Sophomore Gus Ritchey has an abundance of Division I offers ranging across the nation. At just 16 years old, Ritchey makes Northwood history for his accomplishment, and has shined on the football field becoming an All-American Athlete.
“Football is everything to me,” Ritchey said. “The game is something that never gets old.”
He started playing football in the 6th grade and took a deep interest in it, continuing through high school. Originally wanting to just give it a try, he focused primarily on flag football, but craved the contact portion of the game, switching over to the traditional style.
“I fell in love with it the first day of hitting,” Ritchey said.
Ritchey started his reclassification journey moving him to the class of 2025. Now a sophomore, he has found great success with his decision. The process consists of changing the graduation year either a grade ahead or behind. Because of the extended break caused by the COVID epidemic, college teams were not scouting for highschool recruits as they had traditionally.
“The whole football scenario was getting messed up because you had a year off,” Ritchey said. “[Colleges] weren’t looking at any film or anything, so it would have been a waste of a year for me.”
Subsequently, Ritchey transferred to a different school to focus dually on his education and football careers.
“My mom was also really into grades and faith, so I went to a private Christian school online for about 6 months,” Ritchey said. “Afterwards, I did the whole [reclassification] process which was great and a really smart move. I learned a lot and my faith grew. I decided to focus a lot more on football.”
Along with being an All-American football player, Ritchey is also a member of the varsity basketball team, which finished second in the state this season. The practices ran from morning to night, creating a difficult schedule to balance.
“Right after [basketball] practice I’m at football training, I’m doing as much as possible to get that figured out,” Ritchey said. “It’s very time consuming, but if you get the extra work in and the extra hours, you’re going to do great things.”
Between being involved in two varsity sports, and working countless hours a day, it could be very easy to become drained or burnt out. However, for Ritchey, the days that are overwhelming can be the most satisfactory.
“It’s not mentally draining for me, I haven’t even thought of that at all, ” Ritchey said. ”There’s definitely days I’m thinking ‘I don’t want to do this,’ but those days are honestly like the best days because you push yourself.”
Through football, Ritchey has been taught many lessons that have shaped him into the person he is today.
“I think the biggest lesson [football] taught me is how to become a better person,” Ritchey said. “It has taught me how to control myself in certain places, and how to interact or build relationships with people. I think it’s a great opportunity to make connections as well as meet a lot of people.”
As for post-high school plans, Ritchey currently has 24 college offers with more to come. He puts emphasis on wanting to study business as well.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” Ritchey said. “My circumstance is something that I’ve been dreaming of for so long.”
