Anthony Hitchens’ list of football accomplishments is a long one.

The Clearview standout is a two-time All-Ohio first-teamer, the 2009 Division IV district player of the year and Lorain County’s Golden Helmet winner, to name just a few. Hitchens also has put together incredible statistics on both sides of the ball and owns more than a handful of Clippers career and season records.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that the senior would be playing college football next season. But where he will play came as a surprise to Hitchens himself.

“Iowa was my choice from the very beginning,” Hitchens said Thursday. “But they didn’t have any spots open for me. Coach (Kirk) Ferentz told me to forget about them, to go ahead and take care of business and not wait around.”

But Hitchens did wait, and All-Big Ten cornerback Amari Spievey made himself available for the NFL Draft a few weeks ago, then strong safety backup David Cato announced he’d be transferring from the Hawkeyes program.

The necessary spot opened, and Ferentz came calling last week.

“They offered me the scholarship on Wednesday and they flew me out for a visit on Friday,” said Hitchens, who will sign a letter of intent Wednesday on national signing day. “It was a great visit. I met a lot of nice people and they have a great community.

“I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Hitchens had visited Toledo early in the recruiting process, and also made official visits to Kansas and Indiana — Eastern Michigan was the other Division I program to offer him a scholarship — but he knew from the start that Iowa was the program he’d most like to play for.

“All those programs had nice facilities and good academic programs,” Hitchens said. “But if you look at the history of those schools, it’s Iowa that consistently has won a lot of games, won bowl games. They are second in the Big Ten in graduating seniors from their program.

“They are right up there in every category in both academics and athletics.”

The Hawkeyes also had an ace in the hole.

Iowa defensive backs coach Phil Parker hails from Lorain, as does Hitchens, and starred at Amherst (1983 graduate) and Michigan State. Parker was inducted into the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame last year.

“He’s been recruiting me for a long time,” said Hitchens, who is expected to play a strong safety-linebacker hybrid role. “I never even knew he was from around here, he never said anything to me about that. He just brought it up about midway through my senior year, and was telling me about all these places in Lorain. He knew everything around here.”

Which meant he knew about one of the county’s best football players over the last four years — something everyone at Clearview knew from the beginning.

“You could see something special in this young man since he was a freshman,” Clippers coach Mike Collier said. “But even with all his talent, playing Division I football wasn’t a guarantee for Anthony. It takes more than talent, you have to have other intangibles to get there. He’s got everything he needs, and if he keeps working hard he can become a great college player.”

Most fans will recall Hitchens’ exploits as a running back when remembering his high school career. He broke off huge runs, bowled over defenders and was an explosive returner on special teams.

Hitchens said colleges talked to him about being a running back, something which appealed to him at first, but he decided playing defense was the smartest path. Hitchens stands 6-foot-1 and weighs in around 195 pounds — considered to be a bit undersized for a Division I running back. He said his 40-meter time of 4.5 seconds also was a factor.

“With my body size, speed and strength, playing defensive back was a better fit for me on the next level,” said Hitchens, who becomes Clearview’s first Division I player since Jarrett Buckosh went to Bowling Green in 2004. “I would love to get on the field next year, but it wouldn’t bother me to get redshirted, either. It’s going to be up to the coaches, and I’m just going to get out there, bust my butt and give 150 percent.

“I’ll be ready to go when it’s my time to get on the field.”

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

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