Sadie rushed up and gave him a hug. She whispered in his ear, “Thank you.”
She then was off chattering with her classmates. Her being bald was suddenly quite all right.
“Come on, Duke. Let’s go so they can get back to learning,” David announced.
He chuckled when he reached the front door of the school.
“What’s so funny?” Crystal asked.
“My mom always gives me a hard time about feeding my kids sugar and leaving her with the fallout. That class will be bouncing off the walls before the end of the day.”
◊◊◊
David wasn’t surprised when a team manager told him that he was to see Coach Stackhouse before practice.
He found her talking to Alex. Galen, Alex’s security, was doing his best to blend into the woodwork.
“Are you explaining to him that his kicks might get blocked if John doesn’t do his job?” David asked.
“Bite me,” Alex said.
“I’ll see you at practice,” Amy said to Alex and then turned to David once he left. “I hear you’re in fine form today. What crawled up your butt?”
“Please. You just want to know if I’ll be a problem or not,” David said.
“We’d planned for you to host several recruits Friday, but if you don’t want to be a part of USC …”
Add that to the list of stuff that wasn’t discussed with him.
“What was said was between Coach Merritt and me; I guess it only makes sense that he would share it with you and everyone else. Do I need to worry that I’ll get asked about it the next time I’m with the boosters?” David asked.
“What do you expect me to tell them? Should I lie and tell them I agree with the decision, that I think it’s best for the team?
Amy started to say something but thought better of it.
Then she said, “Coach Merritt made assumptions and should have sat down with you and discussed it.”
“Look. Before this becomes a thing, tell your boss that I am at USC and will do whatever it takes for us to win and get better. When I leave, my dedication will be to my new team, be that in the NFL or a new college.”
“Your talk of transferring was true, then?” Amy asked.
“Coach Merritt is, unfortunately, a continuation of Coach Clayton. I won’t work with a liar. I told myself I would give it a season and see how it all worked out. The only reason I
came to USC is that Oklahoma went back on its word. Now I’m seeing the same thing here.
“In the back of my mind, I counted on Coach Clayton being replaced. When it happened before fall practice, I was hopeful the situation here would get better, and I would get a fair shake,” David said.
“Coach Merritt made a mistake. We all do at some time,”
Amy said.
“We’ll see.”
“So, about the recruits?” Amy asked.
“I’ll play nice, and only positive words will come out of my mouth,” David promised.
“Anyone else, I would have my doubts. Thank you,” Amy said.
“Who’s on my list?”
“Steve Barber and Colt Macklin, who Bryant tells me you’ve been helping recruit. He said that we’ve already made an offer to Steve. Coming with Colt is his primary receiver, Aidan Voss. Like Colt and Steve, he’s a top 100
recruit,” Amy said.
Steve was the younger brother of Jerry, better known as Bear. Bear was their freshman tackle, who was six-eight and 330 pounds, and who’d just moved up to second string at offensive tackle. Steve’s nickname was ‘Cub’ because he was only six-seven and 300 pounds. Steve was the number two tackle in this year’s recruiting class.
Colt was in next year’s class, but he was currently the number one quarterback in all classes. He and David had become friends since David had been a guest speaker at the prestigious Elite-11 camp for quarterbacks. David had also worked with him at the Houston Elite and USC camps.
David had followed Colt, so he knew of Aidan. He was an impressive physical specimen at six-five and 210 pounds.
David couldn’t help but compare him with Damion Roth.
Aidan wasn’t quite as big as Damion, though, with his long legs, he had deceptive speed. And being tall, Aidan was
Colt’s top target in the end zone because he could outleap any defender he faced.
David could see why the coaching staff was nervous because each of these recruits was a game-changer. They were the type of players who would start sooner than later.
“Thank you for entrusting me with these three. I’ll make sure they all sign with us,” he promised.
Amy gave him a long look and then sighed.
“I keep underestimating you; that won’t happen again.
And I hope you give Coach Merritt a chance to prove that he’s on your side.”
“Something you should know is that when I get mad, it’s best to leave me alone because I cool off quickly and become more reasonable. I also believe in second chances, but not thirds and fourths like I seem to be on with head coaches here. I understand that I’m lumping Coach Merritt together with Coach Clayton, but if he just tells it to me straight, I might surprise him,” David said.
“I agree. And thank you. Bryant keeps singing your and the other freshmen’s praises for helping with recruiting. I understand you started it all, and everyone knows what an asset you are beyond football,” Amy said.
“Bite me,” David fired back.
“What?”
“Stop buttering me up,” David explained.
“Got it,” Amy said.
“Can I go to practice now?” David asked.
“Yes. Go to practice.”
◊◊◊
David met his recruits and their families at the John McKay Center. He wore his game-day jersey and jeans and noted that Steve and Aidan had on USC gear while Colt wore his high school jersey.
“That won’t do at all. You can’t be seen on a recruiting trip not wearing the school’s colors. It’s all about making the right impression,” David chastised.
“My son spilled grape juice on his USC t-shirt,” Mrs.
Macklin revealed.
“I was going to give you a tour of the locker rooms.
Since it’s game day, everyone will be at the stadium, so it’ll be safe to show it. We can get Colt geared up before he meets with the coaches,” David suggested.
David pointed out different features of the 110,000-square-foot facility dedicated to USC football as he walked.
He gave Colt his practice jersey to wear before handing the three of them off to Bryant, who had them meet their prospective position coaches.
Mrs. Macklin hung back, and after everyone had left, he gave her a curious look.
“I wanted to talk to you because you’ve been where Colt is. We’d like your advice on what he should do.”
“As far as recruiting goes, did Colt mention the discussion we had about the Houston Elite camp? That would be very valuable for him.
“In my own case, my dad and uncle were a big help.
They gathered all kinds of stats on which programs would help me get to the NFL. Not all destinations seem to produce quarterbacks for the league,” David began.
“Do you think they’d be willing to share their insight with us?”
“I can ask, but I think they would sit down with you.”
“What schools did you visit? I read somewhere that USC
wasn’t your first choice.”
David told her about each school he’d visited and their strengths and weaknesses.
“My situation was unique in that I planned to go to school with my two best friends. Not all of my top choices were willing to accept all three of us.”
David then described his top three schools and why he’d ended up at USC.