Chapter 10 -- What Happens on the Recruiting Trip
Saturday October 1
I was startled awake by a voice.
"Da-vid," the singsong voice called.
My eyes blinked open, and I saw Brook's smiling face.
"Hey, what time is it?" I asked as I tried to clear my mind.
"Seven."
I groaned because I'd only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. Brook was to blame. We'd decided to sleep in my room because Brook thought we'd made too much of a mess in her bed.
"I'm horny," she announced.
Sleep was overrated. What was the saying? 'I can sleep when I'm dead.' Fortunately, Mr. Happy seemed to be the one awake, so I let him take over the body.
Brook squeaked when I rolled on top of her but was soon an active participant. We became quite energetic and soon had the headboard banging against the wall. I had an evil thought because I knew that Tim and Wolf were sharing the room next to us.
"Hotness! Yes ... that's it! Just like that!" I called out.
I'm not ordinarily vocal during sex, which caused Brook to give me a funny look. I leaned down and kissed her neck.
"Tim and Wolf can hear us," I whispered.
"Yes," she hissed. "Give it to me, Big Daddy!"
We sounded like we were in a bad porno. I kicked myself for not finding an appropriate soundtrack. I soon discovered that Brook wasn't lying when she suddenly reached her summit and screamed my name.
"David!"
I wasn't far behind and began to grunt like a wounded water buffalo.
We heard pounding through the wall, and both began to giggle.
---
We all met in the lobby, where Wolf spotted Larry Dell, who had attended our Michigan camp at Lincoln. Larry was ranked just behind me in all the recruiting ratings. He'd won the Elite 11 competition this year while I'd been playing baseball.
"Hey, I guess everyone wanted to see Clemson beat Louisville today," Larry said, as he and his parents met everyone.
Today's game was supposed to be something special. Louisville had a freshman quarterback who was playing lights-out. There was talk that he might actually win the Heisman. When we picked this game, we didn't have any idea he was going to be so good.
Both teams had shone this year. Louisville was currently ranked number 3 and Clemson was at number 5. We expected a good game with plenty of offense. This game had National Championship implications written all over it. Larry was right; this was the game everyone wanted to see.
When we were scheduling our trips, we debated whether we would rather see Clemson play Florida State or Louisville. If Florida State had been playing at Clemson, we would've passed on the Louisville game. We agreed now that we'd been lucky.
"Have you made it official, or are you still stringing Clemson along?" Wolf asked, wanting to know if Larry had made his decision.
"I'm 95 percent sure it's Clemson, but I won't sign until the spring."
"Smart move. If there's a coaching change, you want to keep your options open," I said.
At this level, the NFL might come along and steal Coach Swank away.
Clemson also had an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position. Their current starter was a lock to make it to the NFL. They had Chuck Tess backing him up. Chuck had been one of the quarterbacks I'd competed against at Elite 11. They were recruiting Larry, this year's winner, and it was reported that they were pursuing the top junior in next year's class. No other school in America could boast that kind of talent.
Larry also had to worry about me. I'd already shown that I could outplay him at the Michigan camp. If I picked Clemson, it might change not only Larry's mind but also the minds of the juniors they were recruiting. While top talent wasn't afraid of competition, reality had to set in at some point. There just weren't enough footballs to go around.
If I were being honest with myself, I'd acknowledge it might be me who ended up on the bench behind one of these studs. I was taking off next fall to make a movie. I also wanted to play baseball, which would cut into spring football. That would give Larry all fall and extra practice in the spring to learn the system and play with their receivers every day. It might be enough of an advantage to push me behind him on the depth chart.
I also had to consider the juniors. There were two quarterbacks in that class that people were talking about as being extraordinary. If what I heard was right, they might be better than I was. Larry and I could both find ourselves fighting for a backup job. That was how serious the competition was about to get at Clemson.
While we waited for the bus to take us to campus, I was approached by Clemson fans and signed autographs. I even had a few of the other recruits wanting me to sign things. Brook bailed on me when a crowd began to form. I was glad Fritz and Chuck were with me. It wasn't that people were being rude. Crowds sometimes grew to have a life of their own. My security helped calm things.
I glanced over at Brook and saw her in an animated discussion with Tim and Wolf. I wondered what they were talking about but soon forgot as I focused on the people that wanted to meet me.
I was glad when the buses arrived. On the way to campus, we learned about the area. Clemson University is located in Clemson, South Carolina, which is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest corner of the state. The town was no bigger than my hometown area with a population of under 15,000. The university added another 23,000 students. The recruiting coordinator had told my mom that nearly 300,000 people would show up for game day.
Clemson had become a coeducational civilian institution in 1955. It still had a strong military presence and had both an Army ROTC and Marine Corps Semper Fi Society on campus. The cadets participate in home football games by doing pushups for scores and forming a rope line as the team enters the stadium from 'The Hill.'
The campus itself sat on an old plantation that covered 1,400 acres. As we drove down the main street, you could already see fans beginning to show up. We were taken to the Alan N. Reeves Recruiting Center where they had breakfast for us. They gave us a brief talk about Clemson and then broke us up into groups. Larry joined us, and we were off to our first stop, academic advisors.
Larry and his family joined Wolf, Tim, me, and our crew. It made sense to have the two quarterback prospects together. We'd been sent to a room in the library where there was plenty of space for everyone. I was a little embarrassed that I essentially had an entourage when you included my security and Brook.
The Clemson academic advisors almost outnumbered us. It was apparent they wanted to cater to whatever needs recruits might have. A kindly older gentleman, who reminded me of Grandpa Dawson, started our meeting.
"Welcome. I'm Dr. Carmichael. I know we're on a tight schedule, so let's split up so the right academic advisor can talk to the right recruit. I'll go around and visit each group, but I'll start the ball rolling with Mr. Foresee."
There was some conversation as three different groups formed in different areas of the room, but when Dr. Carmichael motioned for me to walk with him, I realized there wasn't one for me.
He walked up to Tim and put a hand on his arm.
"I understand you want to pursue a career in architecture. Am I correct in that assumption?"
"Yes, sir," Tim answered.
"Great. Ms. Daniels will take the lead, then."
I guess we were pressed for time because she began her presentation without any fanfare.
"Clemson has a different DNA from other schools, especially in the school of Architecture. Because it fits into our schools of Humanities and Arts, it allows you a broad base of educational experiences. Our goal is that our students have both a breadth and depth of education. You'll be required to have a minor and take a language. We also expect you to spend a semester off campus.
"Unlike at other universities, architecture undergrads take architecture classes from the first day they are on campus. Our goal is to give you the tools to be able to not only learn the unique terms but to ensure you understand how to get started. It forms the basis for your education moving forward.
"It's hoped that it will also help you decide what direction you want to focus on ..."
I was impressed by how they handled things. From that point forward, Ms. Daniels focused exclusively on Tim, ignoring even his parents, and gave a frank presentation outlining what he could expect. We could tell that the educational experience at Clemson would be unique, and it was evident that Ms. Daniels wanted Tim to succeed. I know she won more than his parents over.
Dr. Carmichael touched my arm, and we walked around to the other two groups. Larry and Wolf were receiving treatment similar to Tim. Larry wanted to study sports communications. I'd never heard of such a degree before. I shook my head when they talked about how professional athletes needed to have strong communication skills in a--and I'm quoting them here--"multi-faceted and diverse approach to sports communication through examining areas such as social media, public relations, organizational communication, and interpersonal communication."
I thought that was what I paid people for.
Wolf talked to his group about someday wanting to own a construction company. That discussion wound up focusing on business management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.
When the discussions wound down, people migrated back to the center of the room, and I realized it was my turn. I wasn't given an opportunity to tell them what I wanted. They'd talked to my mom, and she'd shared what she thought I wanted. Dr. Carmichael, who had started the entire discussion, smiled at me.
"I understand that you need to be challenged. Your transcripts and test scores indicate you would be best served by our honors program. At our Calhoun Honors College, we encourage our students to excel by offering specialized courses with Clemson's best professors. We help our students create their own ideal education by sponsoring programs such as study abroad and undergraduate research, and by providing individualized funding for internships, educational travel, and professional development.
"From your different activities, I anticipate you will provide us with unique opportunities in developing a course of study for you. One thing we will want to do is to push you out of your comfort zone. I'd like to demonstrate that right now if that's okay?" he asked me.
This was different, but I'd enjoyed the experience to this point, so I nodded my assent.
"I'd like you to sing for us," Dr. Carmichael said, handing me sheet music.
