MA standout Houlditch signs with Mississippi College
LINDEN — Marengo Academy standout Landon Houlditch will be taking to the field on Saturdays in the Fall after signing a football scholarship with Mississippi College Thursday.
“We sent them an email with my highlight film and (Mississippi College assistant coach Ricky) Herzog messaged back and said that he liked it,” Houlditch said of the opportunity, which materialized a week ago. “He called me and got me to come over there. I went on a visit and I liked it.”
Houlditch was a four-year starter for the Longhorns at tight end and defensive end during a highly successful career that saw him play in four state championship games and win two AISA Class A crowns.
“I was lucky to play in four state championships. I just enjoyed all the people I was around. I had good coaches,” the soft-spoken Houlditch said of what he will remember about his time with the Orange and White.
“Landon started for us as a freshman. He just grew and matured. He got bigger. He got stronger. His body type and his size, it just gave him an advantage. I think the upside in college, he’s just going to get better and better,” Marengo Academy head coach Webb Tutt said of the opportunity.
A First Team ASWA All-State performer in 2016, Houlditch will take his 6-2, 232-pound frame to the offensive side of the ball where the Choctaws will look to get him involved as a blocker and a pass catcher.
“I think they’re going to try and play him at an H-Back, which is very suitable for him,” Tutt said. “He could probably put on 10 to 15 pounds. He’s a great blocker. Coming out of the backfield, he has good hands. He’ll be a dual threat in that area.”
Mississippi College is a Division II program that competes in the Gulf South Conference. A fledgling program, the Choctaws were 3-7 a season ago under head coach John Bland. The Division II signing marks an important moment for Marengo Academy, one of the smaller schools in the AISA.
“It’s big for us because of what he and the team have accomplished,” Tutt said. “It just represents our school and gives us a little validity.”
