David heard, “He’s in his bedroom.”
He expected Emily’s mom would take a seat on the couch or something. He hadn’t counted on her walking in.
“H… hello,” Angelica stammered.
David turned and gave her his winning smile as he flexed his chest muscles to add to her embarrassment.
“You just missed me getting out of the shower.”
When she blushed, he had to bite his bottom lip not to laugh.
“My husband and daughter went to the coffee shop to get some stuff. Emily said there was a nice spot on the roof where we could relax before we drove home,” Angelica said.
“Follow me,” David said.
“Don’t you want to put a shirt on first?”
“And deprive Emily of being able to tease your husband?
I think not.”
◊◊◊
Emily found her mom and David sitting in new teak loungers. Once the whole hall had found out about David and Alex’s secret roof hideaway, furniture began to appear.
Many of the students in Sandoval Hall had more money than they knew what to do with, which accounted for the loungers and many other upgrades.
Now it was rare to find the roof empty, but since it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, everyone was either finishing up classes or had left Tuesday night to enjoy the holiday.
“Look! The food fairies have arrived!” David called out and waved.
Emily’s dad came up short when he took in that which was David. It was a reminder that he wasn’t an ordinary boy. Suddenly, voilà, Emily could see a dozen comments start and die in her dad’s eyes.
“Doreen hooked us up because I said this was for you,”
Emily said as she walked over to her mom and David and began handing out their drinks and food.
“I’m David.”
He stood up and shook her dad’s hand.
“Roger,” her dad managed to get out.
Her dad took in his surroundings.
“I don’t remember this being on the website.”
“My roommate is Alex Sandoval. As in the Sandoval for which the hall is named,” David said. “This used to be his and a handful of our friends’ secret oasis. We had a party up here not too long ago, and the whole dorm now uses it.
It’s a great place to unwind or come to read.”
“Is this how everyone dresses up here?” Roger asked.
David chuckled.
“Your wife barged into my room after my shower,” David explained.
“Did she see …?” Roger asked as his eyes flew wide open.
And then her dad realized his misstep.
“I find that a dick and a gun are very similar. If somebody pulls out either one, people get, ‘whoa, is that thing loaded?’ I try not to pull out either one unless needed,” David said with a straight face.
That was when Emily’s mom burst out laughing.
“He’s pulling your chain. I found him like this,” Angelica said.
They were lucky that her dad was an easy-going guy because he found the humor in it all and settled down. The four of them ate and had a pleasant conversation. David even took a picture with her parents. Emily worried that might be this year’s Christmas card.
When it was time to go, David gave her a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek, and she and her parents were on their way to Palo Alto. She couldn’t wait for the Thanksgiving feast her mom made every year. Emily needed a break from college, and spending time with her mom and dad would be like heaven.
◊◊◊
Coach Thomas was on the weekly USC football coach’s TV show with Chip Wagner, talking about the upcoming game with Notre Dame.
Chip: “You’ve got your hands full this week with number three Notre Dame coming to town. I think you can handle their offense, but wow … their defense is special this year.
What makes them so good?”
Coach Thomas: “Handsy zone coverage. Their zone might give up more receptions, but they get more interceptions because they’re reading the quarterback’s eyes. It also allows them to keep everything in front of
them. They haven’t really given up many long plays. You have to earn every yard against them.
“A passing game is all about timing, and when the offensive line can give their quarterback three and a half seconds as opposed to three seconds, it’s huge. I don’t care who the defense is; if the offensive line can hold them off that long, the defense will give up chunk plays. The plays that are ten or more yards keep drives going and lead to scores.
“What Notre Dame is so good at is shaving that time down by a half second. When that happens, it rushes the quarterback and wears him down because he’s constantly being hit.
“Something else we should expect is for them to get physical with our receivers. Unlike in the NFL, the rules in college football say you can make contact with a receiver more than five yards down the field. The Irish take full advantage of that. They’re very handsy and physical when the receiver is in his breaks to mess up the play’s timing.
The crucial factor is that they can only do that if the ball is not in the air.
“Something else they’re good at is winning 50/50 balls because, in their zone coverage, they can see the ball coming. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily intercept the ball; it means they break up the pass plays.
“Finally, they mix up and disguise their coverage very well. What that does is cause the quarterback to make either wrong reads or second-guess himself. I attribute that to superior coaching on their part.”
Chip: “I hear you plan to start David Dawson this week.
What made you make the change?”
Coach Thomas: “With Matt Long being a bit banged up and how well David has been playing in practice, David earned the start. Not that Matt did anything wrong; it was more that David agreed to redshirt, which means he can
only play in four games. This will be the last game he can play this year.
“I think the new coaching staff will have to make a heck of a decision next year as to who’ll start. Matt and David are a good problem to have.”
Chip: “Tell me something I don’t know. What has surprised you about Dawson’s play?”
Coach Thomas: “What I love about David is his accuracy. I know that everyone focuses on how he’s the prototypical quarterback at six-four, two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and can run better than some of our running backs. What people forget is he can throw the ball on a dime. Let me tell you, that’s hard for a college quarterback to do.
“I also love how smart he is on the field. He typically doesn’t throw the ball into the danger zone, where turnovers are created. That’s what makes him a winner.”
◊◊◊
At today’s practice, Coach Thomas changed how they ran one of their RPO plays. What David liked about RPO
was that it took protection out of the equation. That meant he wouldn’t get hit by a defender unless he decided to run the ball. In an RPO play, the quarterback either handed the ball off or threw it quickly. That gave him the confidence to step into the ball and throw accurate passes.
Coach Mason had called Coach Thomas and suggested the change. Now, instead of a quick slant, they were running a deep slant. That was where a receiver would run seven yards downfield before making his cut. David liked that this minor change turned the play into one where they would pick up a first down instead of the quick three or four yards they were gaining now.