Chapter 73

Trevor was finishing breakfast when I got up. He and Shawn Byrd were heading down to Orlando in the morning. Mitch Jackson and I would catch up to them later in the day, after my classes and Mitch's afternoon lab.

The staff at the Daily Collegian must have had warning about the Campbell. They used half the front page of our college's daily paper to report about my night in New York City. People stopped me and congratulated me everywhere I went that morning.

I dropped my tux off at the rental shop and packed my bags for the next four nights. Professor Reed recognized me at the beginning of my English Short Story class. I grabbed some lunch and headed for American Military History.

"Congratulations, Kyle," Dr. Brennan said I as I walked into the classroom. "Top scholar/athlete in the country ... it certainly is a well deserved award."

"Thank you, Doctor," I answered. "Thank you for doing the nice film clip for the presentation last night. I appreciated what you said."

"It was from the heart, Kyle," Dr. Brennan responded. She gave me a big smile. "I'm going to continue to recruit you for the department. You would make a hell of a historian."

"It's tempting but I love teaching," I replied. "I want to be able to do that too."

"Historians can teach," Dr. Brennan responded. "I teach. I love to teach."

"But you don't have time after class to go over and coach the football team too," I countered. "I will keep your offer in mind but I think I'm on the right path."

Dr. Brennan gave me a big grin. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Dr. Brennan's lecture for the day was on the U. S. Army post-Vietnam and how it transformed itself from the nearly dysfunctional corps based on draftees to the all volunteer force that liberated Kuwait in 1991. It was an interesting lecture.

I headed straight back to my apartment. I picked up one more small package before Mitch arrived. I had a brainstorm on the plane ride home last night.

Penny and I would be spending the weekend in New York City. The city had a hundred excellent restaurants where we could have an intimate lunch. I could have the maitre d' chill his best champagne. It could be the perfect romantic spot for me to propose to Penny.

I knew from my team's schedule, that I would not have time to propose properly over Christmas. I would be busy on the 22nd moving my things from State College to Philadelphia. The 24th and 25th were too busy with family activities. I wanted my proposal to be intimate and romantic. I wasn't certain I would find time after Christmas before I had to return to campus for the trip to Arizona.

The trip to New York may be the one chance I have until after our bowl game. The ring went in my carry-on bag, where I could keep an eye on it. I brought my car down to the parking lot nearest to my apartment and loaded my bags in the back. Mitch arrived a few minutes later.

"Ready to go, Coach?" Mitch greeted me as he lugged his suitcase towards my front door.

"Let's do it," I agreed.

We needed to hurry. Our flight left State College at four o'clock. We had an hour and forty-five minutes to get there, check in, go through security and board our plane. Thank God for small airports. We made it with time to spare.

The commuter plane delivered us to Philly in almost exactly one hour. Our gate was in Terminal F. We had sixty minutes to get dinner and get over to Terminal B for our flight down to Florida. We had to hustle.

"Where do you want to eat, Coach?" Mitch asked. "You're from this end of the state. What do you recommend?" Mitch grew up in Rochester, Pa., northwest of Pittsburgh.

Just as he asked, I spotted a bright red and yellow sign for Chickie's and Pete's and chuckled. "That was a timely question. I suggest Chickie's and Pete's. I've eaten at their main restaurant near the Phillies' ballparks. I'm sure they'll have decent food here too. Make sure you order the crab fries. They're excellent."

We stopped in and grabbed cheese steaks and crab fries to go. The food was still warm and relatively tasty after we lugged it over to Terminal B and checked in for our flight south. The airport version of Chickie's and Pete's wasn't as good as the south Philly version, but it probably was as good as anything in the airport. Our plane started boarding around 5:30 pm.

I worked my way through tomorrow's chapters for Education and Public Policy on the two hour and forty minute flight down to Orlando. We got to baggage claim around 9:30 pm. We found a young man in an ESPN T-shirt holding a sign that said: "Burkholder, Jackson, Kaapana, Martin, Reese & Wilkins."

Eldon Burkholder was standing by the man from ESPN. I greeted my former rival warmly. The man from ESPN introduced himself as Tom. He was one of the production assistants for the broadcast. Mitch and I grabbed our bags and followed Tom and Eldon down to the baggage claim area in search of the other guests. DeSean Reese's flight from Iowa (via Atlanta) came in next.

Tom checked and found out Malo Kaapana and Marshon Wilkins flight from LA made it on time to Dallas. The airline was dealing with some maintenance problems so they were stuck in Dallas. Tom called his boss, who said to bring us over to the hotel. Just after Tom called, the flight board changed and updated with an arrival time for their flight about thirty minutes from then. Tom decided we should wait and get everyone at the same time.

DeSean, Mitch, Eldon and I killed time talking while we waited for the other ESPN guests. We watched the escalator down to our level when the flight board showed the flight from Dallas was at its gate, around 11:15 pm. A 6'-8", 300 pound defensive tackle, black as night and a 6'-0", 220 pound Polynesian tailback were easy to pick out in the crowd when we saw them come down the escalator.

Tom introduced Malo and Marshon around the circle of guests while we waited for their luggage. We helped them get everything outside and into our van. The trip to Disney World took about half an hour. The van dropped us off in front of the Disney Boardwalk Inn. Bell-hops came immediately to bring our luggage inside.

Tom stayed with us as we checked in. He handed out schedules to us and warned us the breakfast buffet would be open from eight to nine tomorrow morning. A bellhop helped me get my luggage to the room.

The room was dark when I stepped inside. I flipped on the light, hoping I wouldn't wake Trevor.

"About time you got here," Trevor announced from under his covers. "Flight trouble?"

"Sorry if I woke you," I answered.

"No, I wasn't asleep yet," Trevor answered.

"Mitch and I didn't have trouble," I explained. "It was Malo Kaapana and Marshon Wilkins. Their flight was stuck in Dallas for awhile."

"That sucks," Trevor commented. "Go ahead and get your things settled."

I hung my suits and good clothes in the closet and did my business in the bathroom. I stripped and hopped in bed, turning out the light at the nightstand.

I let out a sigh. "It will be nice to relax tomorrow. The last twenty-four hours have been so hectic." That drew a laugh from Trevor.

"Didn't you read your schedule?" Trevor asked. "Fun day was today. ESPN has us booked with a bunch of interviews and things tomorrow."

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "Oh well, I still should have some free time on Friday after I get to New York. Did you run into anyone today?"

"Shawn and I hooked up with Ed, Eric, Jeremy and Hal," Trevor answered. "We're meeting for breakfast at 8:30 tomorrow."

"That's cool," I agreed. "Good night, Trev. I'll see you in the morning."

--oooOooo--

Trevor, Shawn, Mitch and I bumped into Mom and Dad on the way down to breakfast. I introduced my parents to Mitch, who they had never met. They let us know Ed, Eric, Jeremy and Hal were downstairs already, waiting on us.

Mom and Dad were catching a shuttle over to Epcot, where they planned to spend the day. The parents didn't have any time commitments on their schedule the way the athletes did. We agreed to meet for dinner that evening. My parents headed off for their adventure. I followed my friends to the dining room.

"Hey, man, it's good to see you," Ed gushed as we shook hands. We pulled in tight, slapping each other's back as we shook. "It's been too long."

"It has been," I agreed as we separated.

"Congratulations on the Campbell, Coach," Jeremy added. "That is a well deserved honor." My other friends at the table seconded Jeremy's sentiments. I thanked them.

Trevor, Shawn, Mitch and I headed through the buffet line for our breakfast. Ed, Eric, Jeremy and Hal already had their food. I noticed as I headed back to our table that some of the football players were sitting with their parents. More were sitting alone or with one other player, most likely their roommate last night. I was lucky to have so many friends here for the awards ceremony.

My friends and I talked about how our seasons went as we ate. Eldon Burkholder and DeSean Reese walked by as we were talking. I invited them to join our crew.

"Do you know everybody?" I asked Eldon as he sat down beside Trevor and me.

"I know you guys from Penn State," Eldon answered.

"This is Ed Fritz, of the Florida Gators," I said, indicating Ed. "Beside him is his roommate Eric Peters. Ed lives two doors down the street from me back in Lancaster County, next door to my girlfriend." Ed and Eric shook hands with Eldon and DeSean.

"This is Jeremy North, who plays for..." I explained.

" ... for Notre Dame," DeSean said. "I know who Jeremy is."

"Jeremy lives directly behind my girlfriend's house," I continued. "This is Hal Long. Hal lives down the street from Jeremy. He kicks for Rutgers." Jeremy and Hal greeted the newcomers.

"DeSean, I'm sure you know Trevor, Shawn and Mitch from Penn State," I said.

"Shawn and I have run into each other a few times over the past four years," DeSean said with a smile. "Trevor and I ... well, we have run into each other many, many times."

"Eldon has a Lancaster County connection guys," I said. "His ancestors moved from Lancaster County out to Ohio a few generations ago."

"That's no surprise with a name like Burkholder," Jeremy noted.

My friends welcomed our compatriots to our table. Everyone at the table was going to a bowl. DeSean was heading for the Outback Bowl, Eldon to the Rose Bowl, Jeremy to the Fiesta Bowl and Ed for the Capital One Bowl. Even Hal's 6-6 Scarlet Knights managed to squeeze into the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Ed was not real pleased his team was shut out of the BCS bowl games. He felt that his team should be in the Fiesta instead of Jeremy's team, since the Gators ranked sixth and the Fighting Irish ranked eighth. Jeremy disagreed. Notre Dame's agreement with the BCS stipulated that the Irish automatically qualified for a BCS bowl if they finished in the top eight. The SEC was guaranteed one automatic qualifier. This year that was Alabama, based on their last second victory over the Gators.

Ed's, Jeremy's, Hal's and my parents stopped by our table. "We're taking a water taxi over to Epcot," Mr. North explained.

"We looked over your schedules, guys," Mom added. "All of you are going to busy during the day with interviews and such. We'll catch up to you for dinner. How does that sound?"

The four of us agreed. Our parents headed off for the day. We finished up breakfast and then headed off for our morning. All finalists had a briefing at 9:30 am. From 10:30 to 11:30 all finalists were available for press interviews. The interview questions were routine.

The same crowd of friends and acquaintances gathered again at lunch. Jeremy entertained us with the complete story of his meeting with Dick Butkus. Coach Kelly called Jeremy into the Guglielmino Center, Notre Dame's equivalent of our Lasch Building. When Jeremy got to Coach Kelly's office in the "Gug," he found Dick Butkus waiting for him. Dick spent the next hour talking with him. Dick emphasized the responsibility Jeremy bore due to this honor. He needed to set the example for his teammates. Dick talked about the importance of character and integrity. Dick expected Jeremy to do the right thing in good times and bad. He talked about his "I Play Clean" campaign to combat steroid and other drug use in football. Jeremy said the talk reminded him of our Eagle Charge from the night Jeremy, Ed, Hal and I received our Eagle Award.

After lunch everyone was scheduled to film interviews with the ESPN staff for the Red Carpet show that ESPN would show prior to the awards show. I was scheduled for four different segments. The first would include Eric, me and Jamaal Wallace from South Carolina, the three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award. In the second they wanted the Maxwell finalists. I would be interviewed with William Johnson and Todd Landry. The third interview included Ed, me, William, Todd and DeSean Reese, the five Heisman finalists.

ESPN was doing an unusual interview set that they normally didn't do as a prelude to the awards show. They wanted to interview Ed, Jeremy, Hal and me together to talk about growing up in Paradise and playing for the Wolverines. This one would be the last interview for the day.

The Biletnikoff interview was scheduled for 1:15 pm, immediately after lunch. Eric and I walked over to the interview site. ESPN erected an open backed stage between the Atlantic City Dance Hall, where the awards show would be in the evening and the end of the Boardwalk Inn, incongruously labeled "Dancing Pianos." I didn't know what that was about.

The stage was set so the boardwalk and lake would provide a backdrop for the interviews. Someone had done their homework choosing this site. It was an excellent setting.

Kirk Herbstreit welcomed us to the set when Eric and I arrived. He would be doing the interview. A couple makeup people gave us a light dusting. The techs clipped on lapel microphones. Kirk invited us to have seats while we waited on Jamaal Wallace. Eric and I talked about our experiences this season as we waited.

"You and Penny coming down this spring?" Eric asked after we exhausted football topics.

"I don't know," I replied. "We haven't talked about it."

"I missed having you guys around last break," Eric answered. "You and Penny – Ed tells me the two of you were hot and heavy in high school."

Kirk cocked his head and gave the two of us a funny look. "Excuse me," he asked politely. "Do the two of you know each other?"

"Sure," Eric answered. "We've done spring break together for a couple years. After all, Ed Fritz is my roommate."

" ... and my neighbor and best friend," I added.

"Two wide receivers getting together ... is there any rivalry between the two of you?" Kirk asked.

"No," I answered.

"Why should there be?" Eric added. "Our teams haven't played each other in the past four years."

"Well, if you don't count the beach football game when we were freshmen," I said. "Anyway, Eric and I were on the same team so there wasn't any rivalry then."

"I cheer for the Nittany Lions if I happen to see them on TV," Eric said.

"I do the same for the Gators. Sorry about last Saturday's game, man," I added. "I was rooting for you guys to win."

Jamaal Wallace finished up with makeup and sound and joined us on the set. Kirk and Eric greeted Jamaal. Eric introduced me. He knew Jamaal from their annual games. Both teams were in the Eastern Division of the SEC.

The director let us know they were ready to start the interview.

"I have with me three of the top wide receivers in college football," Kirk announced as the interview began. "To my left is Jamaal Wallace from the University of South Carolina. Jamaal leads the FBS in receptions with 109, gaining 1643 yards and 17 touchdowns in twelve games this season. To my immediate right I have Eric Peters from the University of Florida. Eric leads the FBS in receiving touchdowns with 22. He has caught 91 passes for 1687 yards in his thirteen games.

"To Eric's right I have Kyle Martin from the Pennsylvania State University. Kyle holds the FBS season record for receiving yards with 1712 yards from scrimmage on 82 catches. Kyle has 21 touchdown catches this season in twelve games. Kyle also holds the NCAA career yards receiving, touchdowns receiving and yards per game records, having bested Hall of Famer Jerry Rice by almost a thousand yards.

"I want to thank the three of you for joining me today," Kirk said, concluding his intro. We acknowledged his thanks. "Let's talk a moment about the current state of college football and the FBS. Do you favor the current BCS system or would college football be better off with playoffs? Jamaal?"

"I guess the BCS system is fair," Jamaal replied. "Of course I wish my team were playing in a BCS bowl instead of the Gator Bowl but we got the spot we deserved. The losses to Kentucky and Eric's Gators still hurt."

"Eric, what do you think?" Kirk asked.

"The BCS system has been very good to my school over the last decade," Eric answered. "This season reminds me of the value of a playoff system. Despite that, I think it would be better for the teams, the players and the fans if we had a playoff system. I say this with all respect to Alabama, but if we played them again, we would beat them. I believe my team is one of the best in the nation and playoffs would allow us to show exactly what we are capable of."

"With a berth set in the national championship game, I bet you disagree, Kyle," Kirk said. "What do you think?"

"Surprise! I agree completely with Eric," I replied. "My support for a playoff system goes back two years. I say this with all respect to the USC Trojans and my good friend Brady Rasmussen. If it weren't for that fluke catch at the end of the game at your alma mater, Kirk, we would have been able to show the country we were the best team in the nation. We WOULD have beaten Brady's Trojans, if we had the chance. With a playoff system, the purpose of your season won't evaporate before you're half done the season."

"Do you see it happening in the next few years, Kyle?" Kirk asked.

"I don't see it happening in my lifetime," I answered. "The bowls make too much money for them to change. We were stuck two years ago by the system. Kirk, your old team won on a very good, though fluke play that season. That loss to Ohio State eliminated us from national championship contention at midseason. The third and fourth year players this season were determined not to let that happen again. We decided we needed a perfect record this season if we wanted to reach our goals."

"Are you going to beat Texas?" Kirk asked. "Care to make a guarantee?" I knew from Kirk's smile that he was teasing.

"I'm guaranteeing that my team will play hard and give Texas the fight of their lives," I answered. "May the best team win."

"That's fair," Kirk agreed. "Good luck with your game."

The interview turned to more conventional topics. Eric, Jamaal and I talked about our team's style of offense.

"I have one final question for the three of you," Kirk said. "Playing wide receiver, you're intimately familiar with quarterback play. Handicap tonight's O'Brien Award. I'll put you on the spot first, Eric. Who's the best quarterback – Ed Fritz, Nick Wilson or Todd Landry?"

"I haven't seen Wilson or Landry play, so I guess I'll be a homer," Eric replied. "I can't imagine anyone being better than Ed. I think Ed deserves the O'Brien."

"Jamaal?" Kirk asked.

"I haven't seen any of Michigan's games," Jamaal answered. "I did watch the Texas-Nebraska game last weekend. Landry looked really good last Saturday. I also watched on the sidelines as Ed and Eric's team trashed mine three weeks ago. I think I'll have to go with Fritz. He oughta win the award."

"How about you, Kyle?" Kirk asked. "Are you going to make it unanimous?"

"It's a tight race," I answered. "I watched Nick Wilson play my team twice since he became the starter. He is very good and I consider him a friend too. I haven't had much time to watch video of Texas yet, but Todd looked very good from the hour of film I managed to look at this week. Eric is right about my buddy. He is an excellent quarterback. I'll cheer if Ed wins. Unfortunately the award voters missed another candidate. Chip Brinton from my team is every bit as good as Ed, Nick Wilson or Todd Landry. He should be down here too."

"Are you being diplomatic or do you really believe that?" Kirk asked. "I understand Chip is your roommate."

"Chip is excellent at protecting the ball," I explained. "He's only thrown eight interceptions in the whole season. He's near the top in the country in passing yards, especially for someone who gets pulled in the second half frequently when we blow out opponents. His passing yards per completion rate is one of the best in the country. His QB rating is almost exactly the same as Ed's. I've watched the two of them standing side by side on the practice field. Chip is every bit Ed's equal as a quarterback."

"Where did you see them practicing side by side?" Kirk asked.

"All three of us worked as counselors at a Scout camp two summers ago," I explained. "Ed, Chip and I worked out and ran passing drills with some younger guys. They're very similar and both are excellent quarterbacks."

Kirk leaned over towards me as the camera zoomed in. "I'll let you in on a secret, Kyle," Kirk explained. "I have seen the voting tally for the O'Brien. I won't say who number three is, but Chip Brinton missed by a few votes beating out this year's number three vote getter."

"I'll make sure Chip knows that," I responded.

"I want to thank the three of you for sitting down with me," Kirk said. "Good luck with the Biletnikoff tonight."

The technicians removed our makeup and collected the clip-on microphones. Eric and I called our friends to see where they were. We met them down the boardwalk at the ESPN bar. They were hanging out waiting their turns to be interviewed.

Hal was up next for interviews. Mitch followed twenty minutes later. Shawn and Eldon, then DeSean and then Trevor headed over for their interviews. The rest of us hung out on the boardwalk, at the ESPN café, the arcade or the hotel lobby while we waited our turns.

I slipped away from the group for half an hour and went back to my room. I spent the time on the computer searching for romantic restaurants in Manhattan. I found a few with good reviews. I called around, getting reservations for two at Gramercy Tavern. I headed back downstairs, finding my friends at the arcade.

Ed headed over before Trevor returned for the interview with him, Todd Landry and Nick Wilson. I headed over to the prep area about twenty minutes behind Ed for my Maxwell Award finalist interview.

I met William Johnson in the makeup area. "Good to see you, William," I said as I met my some-time friend. I shook his hand.

"Martin," William acknowledged with a smile. Every time since I first met him four years ago on Michigan's campus when we were doing our official visits, William was quiet and reserved ... and quite unlike the next arrival.

"You must be Kyle Martin!" a voice boomed off to my side. I turned and found Todd Landry with a big grin on his face and hand extended. Todd pumped my hand up and down as he exclaimed, "Damn good to meet you, Kyle. Your buddy Eddie has some good things to say about you."

"Thank you ... thank you, Todd," I answered as he continued to pump my hand up and down.

"Mikey said some mighty nice things about 'cha," Todd declared.

"Mikey?" I queried as Todd finally stopped shaking my hand.

"Johanson ... you know ... he played with you in high school," Todd explained.

"Oh, Mike ... yes, he's a good cornerback," I replied. "I haven't spoken with Mike since last June when he headed back to campus for summer term." Todd turned towards William and gave him another ear to ear grin.

"Big Bill!" Todd enthused as he extended his hand. William gave Todd a polite smile as they shook hands a couple ups and downs. "You're a big'in." William continued the polite smile and stiffened his arm after a couple more pumps.

"Nice to meet you," William acknowledged.

"Billy, you're 'most big enough to rope a steer without a horse," Todd continued as he tried to continue to shake William's hand. After a few seconds he gave up the effort.

"Almost ready?" Todd asked. "Kirk is itchin' to get ridin' on this interview." Todd headed outside. William rolled his eyes. I smiled and nodded agreement. Todd was so overblown he seemed like a caricature of a boisterous, obnoxious Texan. William and I finished up and headed outside to join Kirk Herbstreit and Todd.

William and I took seats on the stools on the set when we got outside. Kirk greeted us informally. All of us had done previous interview segments that afternoon, so we didn't need further briefing. The director signaled us to start.

Kirk kept most of the questions easy. He hit me with the first hard question.

"Kyle, what attributes would you expect the college player of the year to have?" Kirk asked.

"Player of the year..." I pondered momentarily. "I guess I would say the player should be the most dominant player on his team ... the player you spend the most time trying to defend, to block or to neutralize in our game plan." I paused and frowned. I knew I wasn't expressing what I meant clearly. "The best way to illustrate what I mean is with an example. I don't want to put you on the spot, William. Do you mind being my example?"

William smiled and nodded his agreement as he said, "OK," quietly.

"When my team played William's earlier this fall, every aspect of our game plan was influenced by William," I explained. "Obviously our offensive plan had to account for him. We knew he would dominate our offensive linemen, so we assigned two to block him and had our running back available to help too. We ran away from his position. We kept our passing routes short so William wouldn't have time to catch our quarterback.

"William influenced our defensive plan too. We knew we needed to keep Michigan's explosive offense slowed down because William was going to make it hard for us to score. Our special teams had to play extra hard to gain as much yardage as possible for the offense before William took the field. Every single thing we did that day was keyed on William."

"Kyle's bein' shy," Todd interjected. "I been studin' film of Penn State this week. When we git our defensive plan together, he's goin' to be nigh on impossible to stop. Everybody knows he's faster 'n a jack rabbit and can jump as high too."

I tried not to roll my eyes as I listened to this guy. Could he really be as much of a hick as he sounded?

"Kyle runs sharp, crisp routes," Todd continued. "He goes over the middle, works the short game well and you can't press him at the line. He's so big you'll get beaten fast that way. Doesn't matter whether you play zone or man, he'll be on the right spot at the right time and catch nearly every ball nearby. You put three guys on him to cover him and the other receivers will gut you. I don't know how'n we gonna stop Kyle's team.

"Are you endorsing Kyle for the Maxwell?" Kirk asked Todd.

"All I know is that anyone who beats a hall of fame receiver's career records has got to be darn good," Todd answered. "Jerry Rice is acknowledged as the best pro receiver ever and Kyle's done beat him by a thousand yards."

Kirk moved on to a different question. While Todd and Kirk talked, I thought about the distinct change in voice that came over Todd when he talked about football. He lost that southern drawl. I glanced over at William while Todd drawled on about how great high school football was in Texas. Landry definitely was a piece of work.

When the Maxwell interview was over, Todd took off for a minute. William looked over at me and gave me a smile when Kirk stepped off stage.

"Good luck, Martin," Willliam said. "You gotta play 'im again. I don't see him until we hit the NFL." William got a big grin. "It'd be a shame if I fell on 'im, wouldn't it?"

"It'd be a real shame," I agreed. "Don't be too obvious. You don't want to cost your team fifteen yards for roughing the passer."

"I can do that," William responded. He gave me a wink. "A guy does get tripped sometimes back there."

"Good luck at the Outback," I said. "Don't fall on my friend Ed."

"Fritz is OK," William agreed. "I'll get in his face but I won't hurt him ... much."

"Ed will appreciate that," I answered.

"Take down that cowboy," William said. "Beat those Longhorns."

I was surprised. That was the longest conversation I'd ever had with him, since we met four years ago. Ed Fritz and DeSean Reese joined us on stage when we wrapped up the Maxwell Award interviews. The director gave all of us a five minute break before we started the Heisman finalist interview. Kirk and Todd rejoined us.

The questions were easy by the third go around. Each of us answered a couple simple questions since there were five finalists. Todd Landry continued displaying his "aw shucks" cowboy image.