Chapter 5

Jared had managed to inspire both himself and the three coaches that made up the root of his staff. He already knew they were capable, now he knew they were going to execute as well. He saw three hungry, but frustrated coaches who thought that a former NFL coach would come in and fire up a program. Instead they saw the shadow of a legend on cruise-control who hoped to catch lightning in a bottle. They now knew the University had made the right decision in bringing Coach Winslow.

Jared Winslow met up with Joe Barber about 12 o'clock for their trip to visit recruits after his meeting with SID staff and his coaches. Two of the recruits were fairly local, each within a few hours drive of campus. They could visit each of them and then fly from Hartford to Chicago for an evening meeting with Boge Hollins, a talented High School legend from Cicero, Illinois. Hollins was shied away from by some big schools because of possible discipline problems. Sherm Woodard may have given the prospect some impressions of what his campus life would be, Jared Winslow would soon change that. Jared was prepared to rip up his letter of intent right in front of he and his parents if he sensed attitude. Hollins had to show both Winslow and Joe Barber that he was going to buckle down and become a Student-Athlete and go by ALL the rules. His job of running back was not guaranteed if the staff felt his size suited him better at another position. That was highly unlikely, but recruits had to know WHO was in charge.

Their first recruit had a job at Sturbridge Village, a recreation of a late 1700's New England Village where folks dressed in period clothes and conducted life as such. Today one of their "apprentice smithy's" would go outside the village gates and meet in their modern office lounge to discuss the beginning of his college education and NCAA football career. Nunzio "Junior" Contralco was a fleet footed option type quarterback in his 3 years of Varsity High School ball at Wilbraham Central High. He threw but 27 passes in just under 40 games over 3 years and led his conference in yards and scoring using roll and run or roll and pitch option plays. His coaches insisted he had great hands and could become a fine receiver as well. He was the All-American boy by all accounts and his interview impressed both Joe and Jared. He was quite willing to go along with any plan as he talked enthusiastically with the two while his parents sat and beamed at their sons easy going cooperative style.

Their next stop was in Hartford to meet Thurmond Smythe. Smythe was an imposing young man for his 19 years, 6 feet and 8 inches and 260 pounds of well chiseled muscle. He looked like an inside lineman, a guard or tackle, but Coach Winslow already had ideas for him to possibly be a middle linebacker. Everyone talked about his quickness, but Jared felt that would fade early as his boy's body became a mans body. If he could take advantage of his youth for a year or two, he would love to see him learn the instincts of the middle position and use that when he moved to inside the line or ideally to defensive end. The scant hour they spent with Thurmond was filled with so many "Yes Sirs and No, Sirs" that Jared wondered if he was going to West Point. Smythe was from poor inner city stock, but both parents refused to let him fall into any of the pitfalls the neighborhood presented. His upbringing was obviously strict, but the boy was happy and proud. The way he looked to his Father and Mother to impress them with both NEAT representatives respect and awe of his talents it was easy to see he was well mentored and centered. Jared had no doubt he was talking to a star. Both he and Joe Barber commented, almost in unison, that it was reminiscent of Tiger Woods and his father.

As they walked down the jet way at Bradley International for their 4 hour trip to O'Hare at Chicago Jared Winslow bubbled in his pride for Thurmond Smythe.

"I feel a new hope for the inner city black youth of the country. All we see are the negatives, the hip-hop cultures negative icons, the drugs and the poverty. But without fanfare or any press, there are good kids fighting their way out to become productive members of society. My bio on him called him under-privileged. He has the best thing any kid can have, 2 parents who care about him and show him the right way."

"You never hear about the good kids. We've had a bunch of inner city kids come through the football program in just the three years, both white and black, and we've never had a problem kid. They all want to get out alive and make something of themselves. You're right, you never hear about the good kids and THAT should be the real news." Joe Barber said as they found their seats.

"Now, this kid we'll see tomorrow morning Boge Hollins may burst our bubble. He's such a talent, but he's had truancy problems and a couple pot arrests. He scores high in aptitude and IQ tests, but he may need a push with marks. A lot of schools wouldn't touch him, even though he may be the most talented high school player in the country. He's 6 foot and 200 pounds, runs like Gale Sayers and hits like Jim Brown, powerful as if he's 230 or more pounds. Did you ever see Emerson Boozer?" Barber asked him.

"No, a bit before my time but that's not the first time I heard the comparison. Boozer supposedly had the phantom legs that were like cartoon legs, a blur. If you hit him low, you missed him. Unfortunately he didn't have the body to take the hits it took to bring him down." Winslow said.

"Well, Hollins does. He gets up every time like Wylie Coyote, no matter what the hit, and the hitter KNOWS he hit something. Like Boozer, he's got great hands. He can get out of the back field after making his blocks and get free. Last year he had 22 twenty yard plus receptions, and scored on 20 of them. He's electric. Now the bad news. He wants to move his "posse" to school with him and live off campus." Joe Barber said disgustedly.

"I've heard the story. I brought my bios of Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry and Kevin Mitchell with me. Three can't miss Hall of Famers who let their "friends" ruin their careers and lives and drain their bank accounts. When he leaves Chicago he leaves his "posse" behind and if he's smart, never sees them again. I have a feeling I'm going to tear up his letter in his face Joe. How much is that going to cost us?" Jared asked.

"Nothing, we normally would be subject to a lawsuit, but I wrote this one up carefully. He has to agree to our rules or it's a no go. His Dad is on board with us and his Mom is a non-issue, out of the picture. The father was going to spend the last month and the rest of the summer trying to talk sense to him. He warned me that he's pretty headstrong, though."

"Not any more than me. I won't let one player sink a whole program." Winslow said proud and determined.

"I know, it's why we hired you." Joe Barber said without blinking. "Nothing goes ahead of the University, followed by the team, followed by your self-esteem. I convinced Dean Crawford on those merits, and your track record."

"Thanks Joe, I won't let you down." Jared said settling in as the plane taxied and took off.

The flight went smoothly and both men fell asleep until the rustle of movement as the plane landed in Chicago. Joe Barber yawned and got his bearings.

"Would you be insulted if I skipped dinner tonight and just went up and went to bed when we get to the hotel? I have a ton of paperwork to finish and rather than try to do it tonight I'll get up early and finish it then and have the hotel fax it for me." Joe asked.

"Not a problem Joe. Our late lunch with the Smythe kid will do me fine. I might send down for a bottle of wine or a couple beers and watch TV in my underwear. That's what I do after a road win if Barbie isn't with me." Winslow laughed.

"If she going to join you at school? You haven't really mentioned her much."

"Well, we sort of broke up. We got a little stale. Things may happen again, but for now I'm free. But, I'm not really shopping around. This job will keep me a little busy for a while." Jared said as their turn finally came to get off the plane.

They were staying at the O'Hare Marriott where their meeting with the Hollins family would take place. The hotel shuttle was waiting for them and in just a few minutes after landing they were walking down the hall way of the 5th floor of the hotel with a bellman pulling their things on a bag gurney.

"Downstairs at 8 for breakfast? I'll meet you in the lobby?" A groggy Joe Barber asked.

"Sounds good, don't forget your wake up call." Jared said as he tipped the bellman and stepped into his room.

He immediately turned on the TV and turned to ESPN just in time to see his own face on the news and hearing...

"Coach Jared "Winning" Winslow who's trying to put New England Ag and Tech on the football map this season to bolster the Northeast 10 to respectability is in Chicago tomorrow to see their biggest hope for that end with Boge Hollins. The troubled High School legend was turned away by several college football powers believing the owner of many national scoring and yardage records was, to quote a source at the scouts combine, "too self centered and high strung to exist in a team oriented atmosphere." The coach plans to meet with Hollins tomorrow at the O'Hare Marriott as Winslow makes a world wind tour of his scholarshipped players. The verbose and outspoken recruit has been unusually quiet and out of sight since the end of his high school career. There have even been rumors that Boge Hollins may forfeit his offer from NEAT to begin a career as a rapper."

For many reasons Jared Winslow's heart sunk at the words he heard in the report. First he had hoped this would be a quiet introduction not to play into the flamboyant kids publicity hungry appetite. Secondly he hoped he hadn't done anything stupid and signed with an agent believing he had anything to market but his tremendous football talents. Jared would call room service and ask for a bottle of his favorite wine, some cheese and a sandwich. He hoped he could put Boge Hollins and football in general out of his mind and relax after a long day of traveling. It was how he usually savored a win or forgot about a loss when he was traveling on the road with his team. He called it self indulgent solitude. The wine, the food, and the TV set would ease his tension and take his mind off everything. He knew how to deflect stress and ease it out of his mind.

He was about to call the order and the desk and tell them not to allow any calls through without a password when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"You were going to come to Chicago and not even look me up?" The female voice said.

"Apparently not. Who is this?" Jared said, annoyed.

"Didn't you get my emails?" She asked.

"Please tell me who you are or I hang up in 5 seconds. 5 - 4 — 3 — 2..."

"It's Meaghan Mahaffey, Jared. My God have you forgotten me?"

"Meaghan! No! I could never forget about you, but I haven't gotten any emails. You blind sided me."

"I sent them to your CoachWin@vvt.edu account, I don't have your new email. You're still checking that one aren't you?" She asked.

"Well yes, I'm supposed to but I've been so busy the past week. I don't even know my New England Ag account either. I've just checked my personal Time Warner mail, I'll have to give you that one, juniorjarwin@grtne.rr.com. So what's so important?" He wondered.

"Well, YOU, obviously. You've made a lot of sports news and I wanted to congratulate you, talk to you. You remember that I'm not Mahaffey anymore. You DO remember going to my wedding? It's the last time I saw you." She said wistfully.

"I'm sorry Meg. You know sometimes your life is full of just ... living. I know you're Mrs. MacDonald now, how's Matt?" Jared said proud he remembered the name.

"Matt and I split up about a year ago, well the divorce was final in January." She replied.

"Oh Meg, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I didn't know that Matt liked to gamble and wasn't big on working when I married him. As my Dad said when I filed for divorce, he was a bum." She told him.

"Any kids?"

"Yes, a little boy, Declan, after my grandfather. He's with his father the rest of this month and July, I get him on weekends. Then he's with me the rest of the year except for every other weekend. Matt may be a bum, but he's a good Dad to Declan." Meaghan said.

"So what do you do?"

"I'm a teacher in Wilmette, not far from where I live. Wilmette is a nice suburb of Chicago. My parents bought the house for me and Declan, umm Declan and I. So let's not talk on the phone, let's get together. I'd just love to see you Jared. I think of you whenever I'm lonely. We had something good once." Meaghan said hopefully.

"Oh Meg, I don't know. I just settled in here and..."

"You won't have to travel Jarry, I'm not too far away. You'll be surprised how I look. I weigh just what I weighed in High School. When you last saw me I was a little tubby, when I got married. Please, I think of you a lot." She pleaded.

"Are you sure Meg? There's a lot of miles from when we were together to now." He tried to reason with her.

"Jared, you know a woman never forgets her first, and you were my first for a few things. I already told you I thought of you when I was lonely. You know what I meant by that didn't you?" She said, her voice going to a sexy lilt.

"Oh gosh Meaghan, I guess I know. What makes you think we can still have anything. Do you remember why we broke up?" Jared said, almost rhetorically.

"We broke up... , " She said as she choked up a bit, "We broke up because you were going away to school and we thought we should see other people to see if we were right for each other. Stupid kids, we threw something good away. Then your sister told me you were screwing everything that moved in your dorm. That was when I met Matt at school. After college we lived together for three years before we got married. Now 8 years later, here I am wondering how I lost you."