The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NDCL’s Brkic shines in national event
NDCL kicker aiming for more college interest after making game-winning field goal in all-star game
Gabe Brkic hasn’t signed a letter of intent to play college football yet.
Anyone who watched the BlueGrey All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend, might be wondering what is taking so long.
The strong-legged kicker from Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin booted a 48-yard field goal in overtime, leading the Grey team to a 23-20 win over the Blue squad.
Brkic, a first-team Division III All-Ohioan, said he recently received a scholarship offer from Texas State. He hopes his recent performance in a national all-star game helps his cause in regard to college football offers. “I think so,” he said. “I hope so.” Brkic booted a trio of field goals in the game, two from 48 yards, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“It was sweet,” he said of the experience. “I wasn’t nervous at all. I was happy to play in a big stadium and get a feel for it. It was an intense game. I didn’t think it was going to come down to a field goal.”
Brkic credited the gamewinning kick on the chemistry he, long-snapper Treysen Neal (from Missouri) and holder Ryan Wright (from California) had developed over the span of two practices. When it came time for the game-winning kick, “it was just automatic,” Brkic said.
Brkic wore No. 3 in the game to honor former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler, while Wright wore No. 27 to honor the memory of former Nebraska punter Sam Foltz. Foltz and Sadler died in a car crash returning from a kicking camp in
2016.
Brkic was a participant in that camp.
“That was important to us,” Brkic said of the numbers they wore in the game. “When it went through (the uprights), we were all jumping up and down together. It was exciting.”
With the Blue-Grey game in the rearview mirror, Brkic said he is being patient in the recruiting game. He said he will take official visits in January, including a stop at Texas State.
“I’m not sure where else, maybe Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Washington,” he said. “I’m waiting for the early signing period to end to see how many have scholarships left. Then I’ll make a decision.”