COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – David Metzler grew up in the Columbus area and dreamed of taking the field inside Ohio Stadium.

Being a Buckeye, however, wasn’t in the cards, but he did find a football home at Youngstown State.

“Youngstown State was his first offer, which was pretty special,” Maria Metzler, David’s mother, said. “It kind of came full circle since I graduated from there, too.”

On Saturday, as a junior, David saw a lifelong dream come true as he ran out onto the field inside Ohio Stadium.

“This is such an incredible day,” Maria said. “We have about 50 of our family here. We are actually all from Youngstown, but we all eventually migrated here.”

It went beyond simply being there; David is one of Youngstown State’s starting offensive linemen, and on the Penguins’ first possession, he was up front blocking for Youngstown State’s first-ever touchdown against the Buckeyes.

Despite the Penguins losing, David’s family couldn’t be prouder of him.

“It’s just funny that we’re finally at this moment because all the kids grew up being Ohio State fans and I’ve been taking David to games since he was little and here we are,” she said. “Here we are! This is so exciting.”

David’s younger sister, Gianna, was also in the stands cheering her brother on.

“This is amazing, I’m so proud of him,” Gianna said. “This is such a cool experience.”

Youngstown State fields 79 players from Ohio on its football roster, and for the ones who grew up Ohio State fans like David, they got the opportunity to play at The Shoe.