COOPERSVILLE, Mich. — Patience paid off big time for Gabe VanSickle.
On Wednesday, he signed to play college football for one of the best of the best: Ohio State.
"It's the highest level and I always wanted to play at the highest level because they are going to be playing for championships," VanSickle said. "That's probably been one of my biggest goals since the beginning."
The Coopersville offensive lineman committed to Northwestern back in May and was dead set on playing college football in Evanston. He wanted to get the recruiting process over with before his senior season. However, Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald was then fired and he began to weigh his options.
Ohio State reached out as soon as Fitzgerald was out at Northwestern. The six-foot five-inch 310-pound offensive lineman then went down to Columbus for the Penn State game. He came back again for the Michigan State game and his decision was made.
"I knew it was home from there," VanSickle said.
It was clear from the second he got to know some of his future teammates that the four-star recruit wanted to be a Buckeye.
"The brotherhood is the biggest thing for me," VanSickle said. "How the o-line acts and their relationship together, how they brought me in there and treated me like I was already there. The coaches made me feel at home."
While most at home are happy for the Broncos star, he is facing a little playful grief heading to a big-time rival school for other universities in Michigan. VanSickle says he never had disdain for the Buckeyes despite growing up a fan of the Michigan State Spartans.
He believes Ohio State can set him up better than most schools.
"The ultimate goal is to play in the NFL," VanSickle said. "If not, having my degree at Ohio State is pretty cool too."
VanSickle has been pinching himself. He is about to live a dream that even his eight-year-old self could not have even imagined.
"It doesn't even feel that real honestly," VanSickle said. "Little Gabe would have never believed this and it actually just happened today."
VanSickle will not enroll early. He still wants to play basketball and track at Coopersville.
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