Check out The Daily's Signing Day coverage.
Bishop McGuinness tight end Gabe Ikard was born and raised in Oklahoma. His parents are OU graduates and football season ticket holders. His grandparents had the tickets before that. He went to his first OU football game when he was six, with half of his face painted red and the other half white.
But for the 6 – 4 1/2, 255 lb. tight end, for much of the recruiting process it didn’t look like he would have the chance to play in Norman, starting with his unofficial visit to OU as a junior.
“No one talked to me,” Ikard, the state’s top tight end recruit said. “I took the tour but I’d been there 100 times. … It wasn’t discouraging, it was just like, I know I’m maybe like a back up plan to some of the guys.”
But that eventually changed. Ikard is the only tight end in the Sooners’ 2009 signing clas, expected to commit to OU today. But the process from being a kid with a painted face in the stands to being months away from running on the OU field was a long one.
Making a choice
Ikard has been playing football since he was 10, but he was a multi-sport athlete. He played AAU basketball growing up, and said he didn’t get involved heavily in football until junior high, and then almost gave it up.
“Once I got to high school I wasn’t going to play football, originally, just because I really liked baseball and I really liked basketball,” Ikard said. “I ended up giving up baseball and then playing football [because] I got kind of bored in baseball.”
That choice turned out to be a good one. When Ikard began high school he was about 6 – 3 and 215 lbs., and even though he decided to play football and basketball, football still wasn’t his main focus.
“I was a basketball player,” Ikard said. “I mean, I really liked basketball, but I was one of those guys that figured out there’s not that many 6 – 4 ½ white guys playing college basketball that are playing forward.”
So Ikard’s focus shifted and he started on the varsity football team as a freshman. McGuinness finished the year 8-3, and Ikard immediately began receiving attention from different colleges.
The recruitment process begins
Letters came from OU, Oklahoma State and other schools as early as the end of Ikard’s freshman season.
“I got some ‘hey, we’re looking at you,’ that kind of powder puff stuff that they send anybody that’s worth anything,” Ikard said. “‘I got some stuff from Buffalo, and Big 12 schools, just like those, ‘hey we play on TV tomorrow [letters].’ And I was like, ‘Well I know that.’”
But as Ikard’s career went on, he began to receive more attention. Letters and phone calls became more frequent. He was asked to fill out questionnaires for schools that were interested. It’s a process that overwhelms many high school athletes, but not Ikard.
“It’s definitely an exciting experience,” he said. “You get a lot of attention which most people say they don’t like ... but they really do. You get to meet a bunch of coaches, you get to take free trips to places, so it was a lot of fun for me.”
But while Ikard was enjoying the attention, he had to begin thinking more seriously about his future. His first official offers came early during his junior year from Tulsa and Buffalo. Once those offers came in, it began a domino effect and other offers started rolling in. Still though, nothing from OU.
On Sept. 17, 2007, Ikard attended OU’s junior day. Potential recruits from all over the country were invited to attend OU’s game vs. Utah State and then tour the campus and talk to some current players. But Ikard’s experience didn’t go too well.
“When I went to OU the first time I was completely ignored,” Ikard said. “So I didn’t have an offer or anything; it was an afterthought for a while.”
Without an offer from OU, Ikard’s thoughts shifted more toward heavy academic schools like Stanford and Vanderbilt. Then offers from schools more known for football like Texas Tech and Kansas began arriving. Jim Ikard, Gabe’s dad, said that OSU began sending nearly three hand-written letters a day, and they even received several notes from Mike Gundy written on his personal stationary.
OU was virtually out of the picture, so Gabe said he began trying to decide which school would be best for him and allow his family to come see his games.
Still, OU was in Ikard’s head.
“Always in the back of my mind I was like ‘why haven’t I been offered by OU yet?’ Ikard said. “But that’s how it works. I wasn’t bitter. It might have driven me more to play better or do something. So it was actually probably more helpful than anything.”
By this time, Ikard had started at tight end and defensive end on two state championship teams and bigger offers started coming in. An offer from Notre Dame came in, and Gabe said he was seriously considering the Fighting Irish and Stanford until around May of 2008.
“(Then) OU got thrown in there and that just screwed everything up,” Gabe said.
OU’s recruitment
“The OU thing just came out of the clear blue,” Jim said. “I remember Gabe sitting on the porch. We said, ‘what’s wrong?’ he said, ‘OU offered.’ I was like, ‘What?’”
OU offered Gabe much later than other schools. When offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson made visited Gabe, he apologized for jumping in the race so late. He said he wanted to see Gabe in person before he offered, and had just gotten his chance to do that.
Gabe wasn’t offended by the timing of the Sooners’ offer.
“I was like, ‘don’t sweat it, man,’” Gabe said. “You can’t be prideful about something that small. You can’t just say, ‘oh yeah, they offered me five months later than everyone else.’ It’s like who cares when it comes; it came.’”
Suddenly, Gabe had to consider OU, the school he had grown up a fan of, along with schools with rich history and academics like Notre Dame and Stanford.
When Wilson sat down with Gabe, though, the decision became clearer.
“I really liked Coach Wilson,” Gabe said. “Just meeting him and seeing him around his family and just hanging out with the guys. I thought it would be fun to play for an offensive coordinator that is your position coach. He’ll dial up some stuff for you.
“Other coaches show you tape and were like ‘okay well here you can watch our defensive ends and see what we do.’ Coach Wilson sat me down and said ‘see, right here is where I’d put you. Right here.’”
Gabe said they want to use him like junior tight end Brody Eldridge, where he would play some as a fullback, play in a three-point stance, and get the opportunity to catch a few passes.
Jim said Wilson brought a highlight tape of Eldridge’s biggest hits, to show Gabe what guys in his position get to do at OU.
He was sold.
Heading to OU
Gabe verbally committed to OU on Nov. 2. The recruitment process started nearly four earlier when Gabe began receiving letters of interest from various schools.
During the past four years he received countless amounts of mail, fielded phone calls from all sorts of coaches, visited various schools, received about 12 official offers and it ends today when he signs his commitment to OU.
During his high school career he went 47-6 and won two state championships. He was an All-State defensive end and his high school coach, Kenny Young, said he’s simply a “winner.”
“He’s the kind of guy you want to have in your program that you can really build around,” Young said. “He’s a nice kid, he’s a leader at our school, he’s tremendous academically, [and] he’s a great student. He really is the total package.”
A week after McGuinness’s state championship game Gabe broke his foot in a basketball game. While recovering, he’s been working out trying to build his body for college. He won’t be in contact with OU coaches until the summer when he enrolls in summer school. Even then, he will only work with strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmit.
Then, the ride will be over. While the recruitment process can be overwhelming for some, Gabe said he’s enjoyed it.
“People are always like, ‘it’s such a tough decision,’” Gabe said. “Well yeah, it’s a tough decision that not many people get to make. You need to know that you’re lucky and you’re getting an opportunity that a lot of high school football players don’t get. … It was fun, wish I could do it again.”
