Junior Year Box Set

Something I’d learned was that there would always be other women if I wanted them. I realize that sounded like a cocky jock, but it was the truth. Three girls at Lincoln came to mind who would go out with me in a heartbeat: Kylie, Cassidy, and Lily. If I’d given it more thought, I bet I could come up with some Wesleyan girls as well.

The truth was I liked Halle, Pam, Brook, and Zoe. We all had become friends, and the benefits were great. I wasn’t at a point where I wanted anything other than casual. Maybe in the spring I’d feel different and would reevaluate the situation then.

Notre Dame had some cool game-day traditions. The dorms all decorated their exteriors. One had a sign that was two stories high. Chad promised us the full game-day experience, but needed to show us the campus and wanted us also to meet with the academic advisors.

Since we were hungry, Chad took us to Reckers. It was a comfortable sandwich/pizza place with art deco-like furniture. I had a Caesar salad with chicken and a grilled portobello sandwich. While I ate, I called Brook, and we talked. The girls had heard about Peggy by then, so she understood why I hadn’t come back. I apologized for not calling sooner and told her I would talk to her and the others when I got home.

After we ate, Chad started the game-day experience in earnest. We were taken to see the Notre Dame Glee Club sing. Then the Irish football team walked from the Gug, past the Hesburgh Library and then to the stadium. It was a tradition that the team went to the Gug on Saturday afternoons for some last-minute meetings. They would enter the house that Rockne built through the tunnel gates.

We then were taken to Bond Hall where the marching band played. Chad then took us to the stadium where we met the rest of the recruits at a tailgate party. I spotted a player with a King High School jersey on. I made a point to meet everyone but saved him for last.

“David Dawson.”

“Todd, David,” he said as he shook my hand. “Wait a minute. You’re the Dawson we play in Indianapolis. I’m not sure if I should like you or not.”

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage. What position do you play?” I asked.

“Linebacker.”

Todd was a big boy for a linebacker. He was at least six-three, and I would guess around 240 pounds. I would later find out he was also a five-star recruit. A five-star recruit was rare, and many recruiting services threw around star ratings. The rating system went from two to five stars. Don’t ask me why there were no one-stars; it was just how they did it.

There was what was called a composite rating. They used a mathematical formula that takes into account a prospect’s ranking and rating listed in the public domain by the major media recruiting services. It converts average ranks and ratings into a composite index capping at one, which indicates a consensus number 1 prospect across all services.

The different recruiting sites broke down the top recruits in different ways. One of them has a Top 300. If you were rated in the top fifty, you were a five-star recruit. 51–300 were four-star, and if you weren’t on the list, you were either a three- or a two-star recruit. Other services only rated the top twenty-five to thirty prospects as five-star.

One of the websites describes a five-star player as one that has a rare talent:

A player who demonstrates a rare ability.

One who can create mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game.

A player who has the skills to take over a game

.

One who could make a possible impact as a true freshman.

One who will potentially earn All-American honors.

One who will probably have a three-and-out college career with early entry into the NFL draft.

 

Bill had been a four-star recruit and was named the best player in our state his senior year. Jim was also considered a four-star recruit by the scouting services. When I found out that Todd was a five-star, he had my interest. Notre Dame had to be happy to have this much talent on campus.