Junior Year Box Set

After the band played, the teams came out and began to warm up. It was a perfect day for football. I was glad to see the stands start to fill up. By game time, I would guess the stadium was almost 90 percent full. I would’ve thought that an opponent like Stanford would have been better attended.

I figured Stanford had a decided edge because Northwestern was starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback. He’d be making his first start, and it wasn’t against the standard cupcake that most Big 10 schools faced in the opener. The kid had been a four-star recruit, though, and had all the tools to be a good quarterback once he got settled in.

Stanford had their own issues. First, the game was effectively a nine a.m. kickoff for them. They also might look past Northwestern in the opener like they had Washington a couple of years ago. I felt, though, that Stanford’s front seven on defense was superior to Northwestern’s offensive line and should take care of business today.

I had been expecting a high-scoring game, but instead, a defensive battle broke out. I was surprised that Northwestern’s defense was able to contain Stanford’s potent offense. If that continued, Northwestern had a chance. After the first quarter, each team had managed a field goal. By halftime, it was 10–3 in favor of Northwestern. Their new quarterback broke contain and ran for a 42-yard score to put the Cats up.

I expected Stanford to regroup at halftime, but neither team seemed to be able to do anything in the third quarter. The difference in the game turned out to be Stanford turning the football over two times, and Northwestern’s defense playing much better than I expected. The final score was 16–6.

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Chapter 8 – I Just Realized Something Saturday September 5

After the game, Jim, his dad, Brandon, and I split off from the group to go to Evanston High and meet the Stanford coaches. We returned to the hotel so I could change into my shorts and get my cleats. On our trip to the workout, Brandon gave us background information to prepare us to meet Coach Jackson and his staff.

“Their head coach is young at 43. This is his fifth season at the helm, and he had been their Offensive Coordinator before that. Previously he coached in the NFL for several years. In his first four seasons at Stanford, he has a record of 42–12, and they’ve been invited to four straight bowl games. They were invited to the Rose Bowl twice, and have finished first in the Pac-12 North division three times and second once.”

“Sounds like they’ve established themselves as one of the top-tier teams in the Pac-12,” Jim’s dad commented.

“They’re also the best-of-the-best academically, outside of the Ivy League. An argument could be made that they are the best. They’re also very challenging to get into. Less than six percent of applicants are accepted. Football would be a ticket to a world-class education,” Brandon said.

“What are your thoughts about them being a destination for Jim and me?” I asked.

“The negative is that it might be a stretch for Jim academically. Plus you’d move halfway across the country, and it would be hard for your family and fans to come see you play,” Brandon said. “The positives would be their great combination as far as academics and athletics. The weather’s also much better. Culturally, it’s a much more diverse campus than you’re used to at Lincoln High. There’s a more cosmopolitan student body; I mean, everybody there is smart. Their offense is more of a pro style. A recent graduate is Andrew Luck, and last year they had an offensive tackle taken in the first round of the NFL draft, and a total of four drafted.”

When we arrived at Evanston High, their head football coach met us. He told us that Stanford’s group was running late. He talked to Jim’s dad as Jim and I stretched and then did some running to get ready. We’d worked up a good sweat by the time the Stanford contingent arrived, twenty minutes late. If you’re from the Midwest, you’re always on time, if not early. Coach Jackson walked over to thank the high school coach for letting us use their practice field. While he was doing that, his staff met Jim and me.

We split apart because they would want to see the two of us do different workouts. I met their offensive coordinator, Coach Bloomberg, and their coach in charge of quarterbacks and wide receivers, Coach Pichette. I also met two of the young receivers who had made the trip, John Glass and Terrance Carson. Before we could do anything, they had two guys in charge of taking video of the session that needed to set up their gear. Jim and I were hustled into the high school where we were measured and weighed. They did that because the information put out to the public was rarely correct. I knew for a fact that Flee was nowhere near five-eleven, which was down from six feet claimed earlier this summer.