Junior Year Box Set

After Coach Patrick finished his talk, we were broken up into groups of four or five and given a chaperone for each group. Ben, Flee, and I were grouped together because we were quarterbacks. Our chaperone was Gus Lawrence, a sophomore quarterback. We were given a quick tour of the facilities, and I was surprised when he told us the next stop on the agenda.

“Next we meet with the press,” Gus announced.

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s all part of recruiting now. The Big 10 even announces which recruits are on each of the campuses each week. They will want to post your pictures and get brief comments about your visit. The fan-based recruiting websites also want information,” Gus explained.

“Welcome to big-time football,” Brandon told me.

We were paraded out in front of a wall with the Northwestern logo and had our pictures taken, both individually and as a group. We then split up, and each sat down with a reporter. I smiled when I saw mine was Margaret Chin. She was a sideline reporter for ESPN, who was carrying the game today. The other guys were sitting down with print reporters. I hadn’t prepared any talking points for a filmed interview. Also, Brandon wasn’t up to speed on that aspect of his job. While I knew it wasn’t live, and they would edit what I said into a short sound bite, I didn’t want to come across as a bumbling idiot, either.

ESPN had set up an interview area complete with three cameras, lighting, and sound. One camera was positioned to get the establishment shot; that was where you would see us both facing each other as we talked. The other cameras were focused on each of us individually. They wired me for sound, and I sat down across from Margaret. She was on her tablet and completely ignored me until someone announced they were ready. The lights came on, and she looked up and smiled at the camera facing her.

“I’m with David Dawson, the number 1 recruit in the junior class and Elite 11 Co-MVP. How does it feel to be number 1?”

“I think it reflects more on the team I have around me because they’re the ones that make me shine.”

“I’m sure they do,” she interrupted me. “But your team wasn’t there when you were named Co-MVP at Elite 11.”

“It was my team that helped me prepare. They took time out of their summer to help me learn plays and get ready. My teammates were with me on that field in all the preparation they helped me put in. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

“David, you committed to State your freshman year and then withdrew the commitment. Now I see they aren’t even mentioned in the list of teams you’re showing interest in. What happened?”

I’d committed to State to save Luke Herndon’s scholarship. At the time, I hadn’t thought through the consequences of my actions. Something my uncle had taught me was to be a man of my word. I needed to stand up and deliver on my commitments, even if it wasn’t in my best interest. In retrospect, I should never have allowed State’s coach to blackmail me into it. When I finally decided on a school, I intended to keep my word. What let me off the hook was that the commitment was made to the head coach who’d been fired.

Then I stopped to think about the question. What was I missing here? It was rather aggressive. Usually, the initial questions were cream puffs. I would need to be careful.

“I grew up watching State play, and several of my teammates were offered scholarships and accepted. Unfortunately, they had a coaching change, which caused me to reevaluate and open my recruiting back up. As far as the websites go, I wouldn’t put too much stock in that right now. I’ve just started the process, so I’m open to nearly everyone,” I said.

“Is that why you had Kentucky as your favorite? But you recently downgraded them to be equal with everyone else. Did something happen with your recruiting?”

I had promised Coach Styles that Kentucky would be my High-Interest school until the start of my junior year, and then would become Medium Interest like everyone else.

“No, Kentucky is still in the mix. I attended a camp there and really liked what they’re doing. They were the first to offer me a scholarship. That means a lot to me.”

“You have garnered several early offers. The list is a virtual who’s who in college football. Besides Kentucky, you’ve received offers from Northwestern, Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon. Did any of them stand out?” Margaret asked.

“They all did, and when the time comes, it will be hard to pick from that group and several more I plan to visit and evaluate.”

“When can we expect a decision?” she asked.

“The earliest would be the fall signing period of my senior year. I wouldn’t be surprised if I waited until the spring of next year. This will be an important decision for me, and I need to take my time and make the right choice.”

“Okay, I think we got it,” she said to end the interview. Then she smiled at me. “Could we do one more? I want to do a filler piece about your other activities.”

“I assume you want to talk about modeling and acting,” I said.