CHEBOYGAN – Believe it or not, Troy Wichlacz didn’t like playing football at first.
In fact, he tried to quit practice every day.
But his then-coach – who also went by Dad – told him something he took to heart.
“He said, ‘Just make it to the first game,’” Wichlacz recalled. “That’s all I wanted to do, and I got attached from there.”
Wichlacz didn’t just persevere through his first full season of football. He’s worked tirelessly through the years to becoming a two-way star for the Cheboygan Chiefs on the gridiron.
While Wichlacz’s Cheboygan career ended in October, his football career will continue in a unique setting after signing to play for Sault College in Ontario, Canada, after he graduates this spring.
“It’s great to know that I can actually fulfil my dreams of playing at the next level,” Wichlacz said. “It’s been a great feeling to know that the coaches have believed in me as much as my coach at Sault College has, and it’s a great feeling.”
Having the dream of playing college football going back a few years ago, Wichlacz started to really put in the work while living in North Carolina during his freshman and sophomore years of high school. Once he returned to Cheboygan for the first time since his eighth-grade year, his junior football campaign was getting underway.
Playing on the offensive and defensive lines, Wichlacz made an impression on first-year Cheboygan coach Bill Nesbitt, who noticed early signs of a player with college potential.
“First, he was athletic enough,” Nesbitt said. “He has good size and good feet, and he loves to hit. He’s not one of those kids in practice where he says, ‘I’m going to wait until Friday night to hit,’ but he enjoys it whether it’s drills against dummies or going live against his teammates. I knew he liked to push himself and his teammates, and those are some pretty important qualities.”
Following two highly productive years with the Chiefs, Wichlacz contacted Sault College, a second-year program. About a month ago, Sault coach Paul Orazietti invited him to a three-day camp in Ontario, which Wichlacz attended. Wichlacz enjoyed it so much that he committed shortly after.
“It was a great recruiting process,” Wichlacz said. “All of the dorms are nice, the facilities. They excel in the degree that I want to get, because I’m going in for sports management. They’re one of the top competitors in that for Canada, so that’s why I chose there.”
During a signing ceremony at his high school on Monday, March 9, Wichlacz thanked his teammates, coaches and parents, Richard and Natalie, for helping him reach this point. Now, he can’t wait to get down to business when the time comes, but he knows what it’ll take to have success collegiately.
“Just hard work and dedication and showing up every day,” Wichlacz said.
Nesbitt loved seeing his senior star get rewarded for the consistent effort he’s put in, but what he praised even more is Wichlacz’s ability to not be afraid to go after his dream.
“He had enough courage to be vulnerable to put himself out there,” Nesbitt said. “It was never a secret of what he wanted to accomplish, so he always put it out there and that was his goal. It takes courage to stick your neck out like that, and it’s awesome to see him have that courage and follow through with that courage and commitment and the confidence and the coachability to get himself to that next level.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan’s Troy Wichlacz signs to play college football in Canada
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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