People would debate who the top gun at camp was. Wes had me with a year’s experience and his accuracy. He was also a pure pocket passer. I was much more athletic. At this type of camp, it was hard for me to showcase my true talents. So, deciding who was better would depend on what type of passer you liked best.
The only thing I saw wrong with Wes was he had a much bigger windup. He reminded me of Jameis Winston, the Heisman Trophy winner as a freshman and the starting quarterback for Florida State. He was also the number 1 draft choice for the NFL, so you can tell this wasn’t a major knock on Wes. Winston did throw an awful lot of interceptions, though, because of the windup. Wes might be able to overcome the interception bug with his accuracy and conservative play. At Alabama, they didn’t need their quarterback to win them games. They needed their quarterback to be a good game manager—someone who took care of the ball and put it into the hands of their extremely talented players. My guess, though, was if he got into a tight game and had to make a big play, he’d be in trouble.
The factors that separate the best quarterbacks from the rest were minor. I personally felt that Wes would be a better off-the-field representative for Alabama than Jameis had been at Florida State. I wasn’t sure, but I’d bet the folks at Alabama could help Wes find some crab legs and willing women, if that was what he wanted.
WHEN WE FINALLY FINISHED, Wes and I at last relaxed. I went and shook his hand.
“After today, I’m rethinking going to Alabama,” he told me.
“Dude, I swear I was thinking exactly the same. You want to flip a coin for it?” I asked.
“Nah, I think I’ll go and make you beat me out.”
“Probably the best plan because I’m not sure where I’ll go right now. My mom announced I’m going to USC, but they haven’t bothered to offer yet.”
“Look, if Alabama’s your best fit, then go there. My only advice is to take your time and do all your visits. I picked Alabama for football, and they do have those pretty Southern belles. There’s just something about their accents that gets my motor running,” Wes said.
“I have a thing for California girls, but the women at Alabama are special.”
“I might have to visit USC to check them out.”
“I think you’d like UCLA better.”
He laughed at me. I found my family, Tami and Bo waiting for me. I introduced them to Wes. His dad found us. We had a free evening, so we decided to all go out to dinner.
WE HAD A NICE DINNER at The Stockpot Broiler. It had something for everyone. I had their salmon. Tami cracked me up because she got a steak. She wasn’t adventurous when it came to trying food. Bo wanted to talk to me, so we decided to go back to my parents’ hotel to talk. We said goodbye to Wes and his dad. They were going to see what there was to do in Beaverton.
“Each day they rate the eighteen quarterbacks. I talked to Coach Allen to get some idea how you were doing. As of last night, you cracked the top ten, with a bullet. I think after today, with them seeing you go toe-to-toe with Wes, your stock will rise even more.”
“Do you know how the other guys are doing?” I asked.
“Right now, Tim Rodgers, the kid from Texas and the MVP at your camp in Columbus, is number 1, with Wes a close number 2,” Bo said.
“What about Roland?” I asked.
“He was number 5, but as you saw yesterday, they have an issue with him overthinking things. They’re starting to wonder about him. He did well at your regional, and both Ohio State and Alabama had good things to say about what he did at their camps. I think Coach Allen’s quote was: ‘Is he too smart?’ Everything seems to be a discussion and he feels the need to coach-up all the other quarterbacks. Coach Trent wondered if he was trying to be rebellious. I guess they’re also worried because he doesn’t seem to be focused and it’s hard to get him going in the next drill.”
“How can he be higher-rated than David? He received offers from both Alabama and Ohio State while Tim, Roland and Flee didn’t?” Tami asked.
“Two reasons. The first is David will only be a junior next year. The second was he was the last one invited to camp. Coach Allen has been advocating for David and arranged for him to go against the best quarterbacks here. I’m sure after seeing him play at the very least even with Wes today, they will move him up again tonight. I personally think he outplayed Wes at times. Honestly, though, that was because I saw him doing what I would want in my quarterback to do if I was a coach.
“Wes is going to be a heck of a college player. I’m not sure how good of a pro he’ll be. He’s only six-two and he tends to wind up to throw the longer balls,” Bo said.
“How is Flee doing?” I asked.
“They’re trying not to focus too much on his size. The talk is Russell Wilson took Seattle to two Super Bowls and he’s only five-ten. Flee is going to have to play lights-out to get into the top 11. I do know that they think he can play college ball. They believed in him enough for him to beat out over 400 quarterbacks to get here.”
“Is Doyle doing any better?” I asked.
“After his poor attitude Sunday night, and him skipping the morning meeting to sleep in on Monday, he went from number 2 to number 18 on the list. I heard he had a good day today, though. If he gets his attitude issues worked out, he still has a shot at making the final 11.”
“You have any marching orders for tomorrow?” I asked.
“Stay focused and embrace anything they throw at you. They’ll continue to try to get you out of your comfort zone. Football-wise, I noticed you haven’t been using all your passes. Why is that?” he asked.
Bo was talking about the high arcing teardrop deep pass I’d learned from Bud Mason, the ex-Oakland coach.
“I thought I’d bring it out at the seven-on-seven tournament,” I said with a smile.
“Okay, we’ll practice it off-site Thursday evening. I’ve been looking at the receivers for your team and have a few suggestions. I’d like to wait until they bring in the top guys on Thursday before we pick our team.”
I had forgotten that by winning the tug-of-war contest Flee and I got to stack our teams before anyone else got to pick. I wished Bill was able to come, but he was already at USC. I was glad Bo was going to help me. They said there would be 160 skill players here come Thursday. There was no way I was going to be able to pick from that many guys without help.
Greg and Dad had been quietly taking in everything. Mom’s only comment was I needed a haircut so I would look good on camera. I could have killed my ex-best friend when she miraculously found scissors. I knew better than to fight it. I was okay with the results when Mom was done. She had only trimmed me up enough so I wasn’t as ‘shaggy,’ as Tami put it.
Chapter 12 – Elite 11: SPARQ Score
Wednesday July 8
We showed up for our morning class and two of the guys were missing. The rumor was some of the guys had reverted to their high school ways: breaking curfew, arriving late, and not showing up. At home, this might be considered trivial, but it was unacceptable to the coaches here. Coach Trent went up to the front to talk to us. As soon as he got situated, the ESPNU crew came in to capture what was going to be said. This just reinforced Bo’s observation that this was reality TV.
“As you can see, two members of our original eighteen are no longer here. They’ve been asked to leave. Some of you were caught out after curfew. Others seem to think it’s okay to be late. This is real life. When you get to college, no one’s going to hold your hand and make sure you’re where you need to be, when you need to be there.
“I could get angry and yell, but I’m also a parent; I know that doesn’t work. Let me just say this will never ever happen again. I’m dead serious about that. I told the 160 athletes that are helping you what’s going to happen and exactly what my expectations are. That means there are 160 pairs of eyes in addition to ours who are watching everything you do and the decisions you make. If they don’t see it from you guys, then my message means nothing.