Chapter 22: Camp USC

Wednesday June 25, 2014 – Freshman Year

I arrived at LAX and went to the baggage area. It wasn’t the prettiest airport I had been in. It seemed like there was a lot of construction going on. I came out and got in line for a cab. Talk about a hot mess. The traffic coming out of the airport was crazy. I just closed my eyes and let the cabbie do his thing.

I arrived a day early, to meet with Bo Harrington. He had rented practice time at an area high school and arranged for a couple of receivers to work with me. This week I would be attending USC’s Rising Star Camp, as a way of preparing for the Elite Camp, the second week in July. I considered this a tune up so I’d be ready for the Elite Camp. Elite would place me front of every recruiter who mattered.

The USC camp was advertised as being for advanced football players. They said the players would possess the skills necessary to play at the highest levels. Bo suggested we get together today so if there were any rough edges, we would have them worked out before camp began. The USC camp was only two days, so I couldn’t afford to have a bad day.

Bo was one of the coaches for both the USC and Elite camps. He was working with me and Hunter Green, a big time prospect out of San Diego. Hunter was entering his senior year and being recruited heavily. Bo arranged for us to stay at a hotel within walking distance of everything we would be doing while we were here. Hunter was going to be my roommate.

I sent Bo a text telling him I was almost to the hotel. I was paying the cabbie when Bo came out of nowhere and gave me a big hug. He grabbed one of my bags and we went inside. He had already registered us so we went straight to my room. As we walked we got caught up.

He knocked at the door and Hunter answered. He was built like a lineman, gut and all. I would guess he was over two hundred fifty pounds, and a couple of inches shorter than I was. Bo made the introductions.

“Hunter, I want you to meet David. He is one of my clients. David this is Hunter. He hired me this summer to get him ready for the fall.”

We shook each other’s hands.

“I didn’t know which side of the room you wanted so I haven’t claimed a bed yet. I hear you get up early to run, so it might be better if you take the one closest to the bathroom,” Hunter offered.

“That might work best. When I was out here last month, I tended to get up early because my internal clock is two hours ahead,” I said.

“You guys get settled and meet me out front in thirty minutes,” Bo told us.

After Bo left, we unpacked and got to know each other. Hunter was an only child and his dad was in the Navy. His mom was an executive secretary. He didn’t have a girlfriend ... ever. He wanted one ... badly. He seemed like a great guy.

Bo had video equipment set up with three angles. He had a camera on the ground in front of us, one high behind and a wide angle from the side. He had garbage cans set up for the fifteen yard down and out, the ten yard button hook and the thirty yard touch pass where the can was sitting straight up.

For this drill, Bo would call out a number and you threw to the garbage can he called out.

“Who wants to go first?” Bo asked.

Since Hunter was looking at his shoes I stepped up. I ended up going eleven out of fifteen.

“Good job, David, you finished strong with five in a row. You’re up Hunter. Remember, just throw it, don’t aim it,” Bo coached us.

Hunter looked like he was trying to stack greasy BBs on a hot July afternoon. He was over-striding, had a weird hitch in his throw and couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. I was looking around to see if I was being punked. Bo was stunned speechless.

“You can only get better,” I offered.

Hunter burst out laughing. Bo and I looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“Sorry, I was just goofing you guys. Let me do it again?”

“Hunter, we don’t have time to fuck around,” Bo said, obviously pissed.

“Sorry, Bo, it won’t happen again.”

The second time through Hunter hit 12 out of 15. Bo was still pissed so he had him go run five laps around the field while he set up the next drill.

“David, be careful with Hunter. He is a jokester. He will try to pull one over on you if you aren’t careful. I’ve found if you don’t take his shit he settles down and can focus. So if I come across as a dick, I’m just coaching him the way he responds best.”

I was rethinking some of the things he told me earlier. Would a star quarterback really not have girls interested in him? I doubted it, even if he did look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

I was surprised when he came back sucking air. He was in terrible shape. Bo ran us through our paces. We practiced for nearly four hours. I was feeling pretty good by the time we were finished. Hunter was lying on the ground like a beached whale. While Hunter caught his breath and Bo packed up, I did our thirty minutes of hell routine with ankle and wrist weights. Cassidy said I needed to use them to keep getting better. She thought I was leveling off.

“I want to throw up from just watching you,” Hunter said.

When we got to the hotel, I talked Hunter into going swimming. We saw it was packed with good looking women. I got changed, and Hunter had to call his mom and give her an update. I went down and found a couple of empty lounge chairs. I saw several guys who looked to be a year or two older than me come out and jump in the pool. The camp coordinator had suggested this hotel for anyone coming from out of town. I guessed the rowdy boys who chased off the older crowd were going to be at camp.

Hunter came down and took off his shirt. He wasn’t as bad as I described. He was just built very solidly. He reminded me of Big Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers. He was also a hairy beast. He was one of those guys you would swear was too old to be in high school.

“How’s your mom?” I asked.

“Good, I think she is enjoying her freedom with me gone.”

“She’s probably sick of you lying about the house all day.”

“Funny. Hey, I need a beer, do you want one?” Hunter asked.

“No,” I chuckled as he got up and went to the bar just off the pool.

He came back empty handed.

“No luck?” I asked him.

“No, they’re sending out a waitress with it.”

The rowdy bunch was out of the pool so I decided to swim laps. I’d missed my morning run, so I was trying to make it up. I swam for about thirty minutes and came back to find Hunter with two girls.

“Finally,” he complained. “David, I want you to meet Mia and Ava. They want us to take them to dinner.”

Mia was a cute Eurasian and Ava was a leggy blond. There were worse things we could do for dinner.

“Sounds like a plan. Where are you ladies from?” I asked.

“We actually go to school at USC and are roommates. We sneak in to use the pool,” Ava explained.

“Kelsey, our other roommate, called us, and said there were some hot guys here today. She said there was a football camp at USC. Are you guy’s part of that?” Mia asked.

We got to know the girls. It didn’t hurt that Hunter was buying them drinks. They kept quizzing us about football and how good we were. It started to feel like they were gold diggers. Chuck had warned me some California girls only cared about the size of your wallet.

“I’m going to take Hunter to the hot tub. Why don’t you go with David to his room and help him figure out what to wear tonight,” Mia said.

Hunter and I both did a double take. At least he was cool about it. Ava took my hand and I went willingly. I was going to see what this girl was made of. I opened the door and went to the closet.

“I have four outfits with me,” I said holding up a couple of shirts.

“Actually, I would like you to kiss me,” Ava said.

I gave her a curious look.

“Do you do this often?” I asked.

“What ... kiss boys? Yes,” she responded.

“Do you realize what can happen when you follow a guy who you don’t know to his room? You come, isolate yourself, and then offer to kiss him. He may take it the wrong way,” I warned her.

I saw a flicker of nervousness.

“Most guys are happy to kiss me.”

“Some guys are not nice guys. You shouldn’t leave yourself vulnerable,” I advised her as I stepped closer.

She took an involuntary step back.

“Are you one of those guys?” She asked with a little quiver in her voice.

I reached behind her neck and pulled her to me and kissed her. It didn’t take Ava long to forget her fear. Ava was a good kisser. What I liked about her was there was no pretense. One minute we were kissing; the next she had me pinned to the bed putting a condom on me.

“We need to hurry. Mia and Hunter should be back shortly,” she warned me.

I love taking my time and making a girl’s body sing, but there are times when fast and hard hit the spot. Ava was a nice average girl just a little on the heavy side. She was firm and had all the right parts. She wanted to hurry so I rubbed the head of my cock up and down her slit. I was using a condom with a warming gel. I found when I used this type of condom it helped my partner get ready for me faster.

I found her entrance and pushed. She opened right up. I gave the warming gel a few moments to do its job.

“Your dick is getting hot,” Ava said looking concerned.

“You’ll like this,” I promised her.

I started to move and Ava groaned in pleasure. She became a very active participant as she locked her heels behind my butt to help direct my movements. She then pulled my head down to her jiggling breasts. I couldn’t help myself as I gave her my best motor boat.

“Quit playing around and fuck me,” she ordered.

I think this was a new record for me in terms of initial meeting to having sex with someone. I wonder if this is just a California thing. The next quickest encounter was when I met the sorority girl at Stanford. I met her in a bar after a touch football game. It hadn’t taken her long to lead me to a bathroom and give me a fantastic blow job.

Maybe girls’ knowing about great sex was a California thing also. Healthy Ava was certainly fucking me like she knew what she was doing. I would need to be careful or the bad boy in me, aka Mr. Happy, would be picking a school in California for college. There was something to be said about meeting a girl and fucking her a few minutes later. I might have to add that little factoid to my decision-making process. I’m sure Tami would appreciate my thoroughness.

I was amused when Ava’s alter ego surfaced.

“Fuck ME! FUCK ME HARD!“ she screamed in my ear as the volume went up.

I could tell she was fully aroused as my thick cock made sloshing noises as I pounded into her. I did my best imitation of rabbit fucking. Ava’s head went back and I could see she was holding her breath. It finally came out as a strangled cry. I felt the walls of her pussy start to milk my length. That was the little extra stimulation I needed to cum. I slammed my hips forward so I could cum deep in her depths.

We had just finished and I was in the shower when Mia and Hunter came to the room. Ava let them in. When I came out Mia was eyeing the two of us. She knew what we had been up to. I think the rumpled bed and the smell of sex was a dead give-a-way. Poor Hunter seemed oblivious. The girls headed to their place to change and we made plans to meet downstairs in forty-five minutes.

“We’re going to score tonight!” Hunter said just about jumping out of his skin. “Mia let me touch her boobs. Then she touched me as we made out. This is going to be great!”

I watched him almost float to the bathroom to get ready. He was eager to go, so I relented and went to the lobby twenty minutes early. I decided to see if Sage or Rose were free to do something while I was here. I called Rose first.

“I was wondering if you were up for a massage,” I said without saying hello.

“Who is this?” she asked.

“I’m wounded, you’ve forgotten me already.”

“David?” she asked hesitantly.

“You do remember me.”

“I thought you would have called me sooner,” she chastised me.

“Sorry, I was with friends. The reason I’m calling is because I’m in LA for the next few days. I’m tied up tonight, but I would love to see you if you’re free.”

“I wish you had called me sooner. I can’t do it Friday or Saturday, but I might be able to rearrange things for tomorrow. Can I text you by noon?”

“Perfect.”

She had friends over so I let her go. I then called Sage. I just got her voice mail so I told her I was in town and would love to take her out Friday. Hunter was giving me funny looks.

“What?” I asked him.

“Nothing, I ... How could you ask someone else out?” he accused me.

I looked at him trying to figure out where he was coming from. All I could figure is he really was very inexperienced.

“Dude, lighten up. We’re just having a good time with new friends,” I tried to explain to him. “Ava and I aren’t going to get serious. We live too far apart.”

“Mia was telling me if we both came to USC they could be our girlfriends. Don’t you like Ava?” he asked.

This poor guy was going to be led by his dick if he wasn’t careful. I had seen it before, the first time a guy got lucky he was whipped. Or worse, he wasn’t getting lucky, but she was still leading him around by his balls. Why would Mia be telling him she would be his girlfriend unless she was up to something? The sad part was I knew guys like this would never listen to reason. I was afraid Hunter was going to have to learn this lesson the hard way.

“I like Ava fine. I’m just trying to be realistic. I live half-way across the country, and will be a sophomore next year. There’s no way we could keep up a long distance relationship that long. You on the other hand could be here next year and drive up on weekends.”

“I guess,” he said pouting. “I’m just afraid you’re going to blow it for me.”

“Slow down there ... I’ll pull my weight tonight. I promise you Ava will have a good time. You should go see if they have an extra room in case you get lucky. I’m sure you don’t want to be doing it in front of me.”

“Seriously, you wouldn’t leave if I had a girl over?”

“I’m here to play football first and foremost. If you needed the room for an hour I would get out. I won’t sleep in the hall though. Just go check and see. Maybe they would cut you a deal because the room wasn’t booked.”

He went and checked. They had several vacancies. He wanted to go ahead and check into one. I calmed him down and told him they would still be there later. There was no need to spend money before he had to. I was starting to really believe him about being a virgin.

The girls showed up in sundresses. They looked great with their Californian tans. There were some restaurants within walking distance so we headed to their favorite place. It wasn’t very busy. When I read the menu I knew why. It was a vegetarian and prided itself on only having the freshest of ingredients. The salad was priced higher than I was used to paying for a good steak. I wasn’t eating here. I knew Hunter would be pissed.

“I’m on a high protein diet to build lean muscle mass. While I’m not opposed to vegetables, I need protein.”

“The black bean burger is full of protein,” Mia offered.

“Yes, black beans are an excellent source of protein, and I eat a lot of them. But I need the real thing. Let’s try somewhere else,” I offered.

“What do you think Hunter?” Mia asked.

He looked like he was going to throw up. He desperately didn’t want to disappoint Mia, but I knew he couldn’t afford this place. So I intervened.

“Ava, would you do me a favor, and take me somewhere else? I know I have changed everyone’s plans, so I will buy Mia and Hunter dinner as a way of saying I’m sorry.”

“Of course I will. I know just where to take you,” Ava said.

I pulled out my wallet and handed Hunter two hundred-dollar bills. I could see him relax. He was going to need every dime of it. I got an uneasy feeling when Mia gave me a look. I think she realized I had money. I needed to get out of there, and quick.

We went outside and it was the kind of night that reminded you why people live in California. There was a nice breeze, and you could hear people out and about having a good time. I took Ava’s hand and let her lead me to a BBQ place.

“I’m sorry about Mia. She likes to go to places like that. What’s funny is if she was being truthful, she would be here. The food is terrific. Have you ever had bark?” Ava asked me.

“Sounds like something on the menu at the last place.”

“No, bark is the crust which forms on the meat as it’s smoked. It has an intense flavor that is created when the rub’s sugar caramelizes. Here they use apple juice on the brisket instead of sugar. Some people think the taste is too intense. You might want to get something else and I’ll let you try mine.”

This was one of those places where the meat was brought out dry. They had several sauces you could put on it. Ava suggested I get the variety platter. They brought you a small sample of everything and then you chose what you liked best and they brought you a full serving. She suggested I get the baked beans with Andouille sausage and the mac and cheese as sides. I love mac and cheese, but it was a terrible choice for my diet. I decided I could splurge.

The more I was around Ava the more I liked her. She had a dry sense of humor which caught me off guard. It would take me a moment to realize she was teasing me. What I liked best was she could take it as well as she dished it out.

The meal was great. I had never tried Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce. I put it down as one of my favorites. I also liked the California Asian Sauce. It had a soy sauce base. The bark was good, but a little bit went a long way. The mac and cheese was creamy goodness. I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done.

We were stuffed, so Ava took me for a walk around campus. We ended up at the famous USC Rose Garden. We weren’t the only couples walking through the garden tonight. We found a bench by the fountain.

“I’m really having a good time,” I told her.

“I know, I thought you would just want to go back and have sex after dinner,” she teased.

“Dang it, I didn’t know what my option were,” I said as she leaned in and kissed me.

I love kissing. It’s such a sensual and personal thing to do with someone else. My second favorite thing is holding hands. Combine the two and I think you have the bases for getting to know someone very well. She had me regretting setting up other dates earlier. Well, nothing was definite yet. I might be able to take her out again before I left.

On the way to the hotel we acted like an old married couple and just held hands. There was never any discussion about her spending the night. I asked about what Mia had planned for Hunter, because if he was coming back I would get us a room. She showed me a text from Mia saying they were going back to the apartment. Ava showed me how much she enjoyed the evening ... three times.

This was the best kind of surprise, the unexpected one.

Thursday June 26, 2014 – Freshman Year

I was starting to adjust to the time change, but I was still up by six and running by a quarter after. I wanted to see the Rose Gardens in the daylight. I pulled my phone out and took some pictures. I was to meet Bo Harrington for breakfast at seven forty-five. I made it back and showered.

“Morning,” Ava called out to me when I came out wrapped in a towel.

“Morning, I’m meeting my coach in a little bit,” I told her.

“Will I see you tonight?” she asked.

“I might have plans. I’ll know before noon. Can I text you, and let you know?”

“Sure, but don’t wait too long,” she teased me.

“Do me a favor, and call Mia. Have her get Hunter up. He needs to be in the lobby in twenty minutes.”

I heard her make the call.

“Good thing I called, they were both asleep. She will have him here on time,” she told me.

She hit the shower and then we headed down stairs. Bo was waiting and I introduced him to Ava. We chatted and Hunter and Mia hurried in.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Hunter apologized while trying to catch his breath.

We said goodbye to the girls and Bo took us to breakfast at USC. He took us to the cafeteria and we found an out of the way table. He wanted to tell us what to expect.

“Coach Sterns and I will be working with the quarterbacks. There are only eight of you, so there will be a lot of one-on-one coaching.”

Coach Sterns was the new USC football coach. The previous coach was young and brash. He had rubbed people the wrong way. He was now the offensive coordinator for Alabama. It would be interesting to see how the new head coach would do. USC was a pressure cooker of a job, produce or be gone.

“Coach Sterns has a lot of catching up to do recruiting wise. One of his biggest problems is the Southern California area is a great source for talent. He has a lot of competition. The good news is the area has produced a bumper crop of top quarterbacks. Of the top ten I have rated for the class of 2015 I have five located right here. Three are already committed to Notre Dame, UCLA and Arizona St. One of them was committed to Alabama and is now committed to USC.

“Hunter, I want you to make Coach Sterns think about opening a spot for you. I need you both to hustle and not take any drills off. They will be evaluating you as will the scouts who make the rankings. David, the West Coast scouts are eager to see you perform. This camp will set the tone for the Elite QB Camp in July. We’re going to push to get you into the Top 5, maybe even to number one.”

“I’m just getting over my ankle injury. Is this a good idea to have me here?” Hunter asked.

“The timing isn’t great, but it is what it is. They know you’re just now getting back into shape,” Bo assured him.

We finished breakfast and went and signed in.

I got to see the power of Nike. They actually were allowing campers to test their shoes. Of course all our gear was Nike and we had to wear it during camp. I heard Under Armour was making a big push to eat into the Nike market. They had just signed a ten year deal with Notre Dame.

The morning session was all evaluation. They measured and weighed us. Then we did the forty yard dash both forwards and backwards. Had us do pushups, long jump and standing high jump. Then they split us up and had the quarterbacks run drills to show their speed and ability to change direction. Finally, we were taken to the field and had to show our accuracy. At lunch we were split into two groups for the rest of camp. I was happy to see Hunter and I were put into the top group.

Coach Sterns gathered together the four who were going to be working with him.

“I’m going to assign you a buddy. The two of you will do everything together and be responsible for each other. So if one of you is late the other better be with him,” Coach Sterns told us.

My buddy was Ridge Townsend. He was the guy everyone was talking about and the recruit who had switched his commitment to USC. He was six foot four, and weighed one ninety-five. He was rated the number one pocket passer and number eighteen overall recruit. Ridge was all business and barely acknowledged me when we were introduced. I didn’t take it as him being a dick. He was focused on what we were doing.

They had four different stations for different drills setup. We were the gold team. They had a coach at each station to run the drill and Coach Sterns would float to watch the action. One of the coaches announced on the PA where we were supposed to go.

“Gold Team, station 1...”

Stations one and two were set up for foot work. It was arranged so we could both be going at the same time. That allowed us maximize practice time. This was one of the things I wanted to work on. I was able to watch Ridge before I started the drill. The coaches would stop me and have Ridge demonstrate. About half-way through, Ridge wanted to stop so he could watch me.

“David, do it again. I need to see you, so I can help you fix what you are doing,” he offered.

Coach Sterns came over, and soon he and Ridge were offering advice. At first it felt awkward, but I soon figured out what I was doing wrong. The simple answer was: everything. You ever have one of those aha moments? I had one. I wasn’t really doing it wrong; it was subtle things like moving the ball back towards your shoulder instead of holding it centered in your chest. The slight adjustment meant I could get rid of the ball a fraction of a second sooner and more accurately.

“You see that? You feel the difference?” Ridge asked.

I think he was more excited about my improvement than I was.

“Thanks, I really appreciate the help.”

The third station was very similar to Bo’s trash can setup. They used tires. This station I excelled at. I was able to match Ridge throw for throw.

Ridge took me aside before we went to the next station.

“You’re better than they led me to believe. I only wish I was that good my sophomore year,” he smiled at me. “They put us together for a reason. I’m supposed to talk you into coming to USC. I’m starting to think that’s not a good idea. Why don’t you go to Notre Dame so I can kick your ass?”

“Why don’t I come to USC so you can back me up?”

“It’s going to be like that is it?” He shot back and we both grinned.

“I’ll need someone to carry my bags and stuff like that. I think you might have the skills,” I teased him.

“You know what the perfect day is?” he asked me.

“No.”

“It is when USC wins and UCLA and Notre Dame both lose,” he said as we both laughed.

The PA announced that we were going to station 4. There was a crowd waiting for us. Ridge clued me in they were scouts for the different services who rated high school talent.

They had a good idea for a setup. USC had a gold circle painted on the ground to indicate the pocket, and a three legged stand where the football sat. It simulated getting the ball from the center. There were three receivers for us to throw to.

We started out just dropping back and throwing. I was doing well until they added distractions. They had one coach act like he was blocking for the offense and he would back into the pocket. Another one had a pad he would swipe at you or make you throw over him. It was obvious Ridge had practiced doing this before. The purpose was to get you to move in the pocket and throw.

“This is your strength David. Don’t be afraid to move,” Ridge encouraged me.

I quit thinking about making the perfect throw and having my technique correct. I started making plays. Coach Sterns sent four guys at me and I had to dance around them and I hit a long fly pattern right in stride.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Coach Sterns yelled. “Better, much better, we’ll make a football player out of you yet!

“Good job both of you. Now we are going to make it interesting. Set up the one minute drill.”

They had us start on our own twenty yard line. They had ball stands set up every fifteen yards on different hash marks. They wanted us to throw fifteen yard down and outs. If you completed the pass, you moved to the next stand. If not, you had to repeat. The last throw was from five yards out and they had four coaches stand on the goal line. You had to throw over them and hit your receiver to score. They didn’t stop the clock.

“I’ll let the kid go first. I don’t want to embarrass him,” Ridge taunted me.

“Tell you what, big shot. Loser has to carry the winner’s bags to and from practice,” I shot back.

We didn’t carry bags, but you could bet we would find one.

“You’re on,” he said accepting the challenge.

This was fun. It felt like a real game. I put my hand on the ball and Coach Stern yelled, ‘Go!’

I did a three step drop and completed my first pass. The next station was set up on the left hash mark. I sprinted the fifteen yards. They called out the time: ‘forty-five seconds.’ The next one I hit the near sideline. I ran to the fifty yard line. ‘Thirty-five seconds, ‘ was called out. I took the snap from the center of the field and over threw my receiver. They had another ball ready to go as Ridge was doing a happy dance to my side.

I completed the next pass and ran to the thirty-five yard line. ‘Twenty-five seconds.’ I fired a rifle shot and sprinted to the twenty yard line. ‘13 seconds’. I gunned another one and ran to the five. ‘Five, four, three... ‘ I took the snap and hit the receiver in the end zone.

Ridge ran up and gave me a high five.

“Good job David,” he said. “Now see how it’s really done.”

“Wow that was intense. I hope you don’t embarrass yourself in front of your future coach and all these scouts. It would be a shame if you lost your number one ranking,” I said to rattle him.

We jogged back to the starting point chatting back and forth. Ridge wasn’t going to be rattled.

He took the first snap and promptly threw the ball into the dirt.