Gonzalez tackles new position for Warriors

Sherando High School's Micah Carlson feels a little safer this season.

In the area of the pocket that quarterbacks are the most vulnerable, Carlson has a 6-foot-4, 300-pound insurance policy named Ethan Gonzalez.

"He's blocking my blind side this year, so I don't have to worry about it anymore," Carlson said.

"it makes me feel pretty good because he trusts me," said Gonzalez when told what his quarterback said. "That means a lot to me."

No matter where Gonzalez plays this season he figures to be a problem for whoever is lined up in front of him. In the summer of 2022, college scouts began taking notice of the then Sherando junior. The Class 4 Northwestern District First Team selection would go on to help the Warriors put up the best offensive numbers in the area.

Sherando would lead local teams in total offense (386.7 yards per game) and scoring (37.3 points per game), while boasting a 1,100-yard rusher, a 2,000-yard passer and two receivers who combined for more than 2,000 yards.

"He's one of the best linemen I've ever met," said Carlson. "I don't know how else to describe him. Whenever you need him the most, he will be there."

Gonzalez said he began playing football in fourth grade and he towered above players his age. The line became a logical home for him.

"I've always been a big boy," he said with a chuckle. "I've always been on the line. … I was a lot bigger. I could hang with the middle schoolers."

Gonzalez readily admits that maybe the line wasn't his first choice, but he's grown to appreciate the position.

"I'm not going to lie, when I was younger I wanted to be a receiver because you would watch all of the NFL guys go for balls and be cool," he said. "After awhile, I just started liking [offensive line]."

He's been pretty good at it, too. He was on the Sherando varsity roster as a freshman and made an impression on then-assistant coach T.J. Rohrbaugh, who is now the head coach for the Warriors. Also on that squad was Keith Gouveia, who started 12 games last season as a redshirt freshman at Richmond.

Rohrbaugh believes that the aggressive examples that Gouveia made at practice made an impact on Gonzalez. "I think Ethan is morphing into that same type of player," he said.

But it's not the crunching blocks that make Gonzalez special.

"I think more than anything it's just his personality," Rohrbaugh said. "He's a lot of fun to be around and he's a great kid. He's one of those guys that you can laugh with, joke around with in the building and have fun with, but when it's time to work and we hit the weight room, the practice field and the game field it is all business with him. There's not a lot of kids who are in high school who are able to flip the switch like that. Ethan is one of them."

And speaking of switches, Gonzalez is making a big one this season. Having played on the right side throughout his career, he's moving to left tackle — the most important position on the offensive line when you have a right-handed quarterback. In the NFL, left tackles have an average salary that's nearly double the average for quarterbacks.

Making the switch certainly has been a challenge that Gonzalez has embraced.

"Flipping from the right side where I've played my whole career, it might not seem like a lot but it definitely feels a little awkward," Gonzalez said. "I'm working on it and I will get it right.

"The biggest adjustments are my feet, my hands and my hips. … It's kind of like learning to write with your non-dominant hand, but I'm getting there."

Rohrbaugh says the senior has adjusted well to the move.

"I think he's done an excellent job of moving over from right tackle to left tackle," Rohrbaugh said. "One thing I think you'll find at the high school level is we require those guys to know multiple positions. We tend to not have a lot of depth. When you have a guy like Ethan, you can plug him in anywhere you need him along the offensive line. He's going to get after it and be a good football player for us."

Rohrbaugh had no doubt that Gonzalez would excel in a new spot because he's seen how driven Gonzalez is to improve.

"One of the things that Ethan is always doing is coming up to coaches and asking what he can do to get better," Rohrbaugh said. "He's always looking to improve and be the best that he can be. He takes ownership of how he plays and wants to get better."

"I just want to be the biggest help I can be for this team," Gonzalez said. "I want my team to succeed and that's all I really care about."

To that extent, he's been working hard over the summer. Instead of attending several camps, Gonzalez went to just two (Villanova and Old Dominion). He says he's bench pressing 335 pounds, squatting 450 and dead lifting 490, but the key to succeeding is mastering one facet.

"I worked on my first step on the left side," he said. "That's like the most important step. If you make a false step, that's bad."

From there, Gonzalez focuses on things that he believes is essential to being a good lineman.

"I think it's going 100 percent and not giving up on plays," he said. "It's just giving it your all. That's all you really can do and everything else will follow."

Rohrbaugh has noticed that it's now Gonzalez that's being a leader along the offensive line, much like Gouveia a few years earlier, but with some differences.

"I think anybody that knows Ethan knows that he's not a real vocal individual by nature, but he's a good leader by the way he practices," Rohrbaugh said. "I have noticed him this year that he's stepped up and he's being more vocal encouraging his teammates and trying to pick up the intensity and enthusiasm at practice which is something that I don't think he's been comfortable doing in the past."

Gonzalez said the camaraderie on the offensive line is something that's important.

"We all make jokes with each other," he said. "It's just a lot of fun. But when we've got to get to work, we get to work."

And having someone to set an example is just as important as protecting that blind side of the quarterback.

"Ethan does a good job of making the other players around him better," Rohrbaugh said. "You can't be good at one position and have cracks along the line at others. Ethan does a good job of trying to pick everybody else up and bring everybody else up to his level. I think that's very important in building a good offensive line."

Gonzalez also will play on the defensive line at times, something that is a little less cerebral. "I feel like it is kind of a breather because I don't have to think as much," he said. "I just get to hit somebody."

Gonzalez isn't just a football player. He also has wrestled at Sherando and last season had the area's second-best toss in the shot put (49 feet, 2.75 inches).

"Wrestling helps a lot," Gonzalez said. "The coaches are on you and they just push you to be your best. It helps me to keep my weight down. It helps me stay agile and with my balance. I like wrestling a lot. With track, I get to lift during that season. It's just a fun sport."

Gonzalez knows this football season could be a big one for him personally. He already has Division I scholarship offers from St. Francis (Pa.), and Merrimack College and more could come.

"I want to play at the college level," he said. "I feel like it's too early to talk about the pros, but who wouldn't want to play pro. I just want to worry about getting an education first."

Rohrbaugh expects Gonzalez to thrive in college.

"With how he works and how he constantly wants to get better I can't wait to see the lineman he becomes at the next level," he said. "Whatever school that's at, I think he is going to be better each year."

For now, Rohrbaugh said the Warriors will be happy to have Gonzalez around for another season.

"Ethan is a good student, a good football player and a good person," he said. "We're very fortunate to have people like him as part of our program. He sets a good example for all of the other players in our program. He represents Sherando football very well. I'm more proud of that than anything else."