Chapter 4

I woke up Sunday morning and glanced up at my clock. My head swam. Damn! I promised myself I wouldn't drink so much this Saturday night. I lifted my head slowly again and looked. It was a few minutes after 9:30. I gathered up a cup, my shower stuff and a couple Tylenol. I came back to my room twenty minutes later clean, hydrated and medicated for my hangover. I flipped on the overhead light and got a shock. Christian was still sleeping.

I tried to get the light off quickly, but not before Christian woke up. Christian lifted his head and moaned, "Oooohhhhh ... What time is it Kyle?"

"Almost 10 o'clock. I'm sorry for waking you. I didn't realize you were still sleeping."

"It's OK, Kyle," Christian explained as he sat up in his bed. "I need to get up for church."

"What time did you get in last night?"

"Ummm ... Quarter of one? One o'clock?" Christian explained. "I'm not sure."

"Ahh ... my roommate the wild man. Too much partying?" I teased.

"No. Bev's roommate Cindy went home this weekend. We went out to a movie last night and then went back to her room."

I teased, "Really? Did you ... heh ... heh ... make Bev a woman last night?"

"NO!" Christian shook his head no violently. "No. We are waiting until we get married for that. You know what the Bible says about fornication." Christian paused for a few seconds and grinned. "Now I don't know that I've ever seen anything in the Bible about getting to second base."

I laughed. My straight arrow roomie wasn't quite as straight arrow as he seemed. I teased, "I don't recall seeing anything in the Bible about third base either."

"Above the waist is our personal line. We don't want to get too carried away."

"I understand how that can happen. I guess second base can be a lot of fun."

"Yes – it was," Christian said. He headed over to take his shower. I went to Pollock Commons to find a Sunday paper.

Penny called promptly at seven o'clock Sunday evening as we agreed the previous Sunday. Penny greeted me with, "Hi honey. I love you."

"I love you too."

"I saw the game yesterday," Penny replied. "I'm sorry your team lost."

We went on to talk about how my week went. Penny talked about her latest problems with the roommate from hell, Nicole. We talked about my dinner with Jeremy and how things are going for him and Kathy. We were almost finished talking when Penny brought this up.

"I had a funny thing happen this afternoon. I was hanging out in the lounge with my friend, Erin Lambert, her friend from home, David, and his roommate, Andrew."

I asked, "Erin?"

"Didn't I tell you about her? Erin and I are Chem lab partners. David is a friend of hers from back home. They went to high school together. They're pre-med and I'm pre-vet. We take the same courses."

"I don't remember you talking about her before."

"Anyway, we were reading the Philadelphia Inquirer after lunch in the lounge," Penny continued. "David picked up the sports section and told us about how the Phillies did last night. Then he flipped it over and looked at the bottom half of the page.

"David said, 'Shit! I know this guy.' He held the paper up and pointed at your picture. 'How do you know my boyfriend?' I exclaimed.

"David asked, 'Your boyfriend is Kyle Martin?'

I interrupted Penny's story. "How does this David know me?"

Penny explained, "I'm getting to that part. David is David Hanson. He knows you from..."

"State track championships. He's the guy I beat in the 100," I added.

"Right," Penny continued. "David follows Penn State football because his best friend is on the team. What's his friend's name?"

"Shawn ... Shawn Byrd," I answered. "Shawn lives in my dorm a couple rooms down the hall."

"Anyway. David was totally apologetic when he found out you were the boyfriend I had. He's been hitting on me – in a nice way. He's asked me out a couple times for dates. I always tell him I have a boyfriend."

I asked, "David is trying to date you?"

"Don't get jealous. He's a nice guy but I don't plan on dumping you for him. Actually David is totally embarrassed when he found out you were the boyfriend I was with. He asked me to pass on his apologies for trying to pick up your girl. He's so sorry."

"I guess I don't mind as long as David stops trying to date you," I said. "Tell him I said hi."

"He's a good guy. He wouldn't do that. David did ask you to tell Shawn to call or write. David hasn't heard from him in two weeks."

"We've been really busy with football. I'll pass the message on for him."

Penny and I finished our call. I went back to studying. I had a Math quiz tomorrow morning.

Monday morning's Daily Collegian brought more publicity for me. I wasn't sure if I welcomed it. The lead article about the game was headlined "Freshman Receiver Stands Out in Defeat." The article claimed I was the catalyst for the second half come-back. The reporter graded the team. The offensive line got a D. I wouldn't have argued with that. The defensive line got a C, the linebackers a C and the defensive backs a B+. They hadn't let Notre Dame hurt the team much. The running backs got a C. The receivers were graded at a B. Unfairly they gave Zack Hayes a C- for his quarterbacking. The grade was flat wrong. Zack was responsible for all 21 points we scored. We wouldn't have had a chance without him.

My picture was on the front page again. Students came up to congratulate me on my game all day. I got calls of "Way to go Kyle," and "Keep it up." I think I preferred being anonymous on campus.

My Math 110 quiz on Monday morning seemed to go well. I was sure I got the first 21 questions right. They were easy things I had done last year in high school. I wasn't as sure about the last four questions. They covered the new material we had started last week. I figured my grade should be good on the test.

Chelsea Wright sat beside me for our EDPSY class after lunch. Chelsea was embarrassed and totally apologetic about Saturday night.

She explained, "I'm so sorry about ditching you at the party on Saturday night. I was uhh ... How do I want to put this?"

"You were horny?" I suggested.

"It's been so long since I was with my ex-boyfriend. My last time with a guy was two months ago. I just ... just needed a good..." Chelsea blushed.

"You can say it."

"A good screwing." Her face was bright red.

"Don't be embarrassed. I know how you feel," I explained. "I haven't made love to my girlfriend in almost two months. It drives me crazy."

"I shouldn't have tried to tempt you Saturday night. I know you have a girlfriend. I really wasn't being a good friend to you."

"You were fine on Saturday night." I gave Chelsea a hug. "You definitely tempted me. I was in the kitchen debating with myself if I should take up your offer or not. That was why it took me so long to come back with your beer."

"Would you have gone with me if Trevor hadn't picked me up?"

"I honestly don't know. It's probably best that Trevor was there. You got what you needed and I managed to stay faithful to Penny."

"Think of me if you and ... Penny?" I nodded yes. "Think of me if you and Penny ever break up. You're a nice guy. I think we could have some fun together."

"That's a promise, Chelsea. Right now we can settle for being good friends."

"Deal!" Chelsea said. We gave each other a hug.

Coach Adams handed me a dozen new plays to add to my playbook. He wanted me to learn them all this week. I wasn't going to get much playing time against Illinois on Saturday. The coaches wanted to save me for the following week when we played Ohio State. The three games we played against Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, who were our three biggest rivals in the Big Ten. They didn't want to give Coach Tressel any extra chances to scout how I was used in games.

Zack pulled me aside after practice for a talk.

"You better watch your back around here," Zack said. "Some of the guys don't like how much publicity you've been getting."

"I'm not real crazy about it either. A couple weeks ago it was really a trip to have kids recognize me in class or on the street. I'm tired of being recognized now."

"That isn't what I meant, Kyle. Some of the wide receivers are upset."

I had no idea any of the other receivers were mad at me. They treated me the same as always. "Who do you mean?"

"I'm not naming any names. Bo Cherry is cool with you. Anders is too. The rest, well they're worried about you taking their job away or taking a job they think they should have instead of you."

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Be humble. Remember: 'I'm just here trying to learn things. I want to help any way I can.' You got it?"

"I AM just trying to learn things," I protested. "I had no idea learning a new offense was this hard."

"It took me a year to learn it all. Even then you still have studying to do to keep up as the coaches make adjustments," Zack explained. "I just got the dozen new plays they are putting in for you for the Ohio State game. The learning never stops."

"What do I do about the other receivers?" I asked.

"I know you have been asking questions and getting help from Bo and Anders. Ask the second and third year guys for help too. Stroke their egos. Make them feel a part of any success you have."

"OK, Zack, I'll try it," I answered. I was lucky to have a friend like Zack on this team. I couldn't imagine how it would be without him here to help me.

My week flew by. I had no time at all between homework, studying the playbook, practice and learning the new plays. I didn't manage to finish all my assigned homework problems for Math 110 any day that week.

My brother Andy e-mailed me big news from home on Tuesday night. Natalie Van Dyke gave birth on Monday evening. She named the boy Peter Michael Ellis, Junior after his dad. Peter was 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long. He sounded like a future tight end like his dad had been in high school. Natalie was the third girl in my friends' informal pregnancy support group last spring.

Andy told me that Pete, Sr. and Natalie were going to get married as soon as Pete came home on leave after basic training. Pete had enlisted in the Army before he knew Natalie was pregnant. Natalie's parents would help with the baby for the rest of Natalie's senior year in high school. She and Pete, Jr. would move to whatever base Pete, Sr. was assigned to when she graduated from high school next spring. I was happy for Natalie and Pete. It sounded like things were going to work out for them.

Kelly and Chelsea agreed to send me copies of their notes and our homework assignments on Friday while I was traveling with the team to Illinois. It was great to have friends like them.

Bai handed back the quizzes from Monday at our Thursday review class for Math 110. I got an 87. I was pleased with the result.

The trip to Champaign was very similar to the trip to Boston a few weeks earlier. I met the bus at the Lasch Building after Math 110 class on Friday morning. We flew out of the University Park Airport to Illinois and took a bus to a hotel near the University of Illinois campus. We had team meetings on Friday night; curfew at 11 pm; Saturday breakfast at the hotel followed by a walk through practice at Memorial Stadium.

Coach Ron Zook had built this team up from being one of the Big Ten's doormats a few years before. The older team members were still smarting from losing to this team two years ago. They were going to do their damnedest to make sure that didn't happen again.

Memorial Stadium wasn't nearly as big as Beaver Stadium. It had a capacity just over 57,000 fans. I figured we could handle the noise in this crowd. If Zack did his job, they'd be quiet anyway. Being on the short end of the score tended to quiet hostile crowds.

Coach Zook and the Fighting Illini surprised us. Our team is pretty balanced on offense – about an equal number of runs and passes in a game. The Illini decided to put eight guys in the box – the defensive line/linebacker area close to the line of scrimmage. For some reason I couldn't fathom they wanted to stop our running game cold. They challenged Zack to pass our team to victory.

Zack was more than up to the challenge. He threw for four touchdowns and 282 yards in the first half. Our poor tailback, Shawn O'Conner, had horrible stats: 16 carries for 51 yards. We led 31-7 at halftime.

Illinois came out with a more conventional defense in the second half. The adjustment was much too late. Our defense harassed their quarterback unmercifully. We sacked him seven times. Both Aaron and Cuch picked off errant passes he threw up under pressure. We cruised to an easy victory – Score: 38-20 Penn State.

Zack ended up completing 34 passes on 41 attempts for 388 yards and five touchdowns before Coach Burton pulled him at the beginning of the fourth quarter. My friend had the best day of his college career. It showed he was ready to fulfill the expectations the fans placed on him.

Christian and Tanner each got two plays with the first string offense that day. Each caught a pass. Christian's was on a third and long to give the team a first down. Christian was ecstatic to finally feel a part of our offense.

I did a decent job returning punts and kicks. The Illini had good special teams. I never managed to break away for long gains. I settled for an average of 31 yards a return on kicks and 14.5 yards a return on punts. I wasn't going to be featured in the Daily Collegian on Monday. That was just fine with me.

The team returned home late on Saturday night to a welcome by a few hundred die-hard fans. Christian and I went straight to bed. It had been a tiring trip.

My brother Andy sent me a report of Friday night's high school football game. My Wolverines (they still seemed like my team) had trounced Elanco on Friday night 49-0. Andy added another three touchdowns to his career stats. Jake Kring had another monster game: 21 of 24 passing for 310 yards and five touchdowns. I was proud of the kids I had helped train the last couple off-seasons.

I called Penny Sunday evening at 7:00 pm as scheduled. I called in the middle of a fight between Penny and her roommate Nicole. Penny promised to call me back a little later. Penny was in a pissy mood when she called me a half hour later. I got an earful of how horrible a person Nicole was. I was kind of glad that Penny wasn't in the mood to talk long. This wasn't an enjoyable conversation. I wished there was something I could do for Penny, but I couldn't.

Dr. Henderson tried to trip me up with a question again in EDPSY 14 Monday afternoon. His question was from Friday's lecture not from the assigned reading. Chelsea had taken good notes. I knew the answer. I also knew that I pissed off Dr. Henderson by knowing the answer. What could I do? I'd piss him off too if I didn't know the answer too. I would do my best in his class regardless of his personal opinion of football players. Josh Bruno was lucky. Dr. Henderson didn't know Josh played football too.

Coach Burton called Zack and me into his office after practice Monday afternoon. We sat down in front of the coach's desk. Coach Burton asked, "What do you gentlemen know about Jacob Kring?"

"I know him real well from back home," I answered. "We're friends."

Zack added, "Jacob Kring. I don't know if I know him." He turned to me. "Who is he Kyle?"

"You remember. When you started us doing spring practice in high school your senior year. Jake was the second quarterback in the practice."

"Oh, him. I can't tell you much about him Coach. I barely remember him. He was in what ... like seventh or eighth grade?"

"Jake was in eighth grade that spring," I confirmed.

"I barely remember the kid Coach," Zack continued. "He was young and didn't know much of anything about playing quarterback. He was really green."

"He obviously has learned a few things since then. Kyle, since you know Jacob, how did somebody putting up stats like his this fall never start a game before he was a senior?" Coach Burton asked.

"Jake actually did start one game as a sophomore when our regular quarterback was sick," I replied. "The reason Jake didn't start was because he was stuck behind a two time all-state quarterback. You know Ed Fritz ended up on scholarship at Florida, right?"

"Of course I do," Coach Burton replied. "Are you in contact with Jacob?"

"No," I answered. "The only person on my high school team I talk with is my brother."

"Your brother's another player we are watching, but he'll wait. I'm going to give Mr. Kring a call tonight. He needs to put Penn State on his list of colleges."

"Cool. I'm really happy for Jake," I said. Coach Burton dismissed us. I was almost out the door when I asked, "Coach – you said you're watching my brother. Does Andy have a chance at a scholarship here?"

"Ten touchdowns in his first three games," Coach Burton answered. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess you're interested in him. Would Andy be welcome if he came for an unofficial visit this year?"

"Of course he'd be welcome," Coach answered. I would need to plant that idea in Andy's head. It would be cool to show my brother around campus and have him and Dad come to one of the games.

Our game against Ohio State was one of our big three games for the season. We lost to Notre Dame in our first big game. We could redeem ourselves by beating #6 ranked Ohio State and then beating #2 ranked Michigan later in the season. If we did that we make it to one of the big BCS bowl games. Beating Ohio State was going to be a challenge. We were ranked #13.

The coaches were installing new plays that we hadn't used before to surprise Ohio State. I spent nearly half of every practice working with Zack and the first string. I guessed the coaches planned to play me more than in previous games. Coach Adams was constantly after me to learn more plays in our playbook. I was trying to cram so much information in my head that week that I had trouble keeping everything straight.

I tried Zack's suggestion to ask the sophomore and junior receivers for suggestions and help in learning the system. Hassan Jackson and Aidan Nagy responded positively. I had already passed Max Rosen and Alex Majerowicz on the depth chart. They didn't respond well. I guess Alex and Max are destined to be rivals not friends.

I sent Andy an e-mail talking about how much I enjoyed my unofficial visit to Penn State two years ago. I told him how easy it was for Dad to set up with the visit. I sent Dad an e-mail saying that I wished he could see me play sometime. I pointedly reminded him how much fun the two of us had last year when we went to the games at Penn State, Michigan and LSU during recruiting visits. My less than subtle hints to Andy had the desired effect.

Coach Burton called Zack Hayes, Trevor Conwell, Amir Lee and Jay Nicholson into his office to discuss the potential recruits visiting this weekend. Amir, a back-up tight end, was nursing a sprained ankle and wasn't going to play this weekend. Jay was red-shirting, so he wasn't busy on Saturdays either. Zack, Trevor and I were going to escort Chip Brinton, Bruce MacCauley, Nicholas Smith and David McCall around campus when they arrived Saturday morning. Amir and Jay would take care of them while Zack, Trevor and I prepared for the game and during the game. Zack, Trevor and I would take over again that evening.

Coach Burton had Zack and me stay after he finished talking with the rest of the guys. He explained that he wanted us to be guides on November 14th too. The visiting prospects that weekend would include Jake Kring and my brother Andy.

The university organized a pep rally on Friday night at Rec Hall. The Blue Band, the Nittany Lion and the cheerleaders sent the student's enthusiasm through the ceiling that evening. The starters were introduced to the crowd. The rest of the team enjoyed the cheers from the crowd.

This game was being broadcast nationally as befitted a game between two highly ranked teams. We weren't starting until 3:30 pm. I worked on a paper I had for Rhetoric and Composition and read my Poly Sci assignment to pass the time in the morning. I headed over to meet Coach Burton, the prospects and their parents at 11:30 at the Lasch Building.

Trevor and I greeted Chip warmly. Coach Burton introduced the rest of the prospects and their families. I had already met Chip's dad – Ells Brinton. Chip's mom's name was Sara. Bruce MacCauley, a wide receiver, came with his dad Frank. Linebacker prospect Nicholas Smith was here with his parents Michael and Laura. David McCall was one of the top cornerbacks in the state. He and his parents David Sr. and Robin were from West Chester, Pa.

Our group headed over to the Training Table for lunch. We got to know our charges over lunch. Bruce was from Medford, Pa. Nick Smith was from Westminster, Maryland. The coaches turned the prospects and their parents over to Zack, Trevor, Jay, Amir and me.

Zack needed to prepare for the game. He headed out after promising to rejoin the group after the game. The rest of us took the group to the creamery for ice cream. Trevor and I headed to the Lasch Building after that. Amir and Jay took the group on a tour of campus.

Jay and Amir brought the recruits back to the locker room at the stadium while we were getting dressed. Jay kept the recruits out of the way at one end of the locker room. When I was dressed, I headed over to talk with them.

I asked Chip. "What did you think of campus?"

"It was OK. I've been here before. It looks a lot like other campuses." Chip answered.

"Have you done any other official visits?"

"Yes. My dad and I went down to Tennessee last weekend. We watched them get walloped by LSU." Chip said.

"Yeah, that was a blow-out, wasn't it?" The final score had been 45-10 LSU. I looked over at the other recruits and asked, "Anyone else done any visits yet?"

Nick Smith had been to Rutgers a couple weeks ago. He hadn't met my friend Hal Long, their number two kicker. David McCall had visited Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. This was Bruce MacCauley's first official visit.

"Chip, David. I assume you guys know each other," I asked. "Do your teams play against each other?"

"No, we've never met before," David answered.

"It's weird. We live ten miles apart and read about each other in the Daily Local. West Chester Henderson plays in a different league from my team." Chip explained.

"We read about each other's games in the same paper," David added. "It's good to finally meet you, Chip."

I said, "Next season you guys can get to know each other real well – as teammates."

Trevor came over and picked up the conversation. Zack came out of the pre-game QB conference and stopped by. I asked, "Are you inviting these guys to the party this evening?"

"Of course," Zack answered. "He turned to address the whole group. "Some of the team members are getting together at my apartment later this evening. You will get a chance to meet some of the guys, hang out and relax."

I saw Chip grinning. I knew he was remembering the party Zack invited us to last spring when we visited to watch the Blue and White Game. Chip had more than a few beers. Johara Safay found him at the party. She took him upstairs and screwed him six ways to Sunday. Christian, Trevor and I took a slightly drunk and very happy junior home that evening. I'm sure Chip was hoping for a repeat.

The coaches called for us to head out for warm-ups. The recruits stood along the sideline watching us. Trevor and I met with the recruits when we were done. We talked for a few minutes. Zack joined us when he was ready. Zack made sure they all knew the plans for the evening. Trevor, Zack and I were taking them downtown for dinner while their parents had dinner with Coach and Mrs. Burton. The guys wished us luck as we headed inside for our final preparations.

Christian and I stopped by to say hello to Bev, Cindy, Kelly and Jen. They had their 'Kyle's Krazies and Christian's Crew' sign hanging from the railing in the student section. I stopped by to say hi to the guys with the other Kyle's Krazies sign. One of the guys said, "Make sure you kick Ohio State's ass today, Kyle." The other guy added, "Go score a touchdown for us, Kyle."

"I'll try my best, guys," I promised. It was really cool to have a cheering section of my own. I headed inside for our final preparations.

We won the coin toss. Aaron elected to receive the kickoff. I took my position on our 5 yard line and waited for the kick. Ohio State's kicker booted the ball down to me. I drifted a couple yards to the right and fielded the ball. I ran down the field to get behind my blocking wedge.

I scanned the field, watching the play develop. Trevor shoved his man to his left. Damian Thompson was on Trevor's right. Damian had learned to love all the hitting on special teams over the past two months. He blasted into his man, pushing him backwards. He and Trevor had opened a hole big enough for me to walk through untouched. I sprinted through at top speed.

Ohio State's 57 and 48 zeroed in on me. I faked going right. When they reacted I cut back to my left. No. 57 lunged for me as I went by. I skipped away as he tackled thin air. The kicker and a safety were the only people left with a shot at me. I angled towards the left sideline away from the safety. The kicker stayed with me.

I tried to fake the kicker but he stayed with me. I tried to stiff arm him when he came up for the tackle. The kicker grabbed my arm as I tried to push him away. I used a lifesaving release to rip his hand off my arm.

The wrestling took too long. The fastest Ohio State players caught up with me. One of the guys managed to shove me out of bounds before I could get into the end zone. I slowed to a stop, tossed the ball to a ref, and watched as they spotted the ball on Ohio State's 12 yard line.

I trotted back to our bench. I teased Zack Hayes, "I hope you guys are happy with the field position. Do you think you can score from there?"

"Good job, Kyle," Zack answered. "I think we can manage 12 yards."

Zack was correct. We scored but it was harder than we anticipated. We ran into the line twice with Shawn O'Conner, but only made 4 yards. Zack spotted Anders Voight crossing in the back of the end zone on third down. He rifled the ball in for our first touchdown.

Ohio State's run/pass ratio was 60% runs and 40% passes. This was good news for our stout defense. Antwaan Booker and his line mates made life difficult for Ohio State's running backs. Ohio State only managed to score one touchdown as halftime approached.

Ohio State had a stifling run defense. They forced us to rely on our passing game. I'm sure that's part of the reason the coaches wanted me playing more. I caught three passes on the five plays when I was on the field. As happened in previous games, Ohio State had trouble deciding who to cover with two d-backs – Bo Cherry or me. Zack made sure who ever was single covered got the ball. We managed to score another touchdown when Zack found Derek Whitaker alone in the end zone when Ohio State paid too much attention to Bo and me.

Our defense stopped Ohio State with around 4 minutes left in the half. They punted the ball back to us. I picked up fourteen yards on the return, an OK return but not great one. Coach Burton sent me out with the offense on the first play.

I was the primary receiver on the play Zack called. We expected Ohio State would cover Bo with two defenders. I ran downfield at the snap, accompanied by one defender. This play called for me to curl inside after faking a hitch if the defense was man to man. I was twenty yards downfield when I made my fake and curled inside for the ball.

I looked back to watch the ball into my hands. I saw it fly towards the sideline, probably fifteen yards away from where I was. Why in the hell did Zack think Ohio State was in zone defense? The play called for each of us to read the defense and adjust the route accordingly.

I watched the cornerback adjust and intercept Zack's pass. After a moment's hesitation I ran after the cornerback. I made about three steps when I saw a large scarlet and gray blur come at me from the side. I looked just in time to see No. 51, their big middle linebacker, fly at me. He collided with me and drove me hard into the turf.

I rolled over and shook the cobwebs out of my head. I stared down the field in time to see Zack miss a tackle on the cornerback. He carried the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. Ohio State completed the PAT to bring the score to 14-14.

I trotted back to the sideline, confused by what had gone wrong. Zack intercepted me immediately. "What the fuck was that, Kyle?"

"I don't know," I asked. "Why did you throw it there?"

Zack banged his hand against the top of my helmet. "Hello? It was zone defense deep. What were you thinking?"

"Are you sure?" I asked, sheepishly. "I thought it was man defense."

"Damn it, Kyle. Get your shit together. I'm going to be charged with the interception. The Buckeyes are tied with us now instead of being down a couple scores. Why the fuck should we play you if you don't know what the hell you're doing?" Zack growled.

Chapter 5 »