HOUSTON — North Muskegon alum Noah Stewart is on cloud nine.
"I don’t know what to feel right now," Stewart said. "Just ecstatic, excited, ready, locked in. It’s hard to put a single word on it."
It’s hard to narrow it down because it is such a rare feat by someone from his hometown. He is the first Norseman to play for the Michigan Wolverines.
"Never in a million years would I have thought that we would have a player from North Muskegon not just playing Division 1 Big Ten football, but in the national championship," North Muskegon head football coach Larry Witham said. "Very proud of him. All of North Muskegon is very proud of him."
That sense of pride is felt especially by his parents. They have made the cross-state trek for every home Michigan football game during Noah's four seasons in Ann Arbor.
"It’s almost bigger than winning a national championship for us," Noah's dad Mike Stewart said. "It is just amazing seeing him out there in the Big House on the field."
However, being on the field was almost out of the cards for the senior Wolverine.
"I still remember crying with my dad saying I wouldn’t be able to play college football like he did," Stewart said.
At age 11, Stewart was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It was a very scary time. He thought his football dreams were thrown out the window before they even got started.
"I remember crying to my parents," Stewart said. "My mother she is type 1 diabetic so I knew what I was getting myself into."
What he didn’t know, his dreams of playing college football were still obtainable.
"[My parents] did their best to convince me that anything is possible and I just kept working at it," Stewart said.
The hard work paid off, with a walk-on opportunity at his favorite school - Michigan
"l always dreamed of putting the winged helmet on," Stewart said.
He’s able to live that dream as a type 1 diabetic.
"Diabetes by itself is already a challenge and then you put Division 1 athletics on top of it, it makes a lot of things difficult," Stewart said.
However, with the University of Michigan’s resources, it makes it easier to manage.
RELATED: Kalamazoo United football alum Christian Bartholomew honored to be on Michigan's national title team
"I can’t imagine sending my son to play Division 1 football somewhere where he didn’t have the support that he has," Noah's mother Kerry Stewart said. "To know that they support him and take care of him is great."
The support has allowed the former Norseman to experience something even sweeter than he could have ever imagined - three Big Ten championships, a Rose Bowl victory and now, a chance at Michigan immortality.
"I never thought that as a 10, 11-year-old I would be in the national championship," Stewart said.
Now, Stewart is in Houston making his younger self proud at his favorite school in the world.
"It was always our mission to make it here," Stewart said. "Through all of our hard work and stuff, it’s no surprise we are here right now."
Michigan and Washington square up in the national title game on Monday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.