Junior Year Box Set

The look on her face told me that that comment hurt her. It wasn’t my intention to make her feel bad, but I wasn’t going to just roll over and let her decide what we meant to each other ever again. I think Tami finally realized that and got up and left the table.

I went upstairs and got my stuff. I thanked Aunt Bonnie for her hospitality and drove back to Evanston.

◊◊◊

Brandon and Gus were waiting for me when I pulled in. Gus took me to the locker room where I got into my shorts and t-shirt to show them what I could do. I did everything they asked of me during the workout.

This part of my life always seemed to work. Between the sidelines, I was in control of almost everything. If only my personal life were this easy. What I found amusing was people always thought I would falter when it came to athletics. They didn’t see the amount of preparation I put in and the caliber of coaching I received. The only two things that could cause me to fail were myself or an injury. I knew I wouldn’t allow myself to cause my failure, so unless I got hurt, I would always perform at a high level. What I needed, more than anything else, was more live game experience. I could practice and get to the point where it was second nature. What I needed was to actually do it during a game. They say that no plan survives the first encounter in a battle. It was the same in football. I now had nearly two years of experience as a starter under my belt. I felt like I was going to have a breakout year. I think the Northwestern coaches felt the same way.

Brandon and I met with Coach Patrick after I had showered.

“First of all, thank you for coming for another unofficial visit. I wanted to let you know that we made scholarship offers to Jim, Tim, Wolf, and Ty. The offers were based on what they’d done on the field last year, their workout yesterday, and the potential we see in them. It had nothing to do with you possibly coming to Northwestern.”

I wasn’t sure I believed him but was happy to hear they were all offered.

“What about Flee Johnson and Ben Luck?” I asked.

Bo Harrington had told me to check out my competition before I made my final decision. If I decided to go somewhere like Alabama, I might end up never seeing the field, simply because of the caliber of quarterbacks they recruited. While I felt I could stand up to any competition, it was good to know what their plans were, and Coach Patrick knew it.

“We offered Ben and decided to wait on Flee.”

“In my opinion, that’s a mistake.”

“Really?” Coach Patrick said with some amusement in his voice.

“I’ve spent the summer going to camps, and I saw Flee at Ohio State, Alabama, the Elite 11 selection camp, and then at Elite 11, and then the Elite Camp in Houston. Ben was with us in Houston and was at the regional selection camp for Elite 11. While Ben’s a solid quarterback and would make a good addition to your team, Flee has the higher ceiling. If things break right, he could be playing on Sunday. If you don’t believe me, call Bo Harrington, who was my coach over the summer and is now the quarterback coach for Alabama, and ask him his opinion of Flee. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that he’s too small to play at this level. If he ends up in the Big 10 somewhere else, you’ll regret not having him on your team,” I said.

“Any other players we should have on our radar?” Coach Patrick asked.

“There is a kid at Wesleyan, Damion Roth, who’s a freak of nature. I caution you, he might be a disruptive presence in the locker room. On the field, though, he might rewrite your record books. Two other uncommitted receivers you want to check out are Terry Halsted from Syracuse, New York and Jim Butler from Dallas, Texas.”

“Let’s put our cards on the table. I want you to come to Northwestern. I think we’re a good fit for you, both on the field and in the classroom. While I’ve never promised anyone playing time, from what I’ve seen both on tape and today I’d be hard-pressed to leave you on the bench. You might want to consider taking a redshirt year to get settled in. What do you think our chances are?”

“Coach, something you’ll find out about me is I’m a straight shooter,” I said and saw the disappointment in his eyes. “Northwestern has a chance, but it’s too early for me to say. You have a couple of strikes against you. If I decide that I want to play at the highest level, I don’t think you’re it. Your stadium only holds a little over forty-five thousand, and you couldn’t sell it out even with a team like Stanford as your opponent. The Chicago area just has too many other options for you to be a priority. Whereas Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Alabama all have enormous stadiums, rabid fans, and college football is king.