Senior Year Box Set

Oklahoma was football-crazy. The local newspaper had run an article about all the recruits who were coming today. Megan had sent me a link to their local fan message board, and there were instructions there to make me feel wanted. They’d flooded my social media accounts with welcomes and reasons why I should commit this weekend.

When I stepped out into the hall, there were probably about thirty students waiting. They seemed surprised when I didn’t just push through, but stopped to greet each one of them and sign autographs. My mom followed me, and we streamed the video online. Frank, my publicist, was working overtime to make sure I looked like the All-American boy. That meant I couldn’t be a dick to people who stopped me on the street.

What I found was the college students I met were grounded. They reminded me of people in my hometown. While they were excited about me possibly coming to Oklahoma, they were considerate. I’d been in situations where people would push to get to me first. Here, everyone took their turn. They let me go once they had gotten a picture with me, had me sign something, or just encouraged me to come here to play football.

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We walked across the street to the football stadium, and Jordan took us out on the field so that we would get the spectacular view of the stadium. We then headed into the player’s area and down a large hall. One side of the hall had been painted red and had life-sized cutouts of former coaches and All-American players. On the other side were stacks of lockers.

“This is where they leave us game loops of each day’s practice and where we pick up our laundry every day. Oklahoma has a tremendous support staff that takes care of us.”

Jordan then took us into the locker room. It had to be in the top five I’d been in. There were leather couches and TVs on the walls. Jordan explained that if he wasn’t in class or watching a game or practice film, he and his teammates could generally be found there, hanging out.

The lockers were each in an open alcove that had the player’s football picture displayed. All their game gear was already in the lockers, waiting for the players when they arrived later today. Each locker had a bench for you to sit on to get dressed. If you lifted the seat, there was more storage. Jordan had extra gear packed away. The lockers reminded me of the ones we’d seen when we played our game against King High School in Indianapolis. That locker room was for the NFL’s Colts.

We were able to see their complete setup, including meeting rooms, weight and conditioning rooms, training rooms, and practice facilities. It checked all the boxes for what you were looking for in a top-flight football program. I didn’t see anything that was missing, and it was apparent why Oklahoma was a ranked football team year in and year out. This was historically one of the top football programs in the country.

Next, we toured the campus. I was used to being recognized and had the nod and smile down pat. We were stopped a couple of times and invited to tailgate or to go to postgame parties. Jordan seemed to know a lot of the people, and you could tell that being a football player was a big deal here.

It was clear that the attention I attracted wasn’t sitting well with Tomas and his family. All the recruits had been sent a list of who was attending this weekend, so I’d looked up Tomas. He had offers from most of the Texas schools, Oklahoma, and Colorado. From watching his highlight film, you could tell he was a good athlete and a superior runner.

Where he was lacking was his ability to throw the ball. If I were recruiting him, I would be looking at switching him to either a wide receiver or running back in college. If he remained at quarterback, he would be a redshirt candidate who you would need to develop.

Tomas’s dad, in particular, was sending me measured looks. I’d seen sports parents before. They’re the kind who will do anything and everything to promote their kid’s sports careers. They’d move to different school districts and even try to intervene with coaches on their son’s behalf.

The problem was, that kind of intervention can easily backfire. You could be labeled and be considered a problem. No one wanted drama in their locker room.

In a way, I felt terrible for Tomas for drawing me as his partner on this trip. Then again, it made sense to keep the quarterback recruits together. I suspected his problem was he’d never had anyone else receive all the attention before. Where he came from, he was the man.

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After the tour, we were taken back to the football facilities where we were to meet with the coaching staff. Jordan was cut loose so he would have time to get ready for the game. I was happy to see the coaches had sub trays to feed us.

Coach Michaels walked straight to Tomas’s dad, Carlos, and shook his hand.