Once they got to the conference room, everyone took a seat.
“What’s wrong?” David asked.
“Our interim athletic director called me to his office this morning and informed me that we are reneging on the waiver we agreed to.”
Tim and Wolf rocked back in their chairs. Bob was impressed when David didn’t say anything for a minute as he thought through what that meant. David took a deep breath and then looked Coach Michaels in the eyes.
“That’s a real problem. I can’t play football or baseball without it.”
“I was afraid you would say that. Would you consider enrolling to give me time to fix this?” Coach Michaels asked.
“Would I be able to play baseball or football without an agreement in place?” David asked.
“No. Even as a walk-on, we have to have something signed so you can be shown on television. I would have to see if you’d be able to practice or not,” Coach Michaels said and then took a deep breath. “I hate what has happened, and I’m sorry, but I don’t have all the answers. This is uncharted territory for me.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I have a real problem with the athletic department going back on their word. I’m going to have to find somewhere else to go to school,” David said.
The words were spoken casually, but there was a tightness in David’s face that told Coach Michaels he wasn’t happy. This was going just as badly as he’d feared.
“I don’t blame you in the least. If you need me to make calls on your behalf to explain you were forced into this, let me know.”
“What about my teammates?” David asked.
“I’m not sure I want to stay after that,” Wolf said.
David turned to look at him, the stormy eyes changing to look at his friend with understanding and compassion.
“Before you make a hasty decision, I want you to remember why you picked Oklahoma. It’s one of the places where we felt most at home when we visited campuses. On Saturdays, you’ll be playing ball in front of a sold-out stadium. If I end up somewhere like Northwestern, it’ll be more like playing high school ball.”
Coach Michaels would be forever grateful David had said that. It would’ve been easy for the young man to let his emotions reign and take Wolf and Tim with him wherever he ended up. David had put his friends’ welfare first.
“I want to assure both of you that we didn’t offer you scholarships just because David was coming; you earned them on your own merit. We have plans for both of you,” Coach Michaels added.
“I don’t know, David. The plan was the three of us would play ball together,” Wolf replied sadly.
The conflicting emotions were there on his face for all to see.
“I understand, but we all knew that at some point, one of us could get hurt or transfer, and we’d have to break up the band. It just might be happening a lot sooner than we expected.”
Neither Tim nor Wolf looked happy, so David added to his comment.
“Look. I can’t ask you to give up an opportunity like this. It would be ten times harder to find a spot for the three of us this late in the game. Take the scholarships and play ball here. You both know that’s what you want. If it weren’t, we would never have all agreed to come here.
“Besides, who knows what the future holds for me? This might be the wake-up call I needed. After what I went through doing the movies, I seriously need a mental break. Taking the first semester off to just be a college student looks pretty damn appealing right now. You both know how much work it is to play ball, go to school, and all the rest,” David said.
“And you planned to play baseball, too. I never could figure out how you were going to do it,” Tim admitted.
“Like I said before, you could do that here,” Coach Michaels said.
The guys laughed. He had to admit, it sounded weak when it came out. He knew that David’s best bet was to go elsewhere.
“Are you guys going to sign?” Coach Michaels asked.
Tim and Wolf looked at each other and then at David. He gave them a slight nod.
“I’m still in,” Tim said.
“Me, too, but I’m not happy about what you did to David,” Wolf agreed.
“I’m not happy either,” Coach Michaels said and then turned to David. “In my wildest dreams, I never thought something like this would happen. All I can say is, best of luck. If circumstances change, I’ll welcome you with open arms.”
“I appreciate that, Coach,” David said and then turned to his friends. “You guys are set for transportation back home?”
“Yeah. Our flights are booked,” Wolf said.
“I think I’ll see if the pilots are up to taking me to California. They’d planned to stay overnight and take me back tomorrow, but I want to get home and see my family,” David said.
Coach Michaels watched with Tim and Wolf as David walked back to the plane.
“Come on, guys. Let’s get you set up. If you’d like, I know my wife is making lasagna tonight. Could I interest you in a home-cooked meal?”
He dropped Tim and Wolf at the admissions office. While they dealt with getting registered, he called Darren Ludlow.
“I’ve got a story for you. Want to hear how our interim athletic director and our compliance officer lost us our starting quarterback for next year?”
“You’ve got to be shittin’ me,” Darren said.
“Do me a favor. Call the university president and the Board of Regents for comment,” Coach Michaels said.
“You looking for some heads to roll?”
“You got it. Those two need to go. Make sure it’s clear that David Dawson is the victim in all this. Tug set it all up for everything to go smoothly for David, and those two blew it up in one morning. Call Becky, and she can get you the dirt,” Coach Michaels said.
“Can I use you as a source?” Darren asked hopefully.
“Hell, no. You can say you got it from my brother, though,” Coach Michaels said with a laugh.
They had a standing joke that if something negative had to be said, his younger brother was the source. Darren knew Coach Michaels was joking. He also knew that if he’d been given access to Becky, the coach was dead serious about getting rid of whoever was involved in losing him a recruit.
“I’ll have a bottle of the good stuff sent over.”
“If you get them fired, I might even let you come over and drink it with me,” Coach Michaels said.
Chapter 3
Coach Clayton
USC’s head football coach, Dylan Clayton, had a dilemma on his hands. He’d received word from his recruiting coordinator, Bryant Franzese, that David Dawson had backed out of his commitment to Oklahoma and was interested in coming to play for USC.
Coach Clayton had asked Bryant to call Coach Michaels to get some background on why David was making a change. The coach had to chuckle at what a boneheaded move their interim athletic director had made. Bryant had also sent him an article from the local paper in Norman calling for the athletic director’s head.
Coach Clayton’s dilemma stemmed from his system for recruiting and handling his quarterbacks. He wasn’t one of those guys who just kept recruiting top talent, letting them fight it out to see who came out on top. He didn’t want his starting quarterback continually looking over his shoulder, worried that one minor mistake would see him on the bench.
The coach was a believer in having a clear number one recruited every two years. That would give the future number one a couple of years to get settled and learn the offense.
USC’s current situation was a textbook example of how and why he wanted quarterback recruiting to work. Ridge Townsend had been their starter for the last two years and was projected to be a top-five draft pick in this year’s NFL draft. Even though Ridge was leaving a year early, they’d picked up Matt Long. Matt had had a chance to redshirt and was set to take over this fall as the starter with four years of eligibility.