Recruiting ROI: No. 17, Gabe Ikard
Success is oftentimes contingent on a willingness to venture outside of one's comfort zone.
And if there's a Sooner that's exemplified that spirit over the last two decades, it may just be Gabe Ikard.
Ikard, now a popular radio personality based in the OKC area, began a serpentine journey to football fame as a humble three-star recruit. He played both sides of the ball for Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, and actually earned district Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. However, the schools that displayed interest in Ikard wanted him to play tight end.
Though he held offers from Stanford, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and a smattering of other FBS programs, Bob Stoops and Kevin Wilson managed to keep Ikard at home. He enrolled at Oklahoma and redshirted as a freshman in 2009. However, when the 2010 season rolled around, Ikard found the field.
But it wasn't at tight end.
The Sooners' offensive line was set for quite a bit of turnover, having lost Brian Simmons and Trent Williams to the NFL. Since his enrollment, Ikard had put on nearly 40 pounds of muscle, beefing his 6-foot-4 frame up from 246 pounds to 282. So the Sooner staff decided to think outside the box, and they slid Ikard in at left guard alongside stalwart center Ben Habern.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ikard played in all 14 games as a redshirt freshman, starting 12. The Associated Press named him a freshman All-American as he helped clear running lanes for future NFL tailbacks DeMarco Murray and Mossis Madu. In 2011, he started the year at left guard, but shifted to center after Habern sustained an injury in a win over Missouri. Upon Habern's return, Ikard moved back to left guard, and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors on the season.
A vertebrae injury prompted Habern to retire after the 2011 season, and Ikard stood as his de facto replacement. So the tight-end-turned-guard moved to center for his final two seasons, making the All-Big 12 first team in both 2012 and 2013 and earning consensus All-American recognition as a senior.
Despite his distinguished career in the crimson and cream, Ikard wasn't selected in the 2014 draft. He signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent, but spent his rookie season on injured reserve after hurting his knee in a preseason game. Over the next three seasons, he bounced around like a roadie looking for a consistent gig. He spent time in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo again, Cleveland again, Denver, and finally New Orleans before calling it quits in 2018. Ikard appeared in six total games as a professional.
Once his NFL dream had come and passed, Ikard returned to his roots. He and his wife live in Oklahoma City with their two dogs. Ikard hosts a college football talk show on Sirius XM Radio, and contributes to Sooner football broadcasts as well.
It's safe to say that Gabe Ikard's career didn't go down exactly the way anyone would have drawn it up. Had he remained a tight end, Ikard may never have seen the field for Oklahoma. But in the end, Ikard proved to be the consummate Swiss army knife for Bob Stoops and the Sooners.
All it took was his selfless disposition and desire to contribute in any fashion necessary.
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