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. But 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 with her.
“I have quite a few people,” I stammered as I pointed at my group.
“We can make room,” she said, and the waitress left 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 whether I’d like it here or not. Now, I’m glad we came. Clemson has a lot more going for it 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 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 walked 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.
Soon I 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,’ 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 were set 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. Everyone 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 they 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.