Gaven Gaston didn’t think he would be a college football player.

The Van-Far senior made his signing with Monmouth College (Illinois) official on Friday at Van-Far High School in Vandalia. Gaston is coming off an all-state running back season where he was part of the school’s first district football championship team since 2000. 

There were plenty of athletic venues where Gaston could be found in his high school career. He played football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball and track and field in the spring. Football ended up as Gaston’s calling and a place he can do “big things” in college, as he realized as an upperclassman.

Gaven Gaston Signing Photo Gallery

“I’ve always wanted to be a basketball or baseball player when I was younger,” Gaston said. “As I got older, the physicality and the brotherhood we built from my eighth-grade year on, I realized this is what I want to do.”

Gaston loved being part of a football team and is happy that won’t go away in the future. What will change is him exiting the brotherhood of Van-Far football after he was part of a turnaround that saw the Indians play to a 21-13 record the last three years. 

The Indians will have a huge senior class graduate this year. Gaston said playing with them since he started in third grade is a big reason why he developed such a love for football.

“I like being part of a team like this,” Gaston said. “That’s what influenced me.”

Gaston, who is considering exercise science for his major, said Monmouth had a welcoming atmosphere as well. When he visited its campus and football program, he said he already felt a sense of “community and friendship.”

“They really made me feel welcomed as a family member,” Gaston said. “It wasn’t like if you went to a different school in high school where they already have friend groups. They wanted you to be in their friend group.”

Head coach Lucas Gibson said he didn’t coach Gaston when he was a kid but knows he has always had “a great sense of humor” and that it has been “a pleasure” to coach him these past four years.

“He truly became a leader of men for our team this year and was a huge help in showing some of the younger guys the ropes,” Gibson said.

Gaston has been a multi-faceted athlete but was also multi-faceted on the football field. Gaston ran for 1,043 yards on 80 carries, made nine catches for 193 yards, and scored 18 total touchdowns. He made 20.5 total tackles and four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) on defense and had eight returns for 293 yards. 

Despite transitioning to running back during the season, Gaston earned a third team all-state spot along with nods as a Class 1 District 2 running back and a second team Eastern Missouri Conference running back. He was also a first team all-conference defensive back. 

Gaston even spent some at quarterback, which he looks back on fondly.

“Probably when Coach finally let me play a little bit of quarterback here and there,” Gaston said with a grin when asked what position he enjoyed the most. “That was the most fun.”

Gaston prefers offense and is comfortable carrying the ball. He said he didn’t feel out of place when he lined up in the backfield because he had experience there before high school but also because of how he thinks.

“It comes natural to me,” Gaston said. “When they changed me to running back this year, in my mindset, it was just get the ball and get to the end zone. It was just, ‘Get to this spot, get the ball and score.’ It was just simple.”

Gaston said the district championship is definitely his best Van-Far football memory because that was what the Indians “strived for since freshman year.” 

Before he goes to college, Gaston knows he needs more time in the weight room after seeing the size of the athletes while not pushing his body over the limit. He said he felt like “a little goldfish” but remembers how he felt when he started.

“That was scary,” Gaston said about when he began playing football. “I wasn’t who I was today then. I was really scared to play, but it worked out.”