CLEVELAND, Ohio — A football decision shaped St. Ignatius' season, and maybe Tommy Eichenberg's college trajectory.
Coach Chuck Kyle knew what he had in the linebacker, who signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday with Ohio State during college football's early signing period.
Eichenberg smiled as he put on the scarlet hat with a gray Block "O." To his right, center Grant Abbott put on a Bowling Green hat and cornerback Jett Elad fitted himself with an Ohio University cap during St. Ignatius' ceremony for the trio.
Coincidentally, they all made positional adjustments this season. It's just that the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Eichenberg moved from outside to middle linebacker just as his college interest elevated from Boston College to Ohio State and Michigan.
Not so coincidental to Kyle.
"The difference he made against quality opponents who could run the ball, then couldn't run the ball against us, that launched the conversations," Kyle said. "Suddenly, there's more talk."
Eichenberg initially committed to Boston College well before his senior season. He had no intention of thinking about college while playing his senior season for the Wildcats, dreaming more about the goal of playing for a state championship and not the one he grew up with as a youngster in Westlake.
He admitted Wednesday that he indeed wanted to play for Ohio State long before any college coach or scout knew his name. Even when older brother Liam Eichenberg left for Notre Dame, the Buckeyes tugged at Tommy like so many who grow up playing football in Ohio.
The thought of it happening began to materialize a year ago when Urban Meyer visited St. Ignatius. Eichenberg had just made a name for himself as a first-year staring outside linebacker helping the Wildcats nearly make it back to the state finals.
Kyle said he received interest, but scholarship offers did not manifest from the Power Five schools.
"It seemed like he was on the backburner a little bit, but as this season progressed everything moved to the front," Kyle said. "Let a kid prove it on the field."
He did: 126 total tackles, eight sacks and 23 tackles for loss.
Most of that came after St. Ignatius began this season 0-2 and made the move to push Eichenberg to the middle of its defense. The Wildcats won eight straight games and returned to the playoffs with one of Northeast Ohio's top defenses.
Eichenberg put off his college decision, including a de-commitment from BC, until after the season. He visited Columbus for the Michigan game and made his decision the following weekend during the Big Ten championship.
"After the season, I sat down, tried to figure it out, see where I wanted to go and Ohio State was it," Eichenberg said.
There was some pull for Michigan, too.
Longtime friend and St. Edward safety Caden Kolesar, who is headed to Michigan, tried to convince him to pick the Wolverines. Eichenberg couldn't get Kolesar to come to St. Ignatius four years ago. He picked St. Ignatius' equivalent of That Team Over West, so Eichenberg fittingly was not heading to That Team Up North.
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"He was like, 'Hey, this is the only time we can not be rivals. Come to Michigan,'" Eichenberg said of a text exchange. "I was like, 'I really like Ohio State, I'm just going to go there.'"
Ohio State's impending coaching change from Meyer to Ryan Day also didn't sway Eichenberg.
"They're both great coaches," he said. "What really didn't change my opinion is what Urban put in place is going to stay with all of the coaches. I really like Ryan Day, too. I didn't really care."
Unlike so many college recruits, Eichenberg's recruiting surge came late and during his senior football season — not during spring combines in shorts. Kyle noted that is now a rarity.
"Are athletes overanalyzed by tests? Yes," Kyle said. "Look at the film and look at what he does in a game. He certainly showed that."
The move inside helped, too.
"When I played outside, I was trying to make tackles way on the other side of the field," Eichenberg said. "Moving to Mike (football slang for middle linebacker), I could really just go anywhere I wanted and make tackles."
His teammates noticed the difference.
First, in how the opposition approached their defense.
"Last year at the end of the year, they would just be running away from him," Elad said.
St. Ignatius' 10 other defenders also had different vibe.
"People were moving differently," Abbott said. "Everybody just played better when he was at Mike."
Eichenberg is the only inside linebacker among Ohio State's 15 recruits who signed letters of intent.
His new position this fall gave him a renewed focus that he intends to take with him to Columbus.
"I want all of the responsibility," he said. "If they're going to want to run the ball down our throats, I want to be the one that has to stop them."
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.
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