Editor's Note:  This is the most recent piece in a series of stories shared by Gorillas to Gorillas as we all embark upon this new "season" in our lives. These certainly are unprecedented times, for young and old alike. Our hope is for Gorilla student-athletes, past and present, coaches and members of Gorilla Nation to read these pieces, awaken their Gorilla memories and then compose their own story to share with us. There is strength in numbers.
 
My time here at Pittsburg State has been quite a ride, to say the least. I have met some of the most important people in my life, experienced emotions – both good and bad – that I never dreamed I could experience; and, I have gotten to play my favorite game at the highest level of DII in front of the biggest crowds I have ever experienced.

Coming into college, I was not sure what to expect. I come from a small town, went to a small school, and played against, for the most part, small opponents. Most of that changed for me right when I got on campus.

When I got to campus, I was four days late for fall camp because of a trip to the emergency room the day before I was supposed to come down. So, the nerves I already had of meeting new people were heightened because I knew everyone on the team had already been around each other. I quickly found out it was not going to be hard to fit in here.

We have gradually gotten closer and closer every semester as a team; and I could not be happier with the relationships I have with each of my guys now.
 
Pitt State Football to Me
Football has always been a big part of my life. It has always been the thing I have been able to step out and feel most comfortable doing. On my visit to Pitt, I met some people that were more relatable to me than I could have imagined. I knew then that this was the place I needed to be.

After an exciting ending to my last two years of high school football, I was not sure I could top it. I did not realize the excitement that massive, really fast humans running at you with bad intentions could bring to my life and quickly found out that playing at this level brought a whole new thrill. With football came not only the excitement, but also some lessons that I will never forget. One of my most influential mentors during my time here, Andy Otting, once told me after we had finished his senior season, "this game is eventually going to come to an end, make sure you put yourself in the best possible situation to succeed after it is done." Andy, along with many others, helped to show me that although I have done this since I could walk, this is temporary and there is much bigger to come.

One of my favorite memories as a Gorilla football player was getting the opportunity to get to play in the Texarkana Bowl my freshman year. This was one of the most memorable weekends of my life. When we got to Texas, I got to eat my first ever home-cooked Texas meal. It did not disappoint. The game was a whole different memory itself. You could say we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole in the first half. The celebration after completing that comeback was like no other. It was amazing getting to send that group of seniors out on a win like that.
 
Mom and the Hall of Fame
The connection between my mamma bear and I has grown greatly since I made my commitment to Pitt State and began school here. She could relate to most of the things happening with me while I was going here and has made many of the tough steps along the journey much easier.

When I got the call saying she was going to be inducted into Pitt State's softball hall of fame, I almost did not believe it at first. When I realized it was true, I could hardly contain my excitement. The woman who I have only seen push my three brothers and myself, and get excited when we succeed, was finally going to get rewarded for the hard work and success she experienced during her time here. In my eyes, nobody deserved that more.

Getting to sit and watch her give her speech at the induction ceremony and see the excitement from her friends and teammates made me as happy as I had been in a long time. Her hard work had finally paid off.
 
COVID
Along with the many firsts I have experienced since coming to Pitt, I also got to experience something that was a first for all athletes of our time; we were told we were not allowed to be together. What we thought was just going to be a day or two of a break from football ended up becoming more severe everyday until we were not allowed to meet at all. For an athlete, this could be bad news. Giving a college kid a break from going to classes and workouts could spiral in a bad direction.

After talking as seniors then as a team, we decided this was going to benefit us. We were not going to let anything get in the way of what we started, and we have been attacking it ever since. It has been kind of fun finding new ways to improvise a workout. We, as players, took it upon ourselves to greatly increase how much film we are watching as a team, and we have held each other accountable to doing this and working out through the whole thing.
 
Tucker Horak

Tucker Horak is entering his redshirt senior season as a running back in the Pitt State football program. A native of Rossville, Kan., Horak earned first-team All-MIAA honors as a fullback as a sophomore in 2018. He has carried the ball 226 times for 1,285 yards and 13 touchdowns during his career for the Gorillas. Tucker's mother, Wendi (Rickson) Horak , was inducted into the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
Please share your own personal stories/thoughts via email to dwilkes@pittstate.edu. We want to share them! (PSU Athletics reserves the right to edit content for space and appropriateness. We cannot promise to publish every submission, but we will do our best.) Thanks Gorilla Nation!
 
Through the Eyes of a Gorilla Archives
Vol. I - Dan Wilkes, Associate AD/Communications (Apr. 3)
Vol. II - Levi Wyrick, Football/Track & Field Athlete (Apr. 7)
Vol. III - Amanda Davied, Women's Basketball Coach (Apr. 10)
Vol. IV - Chris Hanna, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (Apr. 13)
Vol. V - Jeff Moreland, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (Apr. 15)
Vol. VI - Emily Hanenberg, Volleyball Athlete (Apr. 17)
Vol. VII - Ashley Balazs, Softball Coach (Apr. 20)
Vol. VIII - Peter Euler, PSU Alum/CC T&F Athlete (Apr. 22)
Vol. IX - Caitlin Demarest, PSU Alum/WBB Athlete (Apr. 24)
Vol. X - Tyson Cushman, Baseball Athlete (Apr. 27)
Vol. XI - Oscar Gonzalez, PSU Alum/Men's Basketball Athlete (Apr. 29)
Vol. XII - Russ Jewett, Cross Country/Track & Field Coach (May 1)
Vol. XIII - Ronald Moore, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (May 4)
Vol. XIV - Emily Regier, Volleyball Athlete (May 6)
Vol. XV - Wendi (Rickson) Horak, PSU Alum/Softball Athlete (May 8)
Vol. XVI - Josh Lattimer, PSU Alum/Football Coach (May 11)
Vol. XVII - Brad Buckley, PSU Alum/Baseball Coach (May 13)
Vol. XVIII - Piper Misse, Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete (May 15)
Vol. XVIV - Alexa (Bordewick) Dreiling, PSU Alum/WBB Athlete (May 18)
Vol. XX - Jen Gomez, Volleyball Coach (May 20)
Vol. XXI - Harlan Hess, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (May 22)
Vol. XXII - Kaity Kukowski, Softball Athlete (May 25)
Vol. XXIII - Eddie Lomshek, PSU Alum/Play-By-Play Broadcaster (May 27)
Vol. XXIV - Jenni (Miller) Croy, PSU Alum/Women's Basketball Athlete (May 29)
Vol. XXV - Jesse Wall, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (June 1)
Vol. XXVI - Marcus Canipe, PSU Alum/CC T&F Athlete (June 3)
Vol. XXVII - Kim Anderson, PSU Men's Basketball Coach (June 5)