Chapter 51

The team reassembled in the Training Table for dinner on Sunday night after our short vacation. Coach Burton briefly addressed the team and told us we had the night off. We were to come to practice tomorrow ready to work hard. We were going to spend the week working on our fundamental skills.

Trevor, Damian and I were heading for the player's lounge to relax after dinner. We invited Jay. He had seemed up tight at dinner. He grabbed us as we left Pollock Commons.

"Come back to the apartment, guys," Jay said. "I need to talk to all of you."

"What's up?" Trevor asked.

"I'll tell you back at the apartment," Jay answered. "I don't want to do this here on the street."

The three of us followed Jay back to our apartment. We found seats in our living room when we got there.

"What's up, Jay?" I asked as soon as we were settled.

He took a deep breath and explained. "I may not be here next semester. I may need to transfer to another school."

"What?" Damian demanded. Trevor and I echoed Damian's sentiments.

"This is crazy, Jay!" I exclaimed.

"I don't have a choice," Jay explained. "I feel I have the talent to be a starter for top college teams." Trevor, Damian and I nodded our agreement as Jay continued. "For whatever reason Coach Burton doesn't see that. I have an appointment to talk with him about my future with the program tomorrow morning."

"You love Penn State football," I said. "How could you think of leaving?"

"I do love the Nittany Lions," Jay agreed. " ... but I also have plans and goals for myself. I want to play in the NFL. I won't be able to do that unless Coach Burton gives me a fair shot at becoming the starting quarterback here. If Coach can't guarantee me a fair shot at winning the starting spot next summer I will have to transfer."

"You're being hasty," Trevor said. "Have you thought this through?"

"My mom, dad and I spent the holiday talking about this," Jay explained.

"I thought your dad was still at sea," I said. "Are you really sure about this?"

"No, the Bush came back to port a couple weeks ago. Dad's back home while the carrier is reconditioned and the crew has R&R," Jay explained. "I don't like this decision but our coaches have passed over me. I was a four star recruit when I signed here. I deserve better treatment than I have gotten."

"Aren't you going to lose another year of eligibility if you transfer?" Damian asked.

"I will if I transfer to another FBS team," Jay agreed. "If I drop down to an FCS team then I don't lose the year."

"Would an FCS team give you the exposure you want?" I asked. "You get national media exposure here at Penn State. Would you get that somewhere else?"

"The NFL scouts will find me," Jay said. "I have no chance of getting drafted if I can't beat out Brinton. I need to hear Coach Burton tell me that I will have a fair chance to beat him in the spring or in August. I have to move on if he can't convince me that I will have that shot."

"That is risky," Damian said. "Are you sure you want this?"

"I don't have a choice," Jay said. "This is the only way I can reach my goals."

"I hate the idea of you leaving here," I said. "You're one of my closest friends on campus."

"I feel the same way about all three of you," Jay said. "I'm a navy brat. I never spent very long in one place. I haven't had a lot of chances to make close friends before here. I'm going to miss you guys if I have to transfer."

Damian, Trevor and I agreed with Jay's feelings of friendship. I hated the idea of him transferring to another school but I understood. Any of us would have been unhappy stuck behind a younger player the way Jay was. Hopefully Coach Burton would be able to find a way to satisfy Jay. Jay swore us to secrecy about this. We couldn't say anything until he had his meeting with Coach Burton.

On Monday I didn't see Jay before I had to go to my Geography 30 class. I didn't see him when I stopped back at our apartment for lunch. After history I went over to the Lasch Building for my daily workout. Jay wasn't around. I headed to the locker room to dress for practice at 3:30.

Trevor, Damian and I shared knowing looks when we found Jay wasn't in the locker room. Some of the guys asked about Jay but we didn't say anything. The rest of the team found out soon enough. Coach Burton called the whole team together in the center of the field in Holuba Hall before we started practice.

"I wanted to make an announcement before rumors get started. I met with Jason Nicholson this morning. Jason has decided to withdraw from The Pennsylvania State University and the Nittany Lions football team. His membership on this team ended this morning when he turned in his playbook. Jason will complete his classes this semester on campus and then transfer to another college.

"Please do not read anything derogatory into Jason's decision. He is an excellent quarterback who I hold in high esteem. I hope all of you will wish Jason the best in his future endeavors."

I scanned around the circle of players. Virtually every person was stunned by the announcement. Trevor, Damian and I may have been forewarned but it didn't stop us from being shocked at the speed at which it had happened. We got started with practice but I think everyone was distracted.

Chip stayed with the first team. Glenn Korbel worked with the second team while Jon and Colin ran the third or scout team. Tyler Madden, recently freed from his forearm cast, got after everyone to fire them up. Jibril and Andrew helped him refocus our attention back to practice. We were working fairly well by the time our official practice was over.

Chip, Christian, Tanner, Damian and I gathered for some extra passing drills after practice ended. Chip was the first to bring up Jay's departure.

"Why would he leave?" Chip asked, clearly perplexed. "This is a great team. This is a great school. I just don't understand."

"Jay has been upset about not being the starter all season," I explained. "He went in this morning to talk with Coach Burton to see if he would have a fair shot at winning the starting spot next season. I assume Coach couldn't reassure him."

"I certainly expected I would have to fight off his challenge next summer," Chip said. "I wasn't sure I could beat him when he was healthy."

"I guess that isn't a problem now," I snapped. "The starting job is yours."

"I didn't set up this situation," Chip responded. "Coach asked me to give up my red shirt year to help the team. I did. He gave me a shot at becoming the starter and I gave it my best shot. I won. All I have done since I came here is to do my best to help the team however I was asked to do. I don't need attitude from you because of it. I'm not making Jay leave."

"Yeah ... you're right," I admitted. "Sorry if I was a bit short with you. Jay's leaving is bugging me."

"Jay may be surprised but I consider him to be a friend," Chip said. "Jay has pushed me all fall and forced me to get better. I am going to miss him."

Christian interrupted, "Guys, I'm sorry Jay is leaving too. We're still here and we have one more football game to get ready for. Let's get to work so we're ready for January."

The five of us did that. We spent an extra half hour running routes for Chip, trying to make sure we would play our best in our bowl game. We showered and headed for dinner at the Training Table after we finished our workout. We had a team meeting after dinner. Trevor, Damian and I finally caught up with Jay after that.

"We heard Coach's announcement," Trevor said as soon as we got back to our apartment and found Jay studying in the living room. "What happened?"

"Well ... the decision was really fast," Jay began. "Actually I was stunned at how fast I found myself off the team. I told Coach Burton that I felt I deserved a serious shot at starting quarterback next summer. As soon as I told him I was considering transferring if I didn't have that shot at starting Coach thanked me for my three years with the team."

"Man, that's cold," Damian said.

"That wasn't the end of the meeting, thankfully," Jay said. "We sat and talked about me, the starting spot and the team for about forty-five minutes. I understand Coach a lot better now."

"But you're still leaving," I said.

"Yeah, I am," Jay said. "Coach agreed that I'm a good quarterback but circumstances have been against me. He explained that my chances of winning the starting job next summer were slim. I would have to beat out Brinton by a substantial margin to win the starting job. He reminded me that Brinton will have the advantage of having thirteen starts by next summer. He reminded me I have none."

"Coach has a point there," I agreed.

"That's a catch-22," Trevor said. "You can't start because you haven't started before."

"It is and it isn't," I added. "I can see where Coach would choose the quarterback with a year of experience over one without if they are even otherwise. Luck is crucial to us advancing in football. If Jay hadn't been hurt last year we could be having this same conversation with Chip now. If I blew out my knee as senior in high school instead of as a junior I would be at some FCS school now hoping to have a chance to be a starter instead being where I am."

"This whole thing is a big business," Damian added. "Our team made $50 million for athletics last year. Coach has to be super successful every single season to keep things running around here. I think he has done a hell of job replacing at legendary coach and going 32-6 in the process."

"You guys are right," Jay agreed. "Coach and I talked a little bit about how luck affects a player's chances. Hopefully I will have better luck at my next school."

"I hope you do too," Trevor said.

"I have a busy three weeks ahead of me," Jay said. "Classes, finals, pack up and find myself a school that needs a QB."

"Let us know what we can do to help you Jay," I said. "Even though you're leaving I hope we can always be friends."

Jay, Trevor and Damian agreed with me. The four of us had to get to work on our home work. The semester end was closing on us quickly.

I was out on the field in Holuba Hall a couple minutes before practice Tuesday afternoon. Anders Voight came up and asked, "Have you heard the news?"

"No, what?" I asked.

"Miami of Ohio fired their head coach today," Anders replied.

"And that affects us how?" I asked. I wasn't surprised that the coach was gone. His team went 3-33 in three years. You don't get a lot of support when your record is that bad.

"You don't know who the best quarterback in the school's history was?" Anders asked. I shook my head no. "Coach Schroeder – he was a grad assistant there a couple years after college too. Rumor has it that he will be on the short list for the head coach job."

"That would suck," I said. "I think Coach Schroeder does a great job here. I would hate to see him go."

"He is excellent," Ander agreed. "Still, it would be great for his career to land a head coaching job in the FBS. Everyone knows he wants a chance at head coach someday. He probably won't get a shot here at Penn State. I expect Coach Burton to try and beat Coach Paterno's longevity record."

I chuckled and gave Anders a wink. "I'm sure Coach Burton will coach until he's ninety."

"Coach Burton loves his job here," Anders said. He winked and added, "He's going to give JoePa's record a shot I think."

Anders and I continued talking as more team members arrived on the field. The coaches continued drilling us on our fundamental skills for half of practice. They used the other half of practice having us run plays. People's minds were on what we were doing that day. The coaches, Tyler, Andrew and Jibril didn't need to ride people as much to get us to get our work done.

We had position meetings after dinner on Tuesday night. Dave McCall had his first formal Dance-a-thon meeting later that night. I helped him prepare the agenda for the meeting. Tyler Madden, Glenn Korbel, Amir Lee, Christian, Shawn, Chip, Matt Frye, Marco Cuchiella, Brian Henson, Bob Smith and I filled out the committee – three members from each class.

Dave and I did some fundraising in advance of the meeting. Between the two of us we had pledges of $22,000 for our kick off meeting. Dave had secured similar prizes from Aaron Morano as we had available last year. I edged out Dave and won the first week's money for dinner and movie. Tyler's girlfriend Kayla made cupcakes for the attendees. David did well running his first meeting. Tyler praised David for his work and complemented me for helping David set things up.

Wednesday afternoon Coach Burton called Damian, Trevor and me aside at the end of practice.

"I have a dilemma gentlemen," Coach began. "I have five freshmen starting next semester. I only have four spots available in the dorms for football team underclassmen."

"Do you want us to take in a freshman?" Damian asked.

"No, I had in mind moving one of the sophomores into your apartment," Coach explained. "What do you think guys?"

The three of us conferred briefly. "Who would we share our place with?" I asked.

"Your choice," Coach answered. "I have no preference. Who would you like as a roommate?" The three of us conferred again. The choice was unanimous.

"Chip Brinton," Trevor said.

"Brinton, get over here!" Coach ordered in a loud voice. Chip was nearby with Christian, Tanner, Max and Amir waiting for me so we could do some extra passing drills.

Coach Burton quickly outlined his dilemma and possible solution to Chip. "Do you mind sharing an apartment with these three ne'er do wells?"

"Are you serious, Coach?" Chip asked. "Hell yeah! I'd love to share an apartment with these guys."

"I guess he'll share space with you," Coach Burton said after a wink. " ... if you twist his arm."

"How soon do I move in?" Chip asked. "Anything I need to supply for the apartment?"

"This doesn't happen until January," Coach said. "You will have plenty of time to work out any details with your new roommates later."

Trevor, Damian and I agreed that Jay did not need to know who would be taking his place in our apartment after he left. That would simply be rubbing Jay's problems in his face.

The rumors about Coach Schroeder proved to be true. He flew out to Cincinnati Wednesday evening to visit the Miami of Ohio campus and interview for the head coach job. Coach would be back on Friday.

Dr. Brennan handed back our term papers at Friday's history class. I received my usual A. I glanced across the room to see Kelly's reaction when she received her paper. She smiled. That was good. I had helped with the idea for the paper and some of the research before we broke up. Kelly busted me staring when she glanced my way. Her smile was replaced with a glare until I looked away again. I received her message loud and clear. I was still persona non grata.

Coach Schroeder was due back for our practice on Friday afternoon. He didn't make it. Rumors circulated around the team that Miami of Ohio wanted him as head coach and they were negotiating a contract. No one had any real information. The other coaches didn't have any comments for the team.

Friday night after dinner at the Training Table I went out to help Trevor pick up beer for our Saturday night party. We stopped off at the grocery store to pick up supplies for snacks and Damian's planned hors d'oeuvres.

Jay had gone home this weekend with some of his extra things. He and his parents were looking at colleges for the next semester.

I got up around ten am on Saturday. I wanted plenty of time to drive down to Hershey for the Wolverines' game against Susquehanna Township. I grabbed some sandwiches, chips and drinks at the Mix before leaving campus. I ate on the drive to Hershey. I got to the stadium around 12:30 PM.

I joined the Wolverines in the home team locker room. Justin Baer briefed me on our game plan against Susquehanna Township. There wasn't any surprise to it. We planned to use the same formula that worked so well – threaten deep, spread them out and hit them. Justin warned me that this was expected to be a high scoring game. The Indians' quarterback was excellent.

Susquehanna Township won the coin toss and elected to receive the football. I found out that their reputation for offensive prowess was deserved. They moved the ball down the field crisply. They ran on two of every three plays. Sometimes their quarterback kept the ball, sometimes he handed it off or he tossed it downfield. The mix of plays kept our defense off balance. They stuffed the ball in the end zone after ten plays.

My Wolverines weren't bothered at all by the start. Matt and his crew only needed six plays to answer. Matt hit Dave on a deep pass to tie the score. There were a grand total of two punts in the first half, one by each team. Our team did manage to hold two of the Indians' drives to field goals instead of touchdowns. We led 28-20 at half time.

Coach Wyndham went over some adjustments with our defense during halftime. Coach Caffrey, Jason and Justin reviewed things that worked with the offense and told them to keep up the pressure on Susquehanna Township's defense.

The Wolverines took the second half kickoff. Seven plays later Matt handed the ball off to Cody Stevens who zipped into the end zone. Score: 35-20 Wolverines

Coach Wyndham, our defensive coordinator, got to see how his halftime adjustments worked. Coach told Nate Trimble to ignore all the normal reads. Nate's only responsibility was to hit and tackle the quarterback. If the QB had ball, he was positioned for the tackle. If the QB was passing we would have pressure on him. If it was a handoff for a run Nate could try to blow up the handoff.

Nate blitzed into the backfield on the first play, nearly getting the handoff to the tailback. The Indians lost four yards. Nate and Tristan Hibshman, our left defensive end, were in the QB's face on second and ten. The ball sailed incomplete. Chris Zimmerman nearly intercepted the third down pass. The Indians were forced to punt back to our team.

Kevin Peachey made a great move on the punt return. He picked up 25 yards before he was pushed out of bounds at the Indians' 41 yard line. A pair of Cody Stevens runs were followed by a play action pass. The Indians managed to cover Dave Mitchell. Matt checked down to Garrett Houseman, hitting him fifteen yards downfield. Garrett made a sweet move and sprang free. He cruised into the end zone since the free safety was deep on the opposite side of the field covering Dave. Score: 42-20 Wolverines

The Indians were too far behind to run the ball much after this. Coach Wyndham turned up the pressure now that they were forced to pass. Andrew Krause took over shadowing the quarterback while Nate Trimble went back to his normal linebacker duties. Our pressure slowed them but didn't stop them. They made a long field goal. Score: 42-23 Wolverines

The game was downhill the rest of the way for us. We scored ten more points and held the Indians to ten more points. Coach Caffrey sent Logan Mitchell in for the last two drives to run the clock out. The final score was 52-33 Wolverines' favor.

Matt Sauder continued to impress me. He was running around the field reminding everyone that it wasn't time to celebrate. That would wait another two weeks until they won the state championship. The Wolverines would play either Strath Haven or Abington to be the eastern Pennsylvania champions.

Coach Caffrey and Jason thanked me for helping. I hadn't done all that much this week but it was fun. I assured Coach Caffrey and Jason I would try to show up for the next game. I couldn't guarantee it though, since I had finals the following week. School work and the Nittany Lions had to take priority.

I grabbed a couple burgers, some fries and a drink at the Wendy's near the stadium before heading back to State College. I got back to campus around eight o'clock.

Damian was putting the hors d'oeuvres in the oven when I walked into our apartment. I helped Trevor finish setting up for our party. Guests began arriving as Damian pulled the first tray of goodies from the oven.

I grabbed a beer as soon as the party started. It had been quite a few weeks since I had one. I planned to have a couple more beers, enjoy the music and company and stay put in the apartment. Absolutely nothing would get me outside or anywhere near downtown that night.

I mingled with our guests and enjoyed the food and music. This was the first party I was at since I broke up with Kelly. I think every available female at the party knew I was unattached and came over to talk and flirt with me. I didn't exactly mind the attention.

Beth Naylor was particularly persistent in her attention to me. The 5'-4" inch, 120 pound sophomore had a reputation for sleeping her way through the available guys on the team. She had smallish, pert breasts and a cute butt. I had no interest in a long term relationship with her but she was pretty and probably worth a night of fun.

I grabbed a couple beers for us and spent some time talking with Beth. She was a meteorology major. She was fun to talk with. I loved her sparkling hazel eyes. I asked her to dance after we finished our beers. Beth's hands were all over me while we danced – stroking my arms, feeling my sides and chest and on my ass.

I had a bar of steel in my pants by the time we slow danced. Beth knew it too. I saw the smirk as she rubbed her belly and chest against it. She knew what she wanted that evening. I wasn't inclined to deny her. After a more couple dances she suggested we have a seat and talk some more.

She led me over to the only empty chair. I had a seat. Beth took a seat on my lap, wiggled a bit on my hard-on and settled back against my side. She slipped an arm around my neck and pulled my head down closer to hers. Beth continued her seduction of me. I did not resist. We exchanged some kisses before locking lips and letting our tongues wrangle.

I stroked one of Beth's breasts for moment. She cooed as we kissed. I took that as encouragement to continue. I caressed and teased the cute blonde's tits. Our making out and petting escalated. Both of us were getting hot and ready to do the nasty.

"Want to grab a bedroom, Kyle?" Beth cooed. "You know what I want."

"Same thing I want," I agreed. "We don't need to hurry. The bedroom's mine for the whole night."

"Is that an invitation to stay?" Beth asked.

"The whole night," I agreed before giving her a tonsil swabbing. When we stopped for breath I added, "I'd love to share myself with you tonight."

It was about 10:30 when we agreed on the sleeping arrangements. The two of us were too horny to wait until the end of the party. We grabbed my bedroom around eleven o'clock when Chip's pal Austin vacated it with his conquest for the night.

I locked the door behind us as we entered my room. When I turned around Beth was lying naked in the middle of my bed. I stripped and joined her. Beth took a look at my big steely erection when I climbed into bed.

"Holy shit, you're big," she said. "I heard that from some of the older girls." I lay down beside her. Beth rolled on top of me and we continued our making out for a bit. I played with, caressed, suckled and teased her firm titties.

"Do you want me to go down on you, Kyle?" Beth purred as I teased her nipples.

"How about some 69?" I countered.

I flipped around and dove into her pussy. I licked and teased her sweetness. Beth was certainly turned on. Her juices were flowing freely. Beth teased my balls and stroked my cock a bit before she took it into her mouth.

I don't want to call her as slut but I knew she had been with many, many guys since she came to Penn State two years ago. Beth was extremely talented at blow jobs. I raced her to see who could get the other off first. Beth won, but just barely. I sucked and teased her clitoris until she climaxed right after I emptied my balls down her eager throat.

Beth and I cuddled for a bit. Beth took my cock in her mouth and brought it to its full seven inches with her mouth and tongue. "I'm ready for a ride, Kyle," Beth purred.

I rolled away and grabbed a condom from my nightstand.

"You don't need that sweetie," Beth said. "I'm on the pill."

"Double protection," I said. "It's always a good idea."

"Whatever," Beth agreed. "Let me put it on." Beth took the condom from me, placed it on tip of my cock and rolled it down with her mouth. She finished the job and then she stroked my cock a couple more times. "Do you want on top?" Beth asked.

"However you want it," I agreed.

"Missionary is good," Beth answered. She rolled onto her back and spread her legs around me. I grabbed her ankles and hoisted them on my shoulders. I positioned my hard-on at her dripping hole and pressed forward. I let my cock split her open and sink in slowly until my balls slapped against her bottom. My cockhead nudged into her cervix.

"Owww!" Beth complained. "You are big." I let her ankles drop off my shoulders as I withdrew half way. Beth didn't seem to like deep penetration. I began humping with short strokes as I let Beth get used to my size.

I impaled Beth on my hard cock, withdrew and slid home again. Beth seemed to enjoy the ride. She wasn't extremely tight but she knew how to use her vaginal muscles to increase my enjoyment. The two of us probably screwed for eight or ten minutes. I coaxed Beth to an orgasm part way through our coupling. I got increasingly aroused as I humped and bucked inside my bed partner. I tried to get Beth off again before I blew. I was unsuccessful.

I thrust in hard and deep one last time before the tingling in my balls bloomed into orgasm. I froze and grunted as I spurted pulse after pulse of semen into the thin piece of rubber. Beth kissed and stroked me as I came. I rolled off her, ending up on my back after I came. The damn rubbers nearly fell off as I pulled out. I was out of practice with the stupid things.

Beth smothered me with kisses while I recovered my wits. Beth grabbed a Kleenex from my bed stand and cleaned the cum from my torso and finished removing the condom from my withered cock. Beth sucked my cock into her mouth and cleaned off the cum.

"Do you want to go again, Kyle," she asked sweetly.

"Why don't we pace ourselves?" I suggested. "I'm sure others would like to use my bedroom for awhile. We will have all the time we want later."

We climbed out of bed and searched for our clothes. There was a knock at the door. I glanced at my clock and saw it was a quarter after eleven. "Are you guys going to be done soon?" the voice outside asked politely. I recognized that it was Matt Frye.

"Give us a minute, Matt, ' I called back. Beth and I dressed quickly and vacated the bedroom so Matt and his girl could have some fun too.

As we left Beth said, "That was just as good as I was led to expect."

"Oh? Were you talking with Kelly?" I wondered.

"Kelly? No," Beth answered. "Some of the older girls last year told me about your reputation from before you started dating Kelly. I have been hoping for this chance for quite a while, Kyle."

"I hope it was fun," I answered.

"I'm looking forward to round two later tonight," Beth said. "Why don't you get a couple more beers for us?" I went for the kitchen. Beth met up with some of her girlfriends. I overheard them question her about my bedroom prowess. I couldn't help smiling when heard her say I blew her mind that evening.

Beth rejoined me when I came back with the beers. The two of us talked, danced a bit and went back to making out while the party continued. Beth and I stopped at the third beers. It was nice to spend time with a girl who didn't drink herself to a stupor.

Beth helped Trevor, Steph and me clean up the apartment when the party broke up. I found when I stopped by the bathroom upstairs that we had other guests that evening. Marco Cuchiella had talked Damian into letting him spend the night with a girl.

Beth and I retired to my room. We played bury the bone a couple more times that evening. The two of us cuddled together and fell asleep, exhausted by our exertions.

I was warm and comfortable as I shared my bed with the pretty coed. I had a really wild erotic dream about getting a blow job that night. I was dreaming of cumming when I suddenly lost the wet feeling of a good blow job. I started to wake up when I felt someone envelope my hard-on with hot velvet. I cracked my eyes open to find Beth mounting me. I did not resist her assault.

Beth rode me cowgirl style for half a dozen minutes as I roused myself and enjoyed the superlative feeling of fucking. When I was fully awake I reached up and played with Beth's titties. It helped her come closer to climax. Beth reached down and rubbed her clitoris while I teased her nipples and she rode my rod.

Beth came a couple minutes ahead of me. I thrust my hips up and bounced her as I approached my climax. Finally the feeling welled up. I grunted and thrust up into her hard, driving my cock in deep. I spurted a big load of sperm before collapsing back onto the bed.