By the way an offensive lineman put his hand down, Mike Prioletti could predict his next move.

Will he pull? Will he slant to the left? Will he slant to the right? Prioletti could tell you.

"I'd have a pretty good idea," said the Grove City College senior linebacker and Seneca Valley High School graduate. "If he lined up light on his knuckles, I knew he was pulling.

"I can pretty much read a play 100 percent of the time."

That eagle eye for minute detail came from playing linebacker season after season and watching film after film.

Prioletti's efforts on and off the field allowed him to earn the Wolverines' defensive MVP award at the conclusion of a disappointing 3-7 season.

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Prioletti was third on the team with 83 tackles, including six for a loss. He also recorded three sacks despite not being asked to blitz very often.

He finished his career with 242 tackles.

"When I think of him, I think of dedication," said Grove City College football coach Chris Smith. "Football is extremely important to him. He was a team leader and a leader in the defensive huddle."

The Grove City defense, spearheaded by Prioletti and fellow standout linebacker Mike Choby, forced 27 turnovers this season, but it was particularly good at thievery early in the season, recording 10 takeaways during a 2-0 start.

"We were taught to run to the ball," Prioletti said. "When you have people going for the ball, that causes a lot of turnovers and we were pretty good at getting them. What we do presents problems for the quarterback because we have a lot of speed."

Prioletti has a good bit of speed himself, so much in fact that when he arrived on the Grove City campus four years ago, he was moved to safety.

That experiment didn't last long and soon he was back at linebacker, the position he played the bulk of his high school career at Seneca Valley.

At Grove City, he played in all 40 games, started the last 30 and was a steady presence on a defense that was solid during his entire tenure there.

Prioletti, who will graduate in May with a degree in engineering, also showed off his intelligence on the field.

"I think he did a great job this year making adjustments," Smith said. "He always seemed to get in a position where he needed to be. He was able to do that because he worked so hard and watched a lot of video tape."

And a lot of offensive linemen's knuckles.

But once the ball was snapped, it was all instinct for Prioletti.

"You don't even think about it," Prioletti said. "You just go where you are supposed to go."

Last Tuesday - Prioletti's first day AF (after football) - was tough on him. He found himself with nothing to preoccupy himself with for the first time in years.

"It's kind of weird," he said. "When you've been playing football your whole life and then not have it, it's a strange feeling. I don't think it has hit me yet."

What has hit him is the fact that he received the team's biggest honor for a defensive player by earning the MVP award.

"I'd say it wasn't necessarily a shock, but I was excited," Prioletti said.

Smith said Prioletti was more than deserving of the accolade.

"Oh, I'm sure he was pleased," Smith said. "He definitely earned it."

If there was one lament for Prioletti, it is the fact that the team finished the season with just one win in its last eight games.

Of course, the schedule had a lot to do with the Wolverines' demise as they played four teams ranked in the Top 20 nationally in Division III.

"We had pretty high expectations after the 2-0 start," Prioletti said. "Then you lose a couple of close games and you hit a skid. We had a couple of tough teams on our schedule."