Lost & Found
Chapter 82

Copyright© 2007 by Douglas Fox

Romantic Sex Story: Chapter 82 - Kyle Martin goes to PSU seeking football glory. Read about his successes, failures and excesses as he tries to find his place in the world

Caution: This Romantic Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa   Ma/Ma   Consensual   Romantic   Group Sex   Anal Sex   School  

Penny helped me pack for my trip to Indianapolis on Wednesday night, the 20th. She teased me about packing running shoes and two types of cleats. I had no idea what would be best on Lucas Oil Stadium's surface. I did not want to be poorly equipped when I did my workout.

I left early Thursday morning around 5:30 AM for the trip to the airport. The Scouting Combine had me booked for a 7:05 AM departure from the airport. Thank God I sent my travel info in early last month. I was booked on a non-stop flight to Indianapolis. Jamal Anderson from Temple had dawdled. He had left yesterday morning and had a stop in New York before he headed for Indianapolis.

The Combine staggered the arrivals of the players. Placekickers, special teams players, tight ends and offensive linemen arrived on Wednesday. Quarterbacks, wide outs and running backs came on Thursday. Defensive linemen and linebackers arrived Friday. Defensive backs arrived last, on Saturday.

I made it out of Philly just in time. Another major snow storm was due to hit the region late afternoon or early evening. They were predicting we would get 4-8 inches of snow. I doubted Tredyfferin/Easttown would have school tomorrow. That was fine. That would be one day less for me to teach at the end of term.

The flight was smooth as could be. I stepped off the airplane a little after 10:15 in Indianapolis. The Scouting Combine's travel staff was waiting for me at the center escalator leading to baggage claim. Eric Peters, Quinton MacElree and Jamal Wallace were waiting beside the transportation captain.

Eric, Quinton and Jamal were due into Indianapolis forty-five minutes earlier than me but they ran into trouble in Charlotte. Their flight was delayed twenty minutes, so here they were, waiting on my arrival. We greeted each other like old friends, which we were becoming.

I was pleasantly surprised at the weather when we stepped out of the airport to board the van. The temperature was around forty degrees with light drizzle. That beat the snow storm I just missed. The Scouting Combine put us up in the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Indianapolis.

The four of us checked in at the hotel with Scouting Combine people. We picked up a packet of information before they sent us to the hotel's front desk. The lady at the desk signed me into my room. She told me my roommate had arrived earlier, so I wasn't to be surprised when I found him there.

Eric, Quinton, Jamal and I rode up to the third floor together. All of us were on the hotel's top floor. I found Room 312 easily at the opposite end of the hall from the elevator. I knocked at the door.

"Come on in," the familiar voice said. I opened the door and found Casey Kerrigan from Ohio State sitting on one of the beds. "Welcome to Indianapolis, Coach," Casey said with a grin.

"Hey, Casey. It's good to see you," I replied. "Imagine them putting an Ohio State player and a Penn State player in the same room. Don't they expect some fireworks?"

"It could be worse," Casey answered. "You could play for Michigan. That would be REALLY BAD."

We would tease each other, as was appropriate for two former rivals, but Casey and I could get along for a long weekend. From what I saw at the Senior Bowl, he was a decent guy I could respect. He treated me well last month when we worked out together.

Casey and I gathered up Eric, Quinton and Jamal and headed downstairs to the Combine dining area on the first floor of the hotel. We had our lunch. Damian Thompson and Christian Hunsecker joined us just as we finished eating. Their flight from State College had landed an hour after mine. I introduced my teammates to the rest of the group at our table. Everyone hung out together until the whole group finished eating.

The Scouting Combine had an orientation for us at 1:00 pm. Today we would visit the hospital for x-rays and pre-exam before tomorrow's exam by the league doctors. We would get outfitted with our combine clothing. We would be available to teams for interviews.

Tomorrow we would be measured, have our medical exams, and do psych tests. More teams would interview us during our "down" time. The briefer warned us we wouldn't have much down time while we were here. Sunday was workout day. The Combine would ship us home when we finished our workouts on Sunday.

The Combine staff would handle scheduling interviews for us. We were told to expect to do four to six interviews a day. The whole interview process was more organized than the informal process at the Senior Bowl. They handed out interview schedules to everyone and warned us that more may be added as the weekend went on.

My sheet showed me interviewing with Baltimore, Atlanta, New England and Oakland today. Tomorrow I was to meet with Chicago, Houston, Kansas City and Miami. Saturday I would see Seattle, Minnesota, the NY Giants and Pittsburgh.

After the orientation everyone headed to another ballroom to get outfitted for the weekend. The clothing was provided by Under Armour, same as the Senior Bowl. Everything was color coded to help scouts identify which group you were a part of and who you were. The front and back of my shirts were labeled, "WO25" and I was part of Group 5. Quinton MacElree, Nick Wilson and Eric Peters were in Group 5 with me. Damian was in Group 6 with the other running backs. Christian, Dylan Harris, and Danny Clay were in Group 4.

We were instructed to take our new clothes back to our rooms and get changed into them. Group 4 was heading to the hospital for the pre-exam checkup and x-rays. The rest of us had time for interviews. I had one scheduled with the Baltimore Ravens.

I showed up at the appointed time and place expecting to see Coach John Harbaugh again. A tall black man in his late fifties with a shaved head greeted me with a big smile.

"Hello, Kyle. It's pleasure to meet you," the man said softly in a distinct southern drawl. "I'm Ozzie Newsome, the general manager for the Ravens."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Newsome," I replied as we shook hands. I didn't recognize him when I met him, but I certainly knew about the Hall of Fame tight end. He and two others welcomed me to have a seat at the table in the conference room. Mr. Newsome introduced me to Joe Ortiz, their director of college scouting, and Jim Hostler, their wide receivers coach.

Mr. Newsome asked me about my family. I talked about them and what it was like growing up in Lancaster County. Coach Hostler diagrammed a play for me. He asked me to analyze responsibilities for various offensive players.

Mr. Ortiz questioned me about my arrest two years ago. I supplied the BAC results showing I was stone cold sober that night.

"What lessons have you learned from this experience, Kyle?" Mr. Newsome asked, a very good question.

"I need to be more careful about who I choose to be friends with," I offered. "The girl I was going steady with liked to party too much. I tried to reason with her to cut down on that but she wouldn't. The friends I choose directly reflect on me."

"That is a valuable lesson, but a painful one to learn sometimes," Mr. Newsome commented.

"It certainly was for me," I answered.

"Do you have any concerns along those lines now?" Mr. Ortiz asked. "You mentioned earlier that you are engaged."

"No, my fiancée is the Rock of Gibraltar," I replied. "She is a straight A student. She's starting veterinary school in the fall. You have no worries that she'll embarrass me or your team, if you decide to draft me."

We talked about my knee injury in high school. They asked about any injuries I may have had during college. I reported that aside from the laceration during the Iowa game last season and the normal dings, scrapes and bruises, I had been injury free through college.

About fifteen minutes into the interview Coach Hostler asked me to diagram the play we talked about at the beginning of the interview. I reviewed everything he explained to me and then I added some variations that the team could run out of the same formation. I continued on, making the point Max wanted me to get across to the team. I knew football. I didn't achieve what I had on athletic ability alone.

At first Coach Hostler was bemused but eventually he sat back, smiled and listened as I expounded on variations of the play. Coach Hostler asked to me to describe the Penn State offense. I gave him a thorough overview of the high powered offense that Coach Burton had us run. I didn't spare the details.

Finally he held his hand up and said, "That's very good, Kyle. That's very detailed." He chuckled. "Have you ever thought about getting into coaching after you finish playing football?"

"Every day for the past seven and a half years," I answered. "I am getting a teaching degree so I can earn enough money to live on by teaching. I plan to volunteer to help coach the football team at whatever school I end up at."

"Are you still in school, Kyle, or have you completed your degree?" Mr. Newsome asked.

"I am student teaching this semester," I replied. "I am working at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pa."

"When will your student teaching be completed?" Mr. Newsome asked. "I wonder if it will interfere with our team's OTAs or mini-camps."

"I doubt it," I answered. "The draft is from April 25th-27th. My last day of student teaching is either April 29th or 30th, depending on what happens with the snow storm that is hitting Philly right now. If CHS cancels school tomorrow, I will finish teaching that Monday. Otherwise I am committed until Tuesday."

"That doesn't sound like it would interfere with our workouts," Mr. Newsome said. "Do you have any questions, Kyle?"

"I have a couple," I answered. "If you draft me, how soon can I get the playbook and copies of game video? I want to get in as much studying as I can before mini-camps and training camp."

"We should be able to get you one promptly," Mr. Newsome replied. "Most likely you would get the playbook when you visit right after the draft. We like our first round draft picks to come to Baltimore immediately after they're drafted. They get to meet the coaches, tour our facilities and meet the media. Are you available to visit on that Friday?"

"I will be available after 2:45 pm on Friday," I replied. "My student teaching will have a couple days to go before I finish with it. I would be available Friday night and over the weekend. That's assuming I'm drafted on Thursday night."

Mr. Newsome gave me a wink. "Everyone knows you'll get picked in the first round, most likely in the top five or ten picks. We're going to have to trade up if we decide we want to take a shot at you."

"I have one other question," I said. "What parts of Baltimore do most of your players live in?"

"Our training facility is in Owings Mills, north and west of downtown Baltimore," Mr. Newsome answered. "Most players live in that general area."

"Would it be a problem if I had a place on the Eastern Shore?" I asked, referring to the part of Maryland on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay. "My soon to be wife and I could live together year round if we had a place near I-95 half way between Philly and Baltimore."

"I don't see any problem, Kyle," Mr. Newsome replied, " ... as long as you show up for team events on time. Traffic can get pretty intense on I-95 and on the beltway around the city. You may have to get up pretty early to make it on time."

"I get up at 5:30 in the morning now to get to the school where I student teach," I said. "I don't think I'll have any trouble getting up to come into your facilities, if you draft me."

Mr. Newsome, Mr. Ortiz and Coach Hostler thanked me for sitting down with them. I felt really good about the interview. I could see myself playing for the Ravens. Hell, I would have been happy playing for them even if they weren't geographically desirable for me. Hopefully they can find a trading partner near the top of the draft order when the time comes.

My group headed to the hospital soon after I was done with my interview. We spent a lot of time waiting our turn and very little time actually being examined. It was nice the Scouting Combine told everyone to bring books, magazines and MP3 players to occupy our time while we waited our turn.

Eric Peters and I met up with Hal Long and Greg Nowicki at dinner. Greg and Hal arrived a day earlier. They had their medical exams and psychological tests that day. Christian and Damian caught up with us. Both of them had interviews with teams, their first.

"Man, my interview with the Falcons was harder than I expected," Christian observed. "Todd did a sample interview with me a couple weeks ago. I thought I was prepared. I was so nervous. It felt like an inquisition."

[Christian had hired Todd Rosenbaum, apparently a few hours after I interviewed Todd as my agent. The best my friend and I could figure out, Todd high tailed it up to Manheim as soon as he finished his interview with me that Saturday back in January.]

I leaned in close to Christian and teased, "Nobody expects the SPANISH INQUISTION!"

"Oh no! Not the comfy chair," Damian added without missing a beat. "Actually my interview with the Raiders was kind of nerve wracking. Al Davis himself sat in on it. I didn't think I was anybody worthy of his attention."

"I've had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Davis," I said. "He talked with me for almost a half hour during the week before the Senior Bowl. Relax when you do these interviews, guys. You get used to it with a little practice. My interview this afternoon with the Ravens went real well."

"I'm interviewing with them at seven o'clock tonight," Eric Peters said. "They must really want to get themselves a good wide receiver if they're hitting you and me, Kyle."

"Derrick Mason retired last season and Anquan Boldin is getting ready for his twelfth season," I replied. "I think the Ravens are due for some younger blood at our position."

"That would explain their interest in us," Eric agreed.

The six of us continued comparing notes. All of us had three or four interviews that evening. The teams were keeping us busy. I guess the same was true of them. They had 330 athletes to consider in five days. That didn't leave a lot of time to fool around.

I had three more interviews that evening. My first was at 7:00 pm with the Atlanta Falcons. I met with Les Snead, their Director of Scouting, and one of their scouts, Bob Kronenberg. They asked about my background, family, my knee injury and my arrest. We discussed football philosophy a little. They covered all the same ground as the Ravens had in the afternoon, but without significant enthusiasm for my services. I got the impression that the scouts were doing their due diligence with me but weren't expecting that I would be a Falcon come next fall.

The interview with the New England Patriots was totally different. Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, their offensive coordinator, and Nick Caserio, their Director of Player Personnel, interviewed me.

Coach Belichick questioned me extensively about my football study habits. He wanted to know how often, how long and who controlled the video playback when I gathered with teammates to study. Mr. Caserio asked a couple questions about my family background. We talked a bit about my arrest two years ago and the resolution of that mess. We barely talked football X's and O's at all.

I left the interview with the impression that they were definitely interested in me. The Patriots had compiled an enviable record over the past decade or so. Shawn O'Conner talked in glowing terms about playing for Coach Belichick. I respected the team for the way they rebuilt themselves through their continued success rather than riding one group of core athletes until they wore down or retired. I could see myself up there, if they managed to finagle a trade high enough to grab me. I certainly didn't expect to be on the board when pick 32 rolled around on draft day.

The Raiders evinced just as much interest in me as the Patriots. Not that their attention was entirely welcome to me. The soap opera that had been Raiders football for most of the past decade did not interest me. The Raiders had some problems, especially their starting QB, Elijah Carter. Ed Fritz had been Elijah's backup when he was at Florida. They stayed in touch after Elijah was drafted.

I knew from Ed that Elijah Carter's knee injury was an ACL and MCL rupture. I didn't see Elijah ready to play football next September, since he injured his knee early last December. The Raiders' backup QB was a fourteen year journeyman that never played significant time as a starter.

I knew from my ACL rupture how long it took to heal that type of injury. Elijah might make onto the field next fall, but it was unlikely he would be 100% ready until close to the end of the season. The Raiders had one of the most porous offensive lines in the league. Of course that is how Elijah came to get beat up and blow out his knee.

Al Davis was there to personally welcome me to the interview. Head coach Hue Jackson was there with offensive coordinator Al Saunders and one of their scouts, Jon Kingdon. The interview started off conventionally. Mr. Kingdon asked me about my background and family. He quizzed me about my knee injury.

Al Davis interrupted Mr. Kingdon's questions about my knee. "From the last four years, it appears that your knee healed properly. What's your best time in the 40?"

"I did a 4.27 last fall," I replied.

"Do you expect to go under 4.3 here, Kyle?" Al asked. "Will running on artificial turf affect your time? I know Penn State plays on natural turf."

"I do expect to run it in less than 4.3 seconds," I answered. "I haven't run it slower than that since high school. My team has played on artificial surfaces too. I don't think the turf will be a problem."

"Which college game would you consider your best?" Al asked.

"I'd probably say my game against Nebraska last season or the bowl game against Tennessee the year before," I answered.

"Really?" Al Davis said, clearly perplexed. "I guessed you would have mentioned a couple of your games against Michigan, the last one against Ohio State or that game in LA against Southern Cal when you were a junior." Al gave me a smile. "I was scouting a couple players that afternoon. You had thirteen catches for 183 yards. You had another 168 return yards. How can you not count a game like that? You were just about unstoppable."

"We lost that game," I replied simply.

"Why Tennessee?" Al asked. "You had five catches for 111 yards. That is subpar for you. You gained a total of 162 yards against Nebraska. They don't seem to be your best."

Al Davis' ready grasp of my personal statistics was alarming. His team held the number five pick in the draft. He was taking a personal interest in me. Obviously he had studied me extensively. I didn't know my stats exactly, but Al's numbers sounded about right.

"I included Tennessee because of how our team reacted when the Vols took away our deep game," I explained. "I made key catches when there wasn't a lot of room for the passing game. I blocked hard to spring Damian Thompson free. His running was the key to our win. I included Nebraska because we were getting our butts whooped until my hit on their linebacker. I had to set the tone for my team and fire them up. It worked. I take great pride in doing that."

"You are right about providing inspiration to your team," Al agreed. "I believe outstanding performance can provide the proper electricity to a team too. Don't underestimate your importance against Southern Cal."

"But we lost," I replied. "I didn't do enough to help my team win. I can't consider that a good game."

"Let's talk about football philosophy, Kyle," Al Davis said. "I've read some of the interviews you gave and saw what you said on ESPN three weeks ago before the Biletnikoff dinner. You like the deep passing game."

"It's very useful," I conceded. "It has its place in a balanced offense. I want the defense to have to cover the whole field." Al gave me a big smile.

"Exactly what I want," Al Davis agreed.

Now I was getting alarmed. The owner of the team with the fifth draft choice seemed to like me more than I desired. The prognosticators thought the Redskins, the Lions and the Chiefs all needed offensive or defensive line help. The Seahawks drafted next. Everyone knew they needed a QB to replace Matt Hasselbeck.

That left Al Davis sitting at number five in the draft. Everyone knows he loves speed and he loves the deep passing game. He has taken a personal interest in me and has been scouting and studying my every interview ... AND I DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOR HIM!

Al Davis continued on about his personal philosophy for football. How in the hell do I discourage his interest? I listened, trying to be polite. He finished his discourse after a couple minutes.

"So, what do you think, Kyle?" al Davis asked. "Does this sound like your style of football?"

"Um ... yes," I agreed, " ... but I don't know if it would work out that neatly if you draft me. May I speak frankly?"

"Yes, go ahead," Al Davis agreed.

"What you are describing sounds great ... in theory," I explained. "I don't see how drafting me will get your team where it needs to go. I've only watched your team for parts of a couple games, so I may not be well informed, but I have heard a little from a friend of a friend. This style of offense requires a top notch quarterback with the arm to deliver the ball deep. I don't see that for this coming season."

"You're forgetting about Elijah Carter," Al protested.

"No, I'm not," I retorted. "I am saying this exactly because I am thinking about Elijah. I had an ACL injury and I understand how long and difficult it is to come back from that. Normally, doctors say it takes a full year for recover fully. I healed fast and was ready to work out for football after seven months. Elijah was injured in the middle of December. Was his surgery in January?"

"It was January 9th," Al Davis confirmed.

"If he heals fast the way I did, he MIGHT get into training camp in August," I countered. "As we discussed earlier, my injury was just an ACL. Elijah blew out both his ACL and MCL. Recovery time has to be longer. Is your backup quarterback up to running the kind of offense you and I like?" Al Davis pursed his lips but didn't answer my question.

"I don't know your personnel that well, but I'm concerned about the protection Elijah got last year," I continued. "Would picking an offensive lineman with your first round choice be better for the whole team? I wonder if my talents would fill your most urgent needs."

Al Davis stood and stared hard at me as his face flushed. "Look young man, you are not choosing a team like you did for college. This is the NFL. The team chooses you through the draft and you play football for that team or you DO NOT play football at all."

"I understand that Mr. Davis," I answered as evenly as I could. "You need to understand my long term goals. I want to teach and become a football coach. I don't have this childhood dream to play professionally. I will play in the NFL if that teaches me more about football and helps me towards my goal of being a successful coach. My fiancée and soon-to-be wife is committed to being in Philadelphia for at least the next five years. She is starting veterinary school in September.

"Being apart from my wife for at least seven months of the year is a significant hardship. I'm willing to do that if I can make contacts that help me later in my coaching career and that help me learn more about this game we love. If I am in the wrong situation when I get drafted, I will be happy finding a high school around Philly to teach at and then help out their football program. I also have a firm job offer already to start coaching as soon as I finish playing football. The job offer is definite and I can start this summer, if I want to."

"You'd give up millions of dollars to be somebody's glorified errand boy?" Al Davis snapped. "That or spend days cooped up with a bunch high school kids? Really?"

"Yes," I answered. "I have no problem avoiding all the wear and tear on my body that professional football entails and spending the full year with my wife. The money is not that important to me."

I stood, assuming this exchange effectively ended the interview. I wasn't wrong. Al sat down and glared at me while Mr. Kingdon, Coach Jackson and Coach Saunders thanked me for taking time with them.

I was a little shaky when I got out the hallway. I just faced down an NFL owner and hadn't given an inch to him. I walked down the hallway towards the elevators. I checked my cell phone. I needed to discuss this interview with Max Solomon.

I had found a text from Max that afternoon while I was at dinner. His flight from New York had been delayed. He hoped to get into Indianapolis late this evening. I found a voice mail from Max when I turned my phone on. He asked me to meet him in the lounge by the lobby at 9:30 that evening. That was twenty minutes from now, so I headed down to the lounge and had an iced tea and relaxed while I waited for Max.

"Good evening, Kyle," Max said cheerily as he strolled up to my table. "How has your day gone?"

"The flight in was easy," I answered. "The pre-exam at the hospital was fine. I met with the Ravens in the afternoon. Ozzie Newsome ran the meeting. I think it went well. I think the Ravens are seriously interested in me."

"And they have a low draft pick," Max commented. "They would need to do a serious trade to get in position to take you."

"Ozzie acknowledged that fact in the interview," I said. "I think they may think I'm worth it to their team. They are geographically desirable to me. I could play for Baltimore and live with Penny year round."

"Who else interviewed you?"

"The Falcons talked with me this evening," I continued. "They sent their director of scouting and another scout to see me. I got the impression that the interview was pro forma. They were doing their homework on me and weren't particularly interested in me."

"You don't fill a pressing need for them," Max agreed.

"I spent half an hour with Bill Belichick and a couple people from the Patriots," I said. "They seem seriously interested in me."

"They may be, but they would need a minor miracle to jump up high enough to get you," Max replied. "Did you have any more interviews?"

"I just finished a meeting with the Raiders," I answered. Max stiffened. He knew my thoughts on playing for Al Davis. "It didn't go real well. Max looked around the lounge. Quite a few players, agents and NFL people were hanging out the same as us.

"Why don't we go upstairs to your room to discuss this interview," Max suggested. "This probably is a discussion best done in private." The two of us headed upstairs to my room. Casey was there but thoughtfully agreed to hang out downstairs for a while so Max and I could have our chat.

"How bad is the damage?" Max asked when Casey left.

"I didn't throttle the idiot," I replied. Max didn't need amplification about who the idiot was. "Al Davis is extremely interested in me."

"No surprise there," Max said. "You're a fast wide receiver that likes to go deep. We knew that was coming. Go through the interview question by question for me." I did.

Max pondered my description for a moment after I finished. "That's not the worst result for a meeting with the Raiders," he said. "It was the message I expected that I would have to deliver to them, at some time. I hope you were respectful when you talked with them."

"I was, at least until Al threatened to draft me and force me to play for his team or sit out the season," I responded.

"Are you prepared to sit out a season if they draft you?" Max asked. "Can you give up the money that you would earn?"

"Absolutely," I responded. "It's not about the money. Sorry about that Max. I know 3% of zero won't cover your expenses."

"Don't worry about that," Max said. "What is important is that you got the message to them so it doesn't come down to sitting out a season to avoid playing for the Raiders. Now we need to focus on what you will say WHEN, not if, this leaks to the press."

Max and I talked for about twenty minutes about how to handle the inevitable question. We had a plan by the time Casey returned to our room. Max bid us good night before he headed to his hotel. He would be a phone call away for the rest of the weekend. He was staying in Indianapolis until Trevor and Marshon went home on Monday afternoon.


Friday shaped up to be busy after breakfast. My group went for our medical exams first. We gave urine for a drug test first. Four different doctors, of various specialties, examined me. The orthopedist spent a lot of time testing my knee's stability, strength and flexibility. I'd love to know how the results were from the exams but I can't. The doctors took extensive notes but told us nothing. They worked for the league, not us.

We did measurements next. The scene was similar to the meat market at the Senior Bowl. One by one we paraded in front of a large crowd of scouts, owners, coaches and front office personnel. We wore skin tight Under Armour shorts that left little to anyone's imagination. If anyone wore these out in public, they would get arrested for indecent exposure. The guys like me that did the Senior Bowl took this in stride. Been there ... done that. The guys who hadn't were nervous and slightly embarrassed.

 
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