Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/121281
THE SICKELS FILE S TAT I S T I C S Had 151 tackles, 21 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles during his junior and senior seasons... Has been timed at 4.68 seconds in the 40-yard dash HONORS Earned All-State Group 3 and All-State All Groups honors from The (Newark) Star-Ledger... Was a firstround selection for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl... Received four-star rating from Rivals.com... Ranked No. 101 overall nationally by Rivals and No. 3 in New Jersey Tim Owen Sickels was a pall bearer at the funeral, and at the viewing he spoke to family and friends about his relationship with Martin. The days following his friend���s death were the toughest of Sickels��� life, but he found the strength to get through them. One of the people who helped him cope was his future position coach at Penn State, Larry Johnson. ���[He] was actually scheduled to be at my house the night I learned about Albert,��� Sickels said. ���I���ll never forget that meeting with Coach. I don���t think we talked about football at all. Him being there meant so much to me, it really took our bond to another level. We���ve become so close since. It���s unlike anything I can explain. It���s more than just a player-coach relationship. I���ll always be grateful for everything we talked about that night.��� Sickels, a consensus four-star defensive end who stands 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, went on to dedicate his play in the U.S. Army All-American Game to Martin, wearing armbands with his friend���s name on them. It was only fitting, as Martin may have been even more excited than Sickels himself when he learned that his friend had been invited to play in one of the biggest high school all-star games in the nation. ���He was the only kid in the school bigger than me. I���ll never forget when I got my Army All-American Bowl invite,��� Sickels said. ���He actually picked me up, we were both so excited. All day, all he kept telling me was how he was so excited to watch me play, how I was going to prove to everyone that I deserve this. He may have been my biggest supporter outside of my family. ���Now, he���s my guardian angel. A lot of people say they have a guardian angel, but I know I have one. Everything I do, I know that I have him looking down on me, protecting me. I���m going to play for my family and for my school when I get to Penn State, but no doubt, that first sack I get as a Nittany Lion, that���s going to be for Albert.���