Chapter 10: What Happens on the Recruiting Trip

Saturday October 1
I was startled awake by a voice.

“Da-vid,” the singsong voice called.

My eyes blinked open, and I saw Brook’s smiling face.

“Hey, what time is it?” I asked as I tried to clear my mind.

“Seven.”

I groaned because I’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. Brook was to blame. We’d decided to sleep in my room because Brook thought we’d made too much of a mess in her bed.

“I’m horny,” she announced.

Sleep was overrated. What was the saying? ‘I can sleep when I’m dead.’ Fortunately, Mr. Happy seemed to be the one awake, so I let him take over the body.

Brook squeaked when I rolled on top of her but was soon an active participant. We became quite energetic and soon had the headboard banging against the wall. I had an evil thought because I knew that Tim and Wolf were sharing the room next to us.

“Hotness! Yes ... that’s it! Just like that!” I called out.

I’m not ordinarily vocal during sex, which caused Brook to give me a funny look. I leaned down and kissed her neck.

“Tim and Wolf can hear us,” I whispered.

“Yes,” she hissed. “Give it to me, Big Daddy!”

We sounded like we were in a bad porno. I kicked myself for not finding an appropriate soundtrack. I soon discovered that Brook wasn’t lying when she suddenly reached her summit and screamed my name.

“David!”

I wasn’t far behind and began to grunt like a wounded water buffalo.

We heard pounding through the wall, and both began to giggle.

We all met in the lobby, where Wolf spotted Larry Dell, who had attended our Michigan camp at Lincoln. Larry was ranked just behind me in all the recruiting ratings. He’d won the Elite 11 competition this year while I’d been playing baseball.

“Hey, I guess everyone wanted to see Clemson beat Louisville today,” Larry said, as he and his parents met everyone.

Today’s game was supposed to be something special. Louisville had a freshman quarterback who was playing lights-out. There was talk that he might actually win the Heisman. When we picked this game, we didn’t have any idea he was going to be so good.

Both teams had shone this year. Louisville was currently ranked number 3 and Clemson was at number 5. We expected a good game with plenty of offense. This game had National Championship implications written all over it. Larry was right; this was the game everyone wanted to see.

When we were scheduling our trips, we debated whether we would rather see Clemson play Florida State or Louisville. If Florida State had been playing at Clemson, we would’ve passed on the Louisville game. We agreed now that we’d been lucky.

“Have you made it official, or are you still stringing Clemson along?” Wolf asked, wanting to know if Larry had made his decision.

“I’m 95 percent sure it’s Clemson, but I won’t sign until the spring.”

“Smart move. If there’s a coaching change, you want to keep your options open,” I said.

At this level, the NFL might come along and steal Coach Swank away.

Clemson also had an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position. Their current starter was a lock to make it to the NFL. They had Chuck Tess backing him up. Chuck had been one of the quarterbacks I’d competed against at Elite 11. They were recruiting Larry, this year’s winner, and it was reported that they were pursuing the top junior in next year’s class. No other school in America could boast that kind of talent.

Larry also had to worry about me. I’d already shown that I could outplay him at the Michigan camp. If I picked Clemson, it might change not only Larry’s mind but also the minds of the juniors they were recruiting. While top talent wasn’t afraid of competition, reality had to set in at some point. There just weren’t enough footballs to go around.

If I were being honest with myself, I’d acknowledge it might be me who ended up on the bench behind one of these studs. I was taking off next fall to make a movie. I also wanted to play baseball, which would cut into spring football. That would give Larry all fall and extra practice in the spring to learn the system and play with their receivers every day. It might be enough of an advantage to push me behind him on the depth chart.

I also had to consider the juniors. There were two quarterbacks in that class that people were talking about as being extraordinary. If what I heard was right, they might be better than I was. Larry and I could both find ourselves fighting for a backup job. That was how serious the competition was about to get at Clemson.

While we waited for the bus to take us to campus, I was approached by Clemson fans and signed autographs. I even had a few of the other recruits wanting me to sign things. Brook bailed on me when a crowd began to form. I was glad Fritz and Chuck were with me. It wasn’t that people were being rude. Crowds sometimes grew to have a life of their own. My security helped calm things.

I glanced over at Brook and saw her in an animated discussion with Tim and Wolf. I wondered what they were talking about but soon forgot as I focused on the people that wanted to meet me.

I was glad when the buses arrived. On the way to campus, we learned about the area. Clemson University is located in Clemson, South Carolina, which is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest corner of the state. The town was no bigger than my hometown area with a population of under 15,000. The university added another 23,000 students. The recruiting coordinator had told my mom that nearly 300,000 people would show up for game day.

Clemson had become a coeducational civilian institution in 1955. It still had a strong military presence and had both an Army ROTC and Marine Corps Semper Fi Society on campus. The cadets participate in home football games by doing pushups for scores and forming a rope line as the team enters the stadium from ‘The Hill.’

The campus itself sat on an old plantation that covered 1,400 acres. As we drove down the main street, you could already see fans beginning to show up. We were taken to the Alan N. Reeves Recruiting Center where they had breakfast for us. They gave us a brief talk about Clemson and then broke us up into groups. Larry joined us, and we were off to our first stop, academic advisors.

Larry and his family joined Wolf, Tim, me, and our crew. It made sense to have the two quarterback prospects together. We’d been sent to a room in the library where there was plenty of space for everyone. I was a little embarrassed that I essentially had an entourage when you included my security and Brook.

The Clemson academic advisors almost outnumbered us. It was apparent they wanted to cater to whatever needs recruits might have. A kindly older gentleman, who reminded me of Grandpa Dawson, started our meeting.

“Welcome. I’m Dr. Carmichael. I know we’re on a tight schedule, so let’s split up so the right academic advisor can talk to the right recruit. I’ll go around and visit each group, but I’ll start the ball rolling with Mr. Foresee.”

There was some conversation as three different groups formed in different areas of the room, but when Dr. Carmichael motioned for me to walk with him, I realized there wasn’t one for me.

He walked up to Tim and put a hand on his arm.

“I understand you want to pursue a career in architecture. Am I correct in that assumption?”

“Yes, sir,” Tim answered.

“Great. Ms. Daniels will take the lead, then.”

I guess we were pressed for time because she began her presentation without any fanfare.

“Clemson has a different DNA from other schools, especially in the school of Architecture. Because it fits into our schools of Humanities and Arts, it allows you a broad base of educational experiences. Our goal is that our students have both a breadth and depth of education. You’ll be required to have a minor and take a language. We also expect you to spend a semester off campus.

“Unlike at other universities, architecture undergrads take architecture classes from the first day they are on campus. Our goal is to give you the tools to be able to not only learn the unique terms but to ensure you understand how to get started. It forms the basis for your education moving forward.

“It’s hoped that it will also help you decide what direction you want to focus on...”

I was impressed by how they handled things. From that point forward, Ms. Daniels focused exclusively on Tim, ignoring even his parents, and gave a frank presentation outlining what he could expect. We could tell that the educational experience at Clemson would be unique, and it was evident that Ms. Daniels wanted Tim to succeed. I know she won more than his parents over.

Dr. Carmichael touched my arm, and we walked around to the other two groups. Larry and Wolf were receiving treatment similar to Tim. Larry wanted to study sports communications. I’d never heard of such a degree before. I shook my head when they talked about how professional athletes needed to have strong communication skills in a—and I’m quoting them here—”multi-faceted and diverse approach to sports communication through examining areas such as social media, public relations, organizational communication, and interpersonal communication.”

I thought that was what I paid people for.

Wolf talked to his group about someday wanting to own a construction company. That discussion wound up focusing on business management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.

When the discussions wound down, people migrated back to the center of the room, and I realized it was my turn. I wasn’t given an opportunity to tell them what I wanted. They’d talked to my mom, and she’d shared what she thought I wanted. Dr. Carmichael, who had started the entire discussion, smiled at me.

“I understand that you need to be challenged. Your transcripts and test scores indicate you would be best served by our honors program. At our Calhoun Honors College, we encourage our students to excel by offering specialized courses with Clemson’s best professors. We help our students create their own ideal education by sponsoring programs such as study abroad and undergraduate research, and by providing individualized funding for internships, educational travel, and professional development.

“From your different activities, I anticipate you will provide us with unique opportunities in developing a course of study for you. One thing we will want to do is to push you out of your comfort zone. I’d like to demonstrate that right now if that’s okay?” he asked me.

This was different, but I’d enjoyed the experience to this point, so I nodded my assent.

“I’d like you to sing for us,” Dr. Carmichael said, handing me sheet music.

My mind went blank. What had he just said? Sing for him? My first reaction was, ‘Hell no!’ He knew what he was doing, though.

“Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”

“Slightly,” I offered.

“Just give it a try. I want to show you something.”

If Dr. Carmichael hadn’t been so nice, I might have walked out. I didn’t get a vibe that he was doing anything other than trying to help me. I looked at the sheet music. The song was Punchline. I quickly read the lyrics and realized they had meaning for me.

Every single eye has been watching me
But they don’t see
That I am a just another, trying to find a way
To hold on to your loving
Laugh away the pain
I don’t need no cameras to see a point of view
I need someone to turn to

Then the final two lines of the chorus hit home.

If I’m still just a joke
Waiting for a punchline

“Shall we give it a try?” Dr. Carmichael asked.

“Sure.”

I noticed Brook and a couple of others, including my mom—the traitor—slyly pulling out their cell phones, but Dr. Carmichael raised his hand rather abruptly in a ‘stop’ gesture.

“I want you all to understand, this is not an exercise in embarrassing David or having a joke at his expense. So, I will ask you all to please put your phones and cameras away and not to record this. This is an exercise in going beyond comfort zones and trying new things. It’s not easy for anyone put in this position, so please give this the respect it deserves.”

I briefly thought of the belly-cams Fritz and I were wearing but put it out of my mind. Fritz was, above all, a professional. Embarrassing someone he was charged with protecting would be the very last thing on his mind.

I also thought of the many ways Craig Wild had hazed me during the filming of Star Academy. I could have used this guy on that trip.

Dr. Carmichael pointed to one of the professors, and the professor put his phone on the table and tapped the screen. Music began to play. The song was sad. The underlying story was about a guy who felt no one took him seriously. I was surprised I related to it. I guess deep down I had insecurities. Being a jock who also acted wasn’t a combination that was frequently encountered. It wasn’t easy to put yourself out there and wonder if people accepted you or thought you were a joke.

When I was done, everyone was quiet. I could tell that it moved them.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“I’m surprisingly okay. I usually don’t like to sing in public.”

Dr. Carmichael just gave me a knowing look. I had a feeling that I would learn a lot here, and not all of it would be from books.

We were turned over to a tour guide to show us the campus. A guy in a Clemson football jersey showed us around. He introduced himself as Cole.

“Leaving home for the first time can be stressful. Clemson strives to offer everything you will need, including great housing, dining, transportation, health services, activities—everything that makes Clemson feel like a home away from home,” he said, and then looked at the parents. “Of course, we don’t want to lose sight of the reason the little darlings are here. Clemson offers a great education.”

“What are some hot spots in town?” Wolf asked.

“The Esso Club is a must before games. I know that the ESPN crew goes there every time they televise a game. Personally, I think it’s kind of a dump, but it’s a tradition. They’ve been around since 1933 and are close to the stadium. They have the standard bar food and cold beer. It’s not like there aren’t better places to go, but you have to try it at least once.

“For later, there’s a late-night diner, just outside of town, that’s a local hangover-avoidance remedy. Unfortunately, the folks there know me by name.”

Cole wrote down the names of the places and directions on how to get there for us.

“What can you tell us about the town?” Brook asked.

“It’s an old southern town with small-town values. It’s sort of amazing that they’ve built such a football power here. On game day, it goes from a speck on the map to the largest city in South Carolina by a country mile. Half of the 300,000 people that show up have no affiliation with the school. They are a bunch of good-ol’-boys from the Blue Ridge Mountains; farmers; ranchers; and military guys from the Second World War and Korea. Back in those days, it was Clemson A&M. They love the school and are fiercely protective of it and respectful of those who attend and graduate. You may be a ‘sissified college boy,’ but you’re their ‘sissified college boy,’” he shared.

This kid was a fount of information that I decided to take advantage of.

“What about the football players and coaching staff?” I asked.

Cole stopped our tour and smiled.

“I have a friend on the team, and he says coming here was the best decision he ever made. The coaching staff cares about the players. I have another high school friend that went to a big-time program, and he told me that they only were interested in what you could do for them. He got injured, and they pushed him to play. He ended up hurting himself worse and may never play again. The sad part is they’re trying to get him to transfer so they can free up his scholarship. That would never happen here.

“Coach Swank and his staff aren’t like that. They recruit character. They will pass on a four- or five-star player for a three-star if the better-ranked recruit has an attitude problem. Their philosophy is that they can coach up someone with the right attitude and work ethic. Once you commit, it’s ‘until graduation do we part.’

“From everything I’ve heard, the players love the coaches. You need to know that they don’t tolerate bad behavior. If you mess up, they’ll even send you home from a bowl game. They did that with the number-one receiver before the Championship Game with Alabama. It cost us the game, but everyone understood they were doing it for the team.

“My friend on the team says that they work hard to prepare them for possibly playing in the NFL. Coach Swank told him that only a handful will make it, so he makes sure that every football player gets the best possible education he can,” Cole said.

“I think I want to play for him,” Wolf’s dad said.

I could see that all the parents liked the sound of what Clemson had to offer. I’d looked up how they ranked as far as academics for football players. They were ranked fourth compared to the top 25 football teams, behind only Northwestern, Notre Dame and Stanford.

We were returned to the new football facility. Their head of recruiting was sent to 36 football buildings around the country, and they’d tried to take the best ideas from each to make the best facility in the nation. Two things stood out for me. They had a nap room. Hey, naps are important. You could also get your hair cut. I thought they had done a good job and didn’t see anything missing that I’d want. This was big-time football, and they knew what they were doing.

They’d also done their homework because I knew our chaperone. Terry Halsted was one of my receivers from Elite 11. My mom gave away that we’d met when she went up and hugged him.

“It’s so nice to see a friendly face. How have you been?” Mom asked.

He caught us up on his exploits during his senior year in Syracuse, New York. They’d made it to their state championship game, but had lost. He was currently riding the bench for Clemson but had seen some playing time over the last few games.

“I thought Elite 11 was insane, with the talent we faced. I was cocky when I got here and thought because I was a star back home, I’d just step in and play day one. It was a wake-up call when I competed against players that have been in the system for three years and had developed physically. Once I figured out that the only way I would see playing time was to up my game, I started to see the field.

“Your skills will only get you so far. You have to show you deserve it,” Terry explained.

I’m not sure what I’d assumed about playing time. There would be competition, but I’d always been able to prove I was the best. What Terry said was one of those ‘aha’ moments you have when you figure out something that should have been obvious. Terry was a tremendous talent, and he hadn’t started from day one. It would have to be the right situation for me to do that. No coach in his right mind would turn the keys to his program over to an unproven quarterback, no matter how good he was.

Knowing how competitive I was, I knew that I should factor the odds of early playing time into the equation. I thought about all the schools that I’d been to, and Oklahoma stood out as a serious possibility. They had a transfer who had walked on at Texas Tech and became the first freshman walk-on to start the first game for a BCS school. Texas Tech had messed up his scholarship, and the coach hadn’t communicated it well. He’d transferred to Oklahoma, where he was forced to sit out a year. He was now their starter, and there was already talk of a possible Heisman run next year while I did my movie. I hoped they would give me a shot at the job in spring ball if I went there. I would keep them in mind if Michigan didn’t work out.

We each took our turn to meet briefly with the coaching staff. They said all the right things, and I was warming to the idea of coming to Clemson. There was no doubt that I was interested in winning national championships, and for that, right now Clemson was a much better destination than Michigan. Football was a team sport, and a quarterback usually needed a lot of help from his teammates to push his team to the top. There were exceptions, though. I was about to watch one of them play tonight. The kid from Louisville had pulled his team up to a level where they could play with Clemson and possibly win tonight. Everyone would agree that Louisville didn’t have the athletes Clemson did.

I guess that was why going to Michigan didn’t scare me. They might not be on the same level as Ohio State or Alabama, but they were close enough I could see them getting to the top, and a good quarterback would make the difference. Another school that fit the Michigan model was Georgia. Coach Mason had pointed out that the talent within the state should have been enough to have them competing for SEC championships. It looked like their new coaching staff had made a turn, and they were winning the in-state recruiting battles.

I know Georgia’s previous coaching staff had told me I wasn’t a priority because they wanted to focus on other quarterbacks. Now they were also in the running for the other top junior quarterback. I had a feeling that in the near future they would begin to give Alabama a run for the title. I had faith that Alabama could stand up to the competition. I just thought that Georgia might be a team I should look harder at and possibly see if they had any interest.

Georgia was also one of those places like Texas, Miami, and Florida, where if you came in and helped them start to win again, you could be their savior. After graduation, that could pay big dividends. The same thing could be said here at Clemson. If they drew 300,000 people on game day, then you would have a core of rabid followers once you graduated.

The dads made the call that we would skip dinner with the rest of the recruits and go to the Esso Club. The plan was to grab an early dinner and then enjoy the pregame festivities. Cole, our campus tour guide, was right, it wasn’t anything fancy. But I think it was perfect for what we wanted: a casual place where we could grab something to eat while our dads were able to have a beer.

When we walked in, it was packed. Dad sent me to find a waitress. I spotted one and gave her a wave to catch her attention.

“Any possibility we might get a table?” I asked.

An extremely cute girl popped up from a large table. It looked like she was there with friends and family.

“You can join us,” she offered.

When I heard her soft Southern drawl, I instantly wanted to do bad things to her.

“I have quite a few people,” I stammered as I pointed at my group.

“We can make room,” she said, and the waitress went to find more chairs.

It soon became evident that we would end up two-deep, but at least we could sit down. I was happy to see the cute girl had an older sister who was even better looking. I say ‘happy’ until I remembered I had my girlfriend with me, who was amused that I’d forgotten about her.

Before I made myself single, my best friends stepped up and started to flirt with the two girls.

“Remember our deal. What happens on recruiting trips, stays on recruiting trips,” Wolf reminded me.

I shook my head because there was no way those two could pick up the sisters. They had to be in college and wouldn’t be interested in high school boys, I reasoned. I had a bad feeling Brook might be ticked with me when she joined Tim and Wolf in talking to the girls. I wasn’t able to join in on the discussion because my parents sat on either side of me.

“What do you think so far?” Dad asked.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d like it here or not. Now I’m glad we came. Clemson has a lot more to offer than I suspected.”

“Are you a football recruit?” one of the dads asked.

“Yes. I’m David Dawson, and I’m with Wolf Tams and Tim Foresee,” I said, nodding to my friends.

“Wait a minute, I know you guys. You’re the ones with the #WhyNotUs handle. You’re also the actor,” another dad said.

“That would be us,” I admitted.

“Order what you want. It’s on us,” the first dad said.

“Hang on. Are any of you boosters?” Dad asked.

A couple at the end raised their hands.

“That means we can’t contribute to their meals, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help pay for all the beer,” one of them said.

That seemed to satisfy my dad and everyone at the table. Soon we had pitchers of beer and an assortment of appetizers. Tim, Wolf and I all ordered iced teas, but Brook grabbed a plastic glass and was drinking beer.

I pointed to the fried pickles.

“You have to try those. It’s something they do in the south,” I told my parents and security.

Dad and I went around the table with Fritz in tow and met everyone. Chuck was told to watch my mom and Brook. I wished him luck.

I found that Clemson had fans that rivaled Oklahoma’s, as far as being friendly and hospitable. Dad and I had a great time making the rounds. I think with all the beer that was pushed on him, he was half in the tank when we made it back. When we did get back, I had writer’s cramp from signing napkins and jerseys. I made it a policy not to autograph body parts. Dad was a little disappointed when a lady in her late twenties suggested I sign her huge boobies.

When I sat back down, our food was just arriving, and Brook had joined us.

“How are they doing?” I asked her, indicating my friends.

“I think they’re going to get lucky tonight. It’s too bad I came along.”

“Why’s that?”

“The girls said they want to spend time with you, too. I had to explain that you weren’t allowed,” Brook said.

“Good call, but are those two allowed?” I asked, pointing again at my two friends.

If I had learned anything, it was that bad news always beat you home. Tami and Sarah would find out even if we kept our pact. I would take that to the bank.

“Ah, that’s sweet,” Brook said, patting my thigh. “They’re big boys. Let them have their fun.”

I blinked several times to try to take that in. She’d just told me that I wasn’t allowed to have fun, but Tim and Wolf could. Sometimes I have no idea what women think. I looked at my dad, who had been eavesdropping. He just shrugged to let me know I was on my own. I glanced over at my mom and got one of those unreadable looks that told me I was on thin ice. I decided to pull a Dawson and just keep my mouth shut.

I soon found myself deep in a discussion on the merits of Clemson football and why I should attend. I planned to mention to the coaching staff that they should send all the recruits to the Esso Club because their fans were their best recruiters.

After we ate, they offered to show us around before the game. Brook latched onto my arm when it became apparent some female fans wanted to be more than just hospitable. The group we were with had been coming to games since they were children, and I think they knew everyone who was tailgating. It made it much more fun to meet the Clemson faithful.

They had us go into the stadium so we could receive the full experience of watching it fill up and enjoy the pregame festivities. They called their stadium Death Valley, and by the time the over eighty thousand fans had filled it, you understood why they named it that. Its actual name was Memorial Stadium. That name was quite common across the country; football stadiums were built as a tribute to fallen soldiers. As Clemson is a former military school, the stadium fit the theme.

Every school seems to have a tradition. For Clemson, it was how the team entered the field. Every player touched ‘Howard’s Rock’ at the top of ‘The Hill,’ and then they all ran down. It was goose-bump-inducing when the place came to full voice and they had a balloon release. At the other end of the stadium, fireworks went off to announce the team’s entrance. Watching that made me want to suit up and go play.

This game felt different from any of the ones we’d been to so far. You could feel the nervous energy from the crowd, and you knew an epic battle was about to occur between two top-five teams with two of the best quarterbacks in all of college football.

Early in the second quarter, Clemson was up 14–7 and on the Louisville 37 yard line, almost in scoring position. I jumped to my feet and pointed downfield.

“He’s wide open!” I yelled as their receiver blew past the defender.

Everyone soon joined me when the Clemson quarterback spotted him and made an easy pitch and catch to push the score to 21–7.

In the third quarter, Louisville was behind by nine when it put together a drive. They got the ball inside the Clemson 5 yard line when their quarterback showed why he was the Heisman leader. He faked an inside handoff and sprinted into the end zone, cutting the Tiger lead to two at 28–26.

Midway into the fourth quarter, Louisville led by one and was driving again. I smiled when I saw their quarterback keep the ball again as he raced around the end and simply outran the defender to put them up 36–28.