Lil’ Devil ready for national stage

ZANESVILLE Ohio – It’s rare to find Tyce Whiteman in the same spot for long.

“I don’t sit down, I start running everywhere,” said the second-grader at John McIntire Elementary School, who insisted that he doesn’t play video games.

It’s also rare to find an athlete with Whiteman’s talent and drive in the body of an eight-year-old.

“A lot of times it’s difficult to reach a young person because they’re forced to do something,” said Zanesville Blue Devil assistant coach Jason Lee. “That’s not the case with Tyce.”

There’s no place this three-sport star would rather be than the gridiron.

“I just like to hit people mostly,” Whiteman said with a smile.

“Having him want to be in contact or be apart of that opens up a lot more in the playbook for a young person with a combination of his throwing ability as well as what he can do with his feet,” Lee said.

Look no further than his stats for proof.

The quarterback scored 24 rushing touchdowns, passed for 12 scores and caught a pair of receiving touchdowns in 10 games with the Zanesville Lil’ Devils last season. Defensively, he tallied four interceptions and returned one of them for a score.

This big-time talent isn’t going unnoticed. Tyce will suit up in the D-I Prospects All-American Bowl from Jan. 13-16 in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a spot in the game through a series of tryouts in Columbus, beating out more than 150 players.

“It’s almost like saying you get a free trip to Disney,” said Tyce’s father, Todd Whiteman. “You just go experience it, you learn from it and you enjoy it.”

The elder Whiteman supports his son’s big dreams, as long as he learns life lessons before talking to college scouts.

“What I want sports to do is provide him with the core values and learn how to win, learn how to be a great teammate, learn how to lose and learn how to work for things,” Todd Whiteman said.

As Tyce tries to shine among the top young athletes in the country, his dreams keep getting bigger. He says he hopes to suit up for Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes in ten years before embarking on a career in the NFL.

So stay on your toes come next football season. You won’t want to miss this Lil’ Devil’s next big move.