Hillgren commits to Hoyas

Corona del Mar High senior Steven Hillgren, the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year, has committed to play football next year at Georgetown University.

Hillgren, a 5-foot-11, 168-pound wide receiver and defensive back, will be the seventh player under CdM Coach Dick Freeman to play at Georgetown, a Division I-AA program.

“We really have a lot of football players, who necessarily don’t have Division I size, but are pretty good,” said Freeman, referring to Hillgren, who made the All-CIF Southern Section Southern Division team and the Pacific Coast League first team. “Our players want to continue to play football and also get into a decent school.”

Hillgren had a stellar senior year, finishing with 52 receptions for 932 yards and 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and he averaged 37 yards per kickoff return and scored twice.

Hillgren will join three former CdM players at Georgetown, which finished 2-9 overall and 0-6 in the Patriot League. Those three players are linebacker Matt Cooper, wide receiver Matt Loyd and defensive lineman Matthew Burgner.

“Playing with two of those guys a couple of years ago helped with my decision,” said Hillgren for choosing Georgetown over Ivy League schools like Princeton and Penn. “I’m excited about the opportunity and I plan on majoring in business, because I want to become a sports agent.”

David Carrillo Peñaloza