Junior Year Box Set

“So, the plan is for a lot more fun than we’ve had so far.”

I just nodded. Brandon went in to make his purchase. I followed to make sure the guys didn’t bully Alan. Sure enough, I caught Alan right before he made to the checkout. He had a box of Magnum extra-large. I took him back and got him a better fit. He seemed a little ambitious when he bought a 24-pack, but a boy can dream, and I wasn’t about to tell him otherwise.

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Today’s game between BYU and Michigan was a real test for both teams. Michigan had started the season with a road game at Utah and had lost 24 to 17. It was the first game for Coach Haber, who was supposed to be the savior for the once-storied program. I was amused at the text messages the Ohio State contingent sent me in their enjoyment of Michigan’s misfortune. Michigan had bounced back and beaten both Oregon State and UNLV at home on consecutive weekends.

The big story was BYU. They had opened the season at Big Ten powerhouse Nebraska. BYU had lost their leader and starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. Their backup was a freshman, but not just any freshman: Tanner Mangum had thrown for nearly four thousand yards his senior year in high school. He was selected to the play in the Under Armour All-America Game where he was named a special-recognition MVP. Tanner had also been named Co-MVP at Elite 11 where he won the award with two other players. One was Jameis Winston, who was the first pick in the NFL draft this year. Tanner was also rated the number 3 pocket passer in his class when he graduated.

Tanner was Mormon, and instead of starting college he went to Chile on his mission. He had returned only a couple of months before the start of football and had enrolled at BYU as a 22-year-old freshman.

I’d caught the end of the Nebraska game when BYU was down 28–27. With barely any time on the clock, Tanner drove BYU to the Nebraska 43 yard line. It was one of those perfect moments you dream about as a quarterback. It’s your first college game, and you find yourself on the field. It’s fourth down with only one second left in the game. Of course, I usually wake up at that point, but Tanner lived his dream. He heaved a desperation pass toward the Nebraska end zone, and one of his receivers snatched the ball out of the air and got it across the goal line for a stunning victory.

BYU then played number 20 Boise State and gave them a 35–24 beating. It was then off to play number 10 UCLA where they played a great game but came up short, losing 23–24. Tanner had a shot at winning the game but was intercepted.

Both teams were 2–1, and this would be a good test for both. BYU remained in a position to make a run at the National Championship. If BYU could win this game, they would have an impressive resume. They won at Nebraska, beat one of the best of the Group of Five teams in Boise State, and lost by one at UCLA. If they could beat Michigan on the road, who knew? The only game on their remaining schedule they had to worry about was at Missouri. BYU at 11–1 would force the selection committee into a hard decision as to whether they deserved to be in the final four.

After a poor first game, Michigan had blown out Oregon State and UNLV. Their defense had only allowed 14 points in those two games. They only had three games left on their schedule to worry about: Northwestern, Michigan State, and Ohio State. I thought they would probably go 1–2 in those games and end up at 9–3 if they took care of business today. That was in no way assured because BYU was ranked number 22.

I was excited to see what would happen today. I also wanted to see the Michigan campus. This was one of a handful of schools that had a real tradition of winning. They had fallen on hard times recently, but that just meant I would be a football god if I were to help turn the program around. I thought they might now have the coach to do it.

Wolf was excited about Michigan because they were one of the few college programs that really knew how to use a tight end, his natural position. The only school that was better in that regard was Stanford, which just happened to be where Coach Haber had come from.

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Michigan had a well-laid-out plan for their athletic facilities. Everything was within walking distance in an area called the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus. For football, they had an outdoor practice field and two indoor facilities. We were directed to meet at the Junge Family Champions Center, which was attached to the Crisler Center where Michigan played basketball. Across the parking lot was Michigan Stadium. The plan was for all the recruits and their families to meet up and then do a quick tour of the campus.