WEST MANSFIELD, Ohio – The tears are quickly welling up in Ron Thompson’s eyes.
These same eyes are watching his great-grandson Gabe Powers, the same kid he’s watched grow into the top-ranked player in the state of Ohio, answer a question he’s been asking for more than a decade. These same eyes once looked at Powers, as far back as when he was 4 or 5 years old, and would tell him, One of these days I’m gonna see you run out of that tunnel at Ohio Stadium.
“Forever.”
That’s how long Powers remembers Grandpa Ron asking him, “Are you gonna play for Ohio State one day?