“We’re staying an extra day to work with Bo on Saturday. Why don’t you talk to him about stopping by to see what he does with us?” I suggested.
“As it happens, I have to leave. Maybe Ridge could take my spot,” Hunter offered.
We talked for a little while longer and then headed up to bed. When we got there, Hunter wanted to talk.
“Sorry about tonight. I really wanted to go to dinner with you and Rose, but I needed to talk to Mia.”
“What she did was cruel. Ava and I knew what we were doing. We were enjoying each other’s company. Mia just wanted to hurt her and I think she wanted to hurt me. I think you can do better than her,” I said.
“That’s the reason I’m going home early. I need to put some distance between us. I know if I’m around her, I won’t be able to resist her. I hate how much control she has over me, but I love what she does to me.”
“Well, it sounds like you have it figured out. I’ll see you at the Elite Camp in a couple of weeks. Maybe we can find you another crazy one to hook up with.”
Friday June 27
IN THE MORNING, I GOT to play four seven-on-seven games. My teams won three of them. My only loss was to Ridge, and the show-off won all four of his games. Ridge was a joy to watch. He took defenses apart with ease. Hunter also went three and one. I got to watch him and he was good. He was much better than he showed the first day.
Bo sat me down at lunch and gave me some feedback.
“You scored out as the best underclassman, with only Ridge and Hunter rating better. To be honest, Hunter is dead even with you. The one knock is your speed, but we’ll work on that. You just aren’t used to playing at the pace of the college game. I have every confidence you can make the transition to the next level without a problem.”
He told me a lot of little things I need to work on. The long and short of it was I had to put the time in and play. My greatest shortcomings would get resolved by being on the field and being a quarterback. The biggest were pre-snap reads. I needed to recognize what defense they were in and what they would do to camouflage that. It was a game of cat and mouse, and sometimes you were the mouse.
The afternoon was interesting. They wanted to give us the USC experience. It started out with videos of past USC players and teams. If you weren’t impressed after seeing the success they have had ... Let’s just say they’re a top program.
The Lori Winnick of USC is Will Ferrell. They showed some of the funny things he’d done at practice. He had dressed up as the Trojan and led the band in. The funniest bit he did was when they had a guy fall off of the video tower. There was a solid fence between it and the field. It looked like the guy had killed himself. Will came walking around the fence in a superhero outfit carrying the guy. I give a slight edge to Kentucky because Lori was hotter.
Then they had us meet with our position coaches one-on-one. Coach Sterns met with me.
“I want to thank you for coming to camp this year. We’re very interested in you coming to USC. I have only one reservation. Bo Harrington told me what your coach’s plans are for you. I just want to hear from you what’s going on.”
“Coach Hope was at Beverly last year. He took what I consider an inferior team, talent-wise, to the State Championship game. We had them beat but for an unlucky bounce at the end of the game. So, when our coach left for greener pastures, my school went out and got the best they could. Coach Hope was at the top of their list.
“He relied on defense at Beverly. He wants his offense to manage the game. His son was his starting quarterback and knows the offense. Coach feels it would be better to have me play fullback and then move to quarterback for my final two years,” I explained.
He didn’t look happy.
“David, I like you a lot. You have a ton of leadership skill. I’ve seen you go head-to-head with the number one pocket passer, and you held your own—as an incoming sophomore. What’s missing is game experience.
“If you were going to be a four-year starter, I would offer you today. I know with Bo Harrington in your corner, you’d be a lock to be a top five quarterback your senior year. I just got off the phone with Scouts, and they’re pushing you up from number eight to number three in the sophomore class, based on what they saw here at Camp. My guess is you could climb to number one if you put on a show at the Elite Quarterback Camp.
“But it’s all hot air if you don’t play quarterback this year. We’ll still be looking at you hard your junior and senior years. You have the kind of talent needed to be an elite quarterback. At USC, we can’t take a chance at a position so critical to our success. We want to win national championships year after year. I don’t want to have any doubts about you if we select you to lead us,” Coach Sterns said.
“Thanks for being honest with me, Coach. I have a lot to think about.”
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask this next question. If USC were to offer, would you accept?” Coach Sterns asked me.
“If you made an unconditional offer today, I would,” I said, surprising myself because I hadn’t realized how I felt. “But since you’re taking a wait-and-see attitude, I need to explore my options and do the same. There are two other Universities in the state of California I would seriously consider, Cal and Stanford.”
“Thank goodness it isn’t UCLA or I might have to break your arm,” he chuckled.
“Nationally, I have to consider the SEC. Florida, LSU, Alabama all need to be looked at hard. The other big names would be Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas. If I were asked right now where I’d go, Kentucky would be the surprise choice. I like where they’re going, and I like the campus. I’m good friends with John Phillips, their new quarterback. He’d make a good replacement valet if Ridge doesn’t get the job.
“Seriously, though, I’ve just started this process. I also have people I want to think about beside myself. I have several good friends who I think can play at the next level. I would consider taking a step down to be able to play with them. I’m not going to hold a school hostage and say we’re a package, but I’d hope you’d give them a fair evaluation.”
“Who are they?” he asked.
“Wolf Tam is a six-five tight end who’ll be a sophomore this year. Bill Callaway has the best hands I’ve seen on a receiver. He could start for you in the slot tomorrow, and by the time he was a senior, he’d dominate at his position. He’ll be a senior this year. Jim Ball is a six-five tackle who just needs to put on weight and get stronger. He’ll be a junior. Finally, there’s Ty Wilson. He plays for Washington at tailback. He’ll also be a sophomore,” I answered.
“No promises, but we’ll watch their development. I’ll have them pull tape on Bill. If he’s as good as you think, we need to get on him fast.”
BO HARRINGTON WAS WAITING for me. He wanted to know everything said.
“The package deal may turn some programs off,” he warned me.
“I told him it wasn’t a deal-breaker. I just would like them to at least look at them,” I defended myself.
“What are you going to do about Coach Hope naming his son the starter?”
“After going to Kentucky and then here, I need to have a serious talk with him. If he’s not going to give me a shot, then I may want to look at my options. I’m torn, though. I’ve invested a lot in Lincoln, and have made some good friends. I have to weigh that against my long-term goal of playing on Sundays.”
SAGE WAS BUSY AND AVA wasn’t taking my calls, so I decided to run and work out. I ended up getting on Yelp and found a nice restaurant where I had a big slab of prime rib I could have cut with a butter knife. When I got back, I walked around the campus. I could imagine myself going here. It felt crowded, but there was energy with all the people living so close together. I definitely wouldn’t be bored.