.

Kimmel, who boasts a 3.25 GPA at Rockwood, plans to major in early and special education. He is a member of Future Farmers of America. He's also a volunteer firefighter.

Becoming a teacher in the future is something Kimmel decided earlier this year, wanting to follow in the footsteps of Berlin defensive coordinator Dante Paul.

Kimmel thanks the Berlin coaches and his parents Irvin and Lisa Kimmel for their continued support.

Being a part of the Berlin community has helped Kimmel form lasting memories and bonds.

"For sports, it's been awesome because we've had great coaches," Kimmel said. "We succeed really well. Off the field, some of my best friends I'm with (are from Berlin). I'm in Berlin every day. A lot of my best friends that I hang out with every weekend are from Berlin."

Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on X @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Berlin Brothersvalley football player makes college declaration