Mrs. Pearson might be one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.”
Phil had to agree. He’d eaten dinner at the Pearson farm several times, and she always had a story to tell. He actually thought that Mr. Pearson was funnier because he was clueless about … well … everything.
The last time he’d been over at their house, he’d pulled Phil aside.
“I need your help.”
“Okay,” Phil said warily because this could mean anything from helping him lift something to driving a tractor for a week.
“I was down at the grain store yesterday, and Jimmy announced that he is now a woman and expects everyone to call him ma’am or miss or whatever.”
“That’s sort of a thing now, and it’s considered rude not to,” Phil explained.
“No, I get that. It’s the whole calling yourself a woman that I don’t get. Women can do stuff that men can’t.
Shouldn’t Jimmy have to be able to do some of those things before he can claim he’s changed sex?” Mr. Pearson asked.
“You mean like a test?”
“Exactly.”
“How would you test them?” Phil asked, suddenly interested in what he had to say.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Pearson pondered and then brightened. “I know. My wife can turn a compliment into an argument. Last night, I told my wife she had finally perfected making fried chicken. It was hot and had a nice crunch and just the right amount of spice. Her response was, ‘You mean you didn’t like my chicken before?’”
Phil knew that Roc’s mom took her cooking seriously.
But Mr. Pearson had a point. No man could turn an innocent comment into fighting words. Maybe they should have to take a test.
“Did Roc commit?” his dad asked to bring Phil back to the current conversation.
“His mom has her heart set on him going to Goshen College, but he’d talked her into State so he can play football,” Coach Thomas said.
Goshen College was a religious school in Indiana.
“His dad wants him to be close to help work on the farm,” Phil explained.
“I told them that Roc is good enough to play at USC.
They hadn’t considered that their son might be that talented. They need some time to take that in, but Roc said he wanted to give us a chance.”
“Honestly, Roc is the best athlete in my class. He was playing varsity ball before the rest of us,” Phil said.
“I appreciate your input, but we’re not here to talk about Roc. I want to share why I think you should consider USC,”
Coach Thomas said.
He then went into his sales pitch. He even pulled out a tablet and showed plays Phil had run over the last few games and then compared them to what they did at USC. It was an excellent way to illustrate how he would fit into what USC wanted in their quarterbacks.
“Phil would be walking into a crowded quarterback room,” Rob said. “You’ve got Matt Long, David, and you are heavily recruiting Colt Macklin. If Phil goes to State, he’s all but guaranteed to start by his junior year, if not sooner.”
Phil nodded his agreement with what his dad had just said. Both David and Colt were considered the number one recruits in their class, while Matt had ended up in the top ten. In comparison, Phil was currently rated in the top 500.
It was a crazy amount of talent for any one college to have, and only a handful could come close.
“Let’s talk reality,” Coach Thomas said. “If … and this is a big if … the quarterback room plays out with the talent in front of Phil, he’ll never start.”
Coach Thomas paused to let that sink in.
“But let’s be honest. In one weekend, all three of them could be injured. We saw David go down with a concussion,
and Matt is currently out with an injury. It’s rare to see a quarterback not miss at least one game during a season.
“I also don’t see David and Matt coexisting over the long haul. They are both too talented not to be the starter. I predict that one of them will transfer because they need to be able to showcase their talent if they want to play in the NFL. I’m not saying I want either of them to leave; I’m just being realistic about the situation.
“With all that being said, yes, we are looking at you as a backup. We would redshirt you the first year. If Colt does come to USC, he will be higher on the depth chart than you. Of course, you will get a chance to compete, but your best shot at playing time will be when Colt leaves early for the NFL. When that happens, you will still have eligibility, and it would be your turn to take the reins,” Coach Thomas said.
“If not sooner because of injuries,” Uncle John added.
Phil both liked and hated that they were all being honest with him. The part he hated was that they basically said that his talent wasn’t as good as the other three. He might not be as tall, but Phil had finally gotten serious about football. Over the summer, Bud Mason had turned him into a quarterback.
USC was a huge opportunity, and they had a tradition of getting quarterbacks to the pros. Even if he only started one year, it was a much clearer path to playing pro ball than he would get at State.
Finally, something he had in common with his brother David was that if he put his mind to it, Phil would work until he achieved his goal, which was to play in the NFL.
“There’s one last thing you should know,” Coach Thomas said. “If you commit, you’ll be the only quarterback we take in this class.”
“We’ll let you know soon,” Rob said.
“I hope to hear good news,” Coach Thomas said. “I’m checking out a receiver David suggested. Do you know
Damion Roth? He would have been in your brother’s class and now plays at Iowa Western Community College.”
Phil had to think for a moment.
“Was that the receiver who played at Wesleyan?”
“That’s the one.”
“Let me just say that we played them in the championship game when we won state that year. Coach Hope was so worried about Damion that he put David in at cornerback to slow him down. From what I understand, he is a true talent on the field. The off-the-field stuff has kept him from playing at a higher level.
“If he got his grades straightened out, I would take him in an instant. He is far too good not to be playing on Sunday someday,” Phil said.
“That was what your brother said,” Coach Thomas said as he took his leave.
“What do you think?” his mom asked.
“If Roc is willing to go to USC, I’ll say ‘yes,’ too.”
◊◊◊
Chapter 21
The lake brought back a lot of memories for Tami.
Mainly because this was where one of her best friends lost his life trying to save a classmate. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Jeff had gone into a coma, and the fear was that he would have brain damage because of the lack of oxygen. In the end, the lake water in his lungs finally did him in by causing an infection.
The worst part was that because she planned to eventually become a doctor, Tami had known what was likely to happen. She’d tried to prepare David and Alan as much as possible, but when Jeff finally succumbed, it had devastated both of them.
Teenagers were not built to handle death; most had never faced their mortality and felt like they would live forever. Seeing two people struck down in their prime was hard—yes, the girl Jeff tried to save had died as well.
Wind time forward to the present. Tami had come home to talk to her mom about her premed program at Stanford.
It turned out to be much more challenging than she expected. Freshman chemistry had all but done her in, and she wasn’t the only one whose butt got kicked. Several people, who she thought were even brighter than she was, had dropped out because they’d taken a nasty hit to their grade point average after that class.