7
Hearing I’m Great
Yes! Things are finally turning around, I thought to myself as I waved good-bye to my mom. We were at the Augusta airport. I was on my way to Miami via Atlanta. It would be my first recruiting visit unaccompanied by my parents.
Sitting in first class, I knew this had to be the life. The seats were wider, and every few minutes the stewardess was coming to ask me if I wanted something else. When I got off the plane and walked to Baggage Claim, I spotted a big sign. It was actually a big jersey that had my number on it. It also said “Skky” on the back of the jersey. All I could do was smile. I saw two other guys waving me down, standing with a man dressed in orange and green. The coach introduced himself first.
He reached for my hand and said, “Coach Sambo Nick, offensive coordinator for University of Miami. We talked on the phone. It’s good to have all three of you guys here.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, as I saw the other two dudes peeping me out.
“Wow, you’re a tall joker,” this dude with dreads and huge hands said to me.
Automatically, I slapped hands with the guy that was talking. He introduced himself as Deuce Malet, Florida’s top quarterback from Jacksonville. Beside him was a guy with gold teeth. I was glad my mom didn’t come. She was so conservative and wouldn’t have liked all that gold shining in this guy’s mouth. Shoot, she’d probably kill me if she caught me wearin’ a grill. Homeboy looked cool, though. He introduced himself as Pony Boy Jones.
“Yeah, my boy back home was telling me about you. He’s a DB. Says you the man on defense,” I explained.
“What’s his name? I might know him, too,” Pony Boy told me.
I laughed, “Naw, naw, he’s not on your level. You probably don’t know his name. He knows yours, though. Twenty interceptions last year and you’re already on pace to break that. You’re from Tampa, right?”
Pony Boy nodded.
Coach Nick said, “Perry, your plane was the last one to arrive. Now that I’ve got my recruits, let us be on our way. I’ll show you some of Miami.”
Soon as we stepped outside, the rain was awful. We didn’t have far to walk. We headed straight over to the Hummer limousine. The orange car was stretched pretty.
“We ridin’ in style,” Pony Boy said.
Deuce got in the car next. I looked back at Coach and motioned for him to go on, but he wouldn’t move until I got in. The offensive coordinator was serving us. It was nice to feel really wanted.
Though it was raining, we were driven straight to their stadium. The three of us got on the elevator with the coach and we went up to a suite. A massive spread of food was set out. Coach introduced us to a defensive position coach, a few hostesses and a secretary. Everyone was off the chain nice.
We watched highlights of Miami and then they incorporated something so dope, I would never forget it. Miami was losing to their in-state and conference rival, the Florida State Seminoles, on the tape we were watching. All of a sudden, they transposed Pony Boy making an interception with only one minute left on the clock. Offense came onto the field. Deuce threw a long bomb to me for a touchdown.
We didn’t know how they did the virtual reality thing, but the three of us got excited. Miami won the game. It was amazing.
Coach Nick said, “All right, so you boys think this is cool. Well, that doesn’t have to be something we created. Sign here, and it can actually happen next year. We play freshman at Miami. Being members of the ACC and being on the coastal side with Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, we have to take studs players that can make an impact for us right away. If you feel like you’re ready to come to school and perform like that taped showed, we’re ready to have all three of you guys committed before the end of this weekend.”
After we were charged and full, Coach Nick took us on a tour of the facility. Again, it was thundering and lighting everywhere. It felt like a real hurricane was on the horizon. But Coach Nick wasn’t the least bit concerned about danger.
When the lighting struck again Coach stopped moving and said, “Around here we believe that when a severe storm comes any time we have recruits, that is just the Earth’s way of saying, ‘Sign those guys.’”
Coach pointed at me. Then he pointed at Deuce. Lastly, he pointed at Pony Boy. Three black boys from three different parts of the South in front of the white offensive coordinator who was looking at us as if we were the best things he’d ever seen in his life. He gave us a vibe like he just had to sign us. I knew I was good, but looking in his eyes and seeing the way he talked so passionately about us coming to Miami made me think I was great.
He then took us to a room where they had pictures posted of all the former Miami players who were now playing in the pros. He left us alone for a second to take a call from the head coach.
Pony Boy spoke first. As his eyes glistened he said, “To be honest, I was thinking about signing with Florida State, but they’re making it hard for a brotha. Look at this wall. All these dudes playin’ now in the NFL.”
“Ah, come on, man,” Deuce reminded him, “Florida State’s got a lot of players that’s on the next level, too now.”
“I know, I know, but I’ve been on a ton of recruiting trips and one was Florida State. No one has roasted me like this yet. I heard they got a big party back at the hotel waiting on us. They gon’ set it off,” Pony Boy responded.
“Y’all ready to sign?” Coach Nick joked as he came back into the room.
We got word it was a Category 2 storm headed our way. So we hurried over to the head coach’s mansion to meet him. Because of the weather, we didn’t stay long. He just told us he’d meet us the next day and to have lots of fun meeting all of his players.
When we got to our hotel, the three of us were sharing a suite. The suite had a living area and a kitchenette but there were three bedrooms. We went up to the penthouse, which overlooked the water. Coach Nick told us there were plenty of Miami tapes we could check out near the DVD player.
Coach Nick said, “Enjoy your night with the players. Don’t have too much fun, though. We have an early start in the morning to talk to the school president and to meet the academic advisor.”
He wasn’t gone five minutes when our door was bum-rushed by ten of their starting players, a whole bunch of honeys, a big boom box and snacks. The party was on. Pony Boy was groovin’. Deuce was trying to meet every player. I was just watching the overzealous scene and wondered if I fit in.
“Perry,” Pony Boy shouted out, “I’m sold for real now. I’ma have to come to Miami.”
It was good, clean fun. I got my groove on stepping to the left and jamming to the right for a bit. Meeting the players was cool. I’d watched some of them on TV for the past four years and meeting them in person was a high point. I tried asking the players how they liked the school academically. Quickly, I found they wanted to relax, not talk about books.
I knew I’d always have respect for the University of Miami football program and I was grateful that they wanted to bring me in. I knew I was only seeing a small representation of what life would be like to sign there. But I realized Miami wasn’t my speed. The city had too much other stuff going on that could easily distract me, if you know what I mean. Miami is one big party all the time! Though the program turned out studs in the game of football, I wanted to come away from college being a stud at life. I wasn’t quite sure Miami could do that for me because I knew I wasn’t strong enough to resist the fun. Although I left the weekend not committing either way, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be back that far South.
It was report card day and a lot of the players were either happy or sad. We were dressing out for practice and many were going around comparing grades. I didn’t see what the purpose for all that was. The guys should have known what they we’re getting before today, anyway. However, there seemed to be a whole lot of disappointed people around me.
Damarious came over to me and whispered, “I need to keep a 2.0 to have a chance of getting to play in college. I got two D’s, two C’s and one A—in PE—and an F in U.S. history. I’m not making it.”
That class was crazy. The subject was not that tough. The textbook said we just need to have an understanding of the three different branches of government. However, our teacher added extras. He wanted us to know names of all the U.S. senators, all the congressman, all the judges, all the president’s cabinet members and a few members of the White House staff. He was challenged by some of the parents who were upset about the extra load on us; but the school upheld Mr. Crompwell’s decision to stretch our skills.
I remember him saying, “To be really good at U.S. history, you have to go beyond what the books say you need to know.”
I didn’t particularly care about being good at U.S. history, but I did want to maintain my A, so I buckled down and memorized the material. Looking at my buddy, I knew I had to do something to help.
“Aw, come on D, man,” I said as I put my hand on his back, trying to cheer him up. “You can pull up your grades to make your average at the end of the year be a 2.0. Don’t sweat this.”
“I wish I was more like you. What you got—two A’s and some B’s? I know them tough AP classes are givin’ you a fit.”
I tried to step away and place my report card in my locker. I didn’t need anyone seeing my grades. We weren’t here to compare ourselves.
“What you got, Perry?” Damarius asked again, this time as if he was mad at me. “Hey, y’all. Perry walking around here checking out everybody else’s grades. Let’s look at his. What you got, a C? Trying to act like my F is all horrible. For you a C is just as bad. Why you ain’t showing your report card off?”
“I got it, man!” Cole shouted as he snatched my report card and waved it in the air.
I didn’t even want to try to go there with them jokers. This wasn’t about me. However, they started chanting, “C, C, C.” Where they got that from was beyond me. C’s weren’t bad. It wasn’t my grade, either, though.
Cole looked at the card and said, “Snap. All A’s. You the man.”
“He got all A’s, and he’s got them hard classes,” a player called out.
I noticed Damarius jet out of the locker room. I got my helmet and jogged after him.
“You didn’t have to embarrass me like that,” he said as I caught up to him.
“I wasn’t tying to show off my report card. It wasn’t about any of that. Cole took it. I wasn’t trying to let folks know because my grades are my business. Nobody needs to know.”
“Yeah, right, your name will be posted in the office on the Principal’s List,” Damarius said.
“Like anyone reads that.” I popped him on his head for acting jealous. “Besides, boy, we need to pull up your grades. What do I need to do, D?”
He turned around and asked, “You’ll help me?”
I put my hand on his shoulder, and said, “Anything I can do, you know I will help you.”
We hugged. As I lifted my arms, I knew he was my homeboy. I really cared about my friend and I cared about his future. I wanted to do what I could to help him achieve greatness.
My parents were so pleased with how I did on my report card. When it came to my next recruiting visit, they once again allowed me to go by myself. I was headed to Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina.
As we drove from the airport, I had to admit the beautiful scenery grabbed me. This time I was in a minivan with two other recruits. One was Jason Casey from the state of Alabama. He was the best kicker in the South. The other was Mannie Frost. He was a quarterback from North Carolina with curly red hair. The two white boys were friendly but kind of corky. I went to an all-black school, so most of the stuff they were talking about I couldn’t really relate to.
So I just rode and gazed at the view from the interstate. I saw a lot of trees and a couple of farms. When we got close to Duke, Durham looked like a small town.
We headed straight to the campus. Where were the brothers? I wondered. Duke had a big football game that day, against their rival school, the University of North Carolina. Though the school was nice and academically top-notch, I had to admit I saw no fire and passion among the players on either team. If this had been a basketball game, these would be the two schools to go to. Duke and UNC were arguably the best in the country. Problem was, it wasn’t basketball that I was trying to get a scholarship for.
The game itself was brutal for the spectators to watch. Both Chapel Hill and Duke played horribly that game. Special teams couldn’t cover anybody, and neither team got good field position, or could even score. The kicker for Duke missed three that day, and that made Jason Casey, sitting beside me, so excited. He knew that he could make a difference at the school right away.
Their quarterback also got sacked four times in the game, fumbled the ball twice, completed only six passes out of forty and had a pick. He gave a pitiful performance. Mannie Frost was also very elated and ready to commit. I had seen Mannie on tape and he had a good arm. Honestly, I could imagine him throwing the ball to me and making some different things happen.
Duke wasn’t appealing to me. I had no clue what I was looking for, but at Duke I wasn’t finding it. The pace was way too slow. And for some that might be a good thing, but for me I needed a little bit more excitement.
When the game was over, and Duke lost by ten, we just sat around waiting for dinnertime. I wasn’t going to be rude or anything, and tell the people, heck, no, I didn’t want to play at their school. I had to keep my options open. Every school in the ACC was top-notch. At Duke, I could certainly get a great education and that couldn’t be dismissed by any means. But I did have more in my heart for competing, and I just didn’t see them quite there yet. I didn’t have to play for the best school in the ACC where football was concerned, but I didn’t want to play for the worst, either. Duke needed more help than I could give them.
Later I was sitting in the coach’s office waiting for him to finish with the press and come talk to me. His secretary said I could use the phone to pass some time. So I pulled out my cell and thought about calling a number of people. I was actually surprised at the number I dialed.
When the sweet voice of Savoy Lee answered, I was glad.
“I didn’t think you’d ever call. I come to your birthday party and you can’t even say thank you to a girl,” she teased.
“So you know it’s me?” I was happy to hear her excitement.
“Yeah, your number popped right up into my phone. How you doing?”
“Cool, I’m on a recruiting visit.”
“Yeah, my brother is, too. Where are you? Are you guys together this time?”
“Well, I’m at Duke.”
She chuckled, “Duke, no, he’s definitely not there. Sax is at Florida State.”
“I was at Miami last week,” I bragged, which was really weird, because I’d never bragged around Savoy. I didn’t want her to think that her brother was so much better than me. So I defended my schedule.
She eased my mind. “It’s okay, Perry. I know you’re just as good as he is ... if not better.”
“What did you say?” I asked.
“Nope, I’m not saying it again. You heard me, but I don’t want you to use it against me when you see my brother next time, or I’ll have to deny it.” Her spunk was so enticing.
I said, “Naw, Lee got skills.”
“Mr. Modest, you do, too. I have seen some of your recent games.”
“You have?”
“Yeah, Sax has your tapes. He studies everybody. And some of the catches you make, like the one a couple of weeks ago where you dived over and then missed that last grab. You came closer than anyone has ever seen to making a catch like that. I just hated the game ended like that. “How are you holding up from it?”
“I’m straight. I mean, it happens sometimes, right?” I had to be tough.
“Perry, you can talk to me,” she pried. “You okay? The camera showed you on the sidelines after the game, and you were broken.”
I laughed about my painful moment and said, “I was, but I can only admit that to you. Don’t you tell nobody, or I’ll have to deny that one.”
“It was just one play. You’ve shown plenty of moves for schools. For real, stay up,” she encouraged.
I heard people talking outside the door. “I think the coach is coming back. I just wanted to call and say hey.”
“Glad you did. Where do you go next?”
“Georgia Tech, I think.”
“Oh, so is Saxon. That’s actually the school I want to go to.”
“You ... you coming?” I hesitated, wanting the answer to be yes.
“I don’t want to tie up my weekends like that again. I’m just thinking about Tech. I want to be an architect, and it’s a great school. Handle your business. We’ll talk soon.”
When Duke’s head coach came in, I wasn’t even thinking about most of the stuff he said. Though I was very respectful and truly appreciative, it didn’t click for me. However, when I got on the plane and headed home, I couldn’t help thinking about next week. I asked myself, Hmm, would it be great to go to the same school with her or would that be asking for trouble?
“Junior, honey, come here. This is so great!” I heard my mom shout from the kitchen.
I dashed downstairs, full of excitement as well. She didn’t get pumped up for much, but since she was calling me, something big had to be going on. “Yes, ma’am?”
“It’s your SAT scores. Check this out.”
I took the sheet from her and saw that I had made a 2160 out of a possible 2400. The last time my score was lower than that. I was pretty proud of myself to see that I had upped my score. Wow! Hard work was paying off.
“Baby, you can sign anywhere now. I’m so proud of you.”
When my dad came in from raking leaves, I saw something between them I hadn’t seen in a while. They shared a moment of happiness and joy after my mom rushed up to him and showed him my scores. He gave me a thumbs up.
My mom said, “Our son is awesome.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. They danced around like kids. He came up and slapped me with a cool high-five.
“I knew you could do it, Son. I knew you could beat your old score. I bet if you took it again you’d get a perfect 2400.
My dad got cleaned up and took us out to dinner. It was amazing, things were going so well for our family.
Dinner was awesome. My parents were getting along, laughing about things that happened on my two recent recruiting trips. They were both impressed with my reasons as to why neither Duke nor Miami were right for me.
If I could have frozen that moment and kept it forever, I would have. Since life changes so quickly, I took the time after dinner to silently pray and thank God for all that He had done:
Lord, a couple weeks ago I was crazy, so upset that I didn’t win the big game. As I now see, You can work all things for my good. The school thing is working out. I don’t have any doubts, You’ll place me where I need to go. I’m also thankful for my parents. I was worried about their relationship, but looking at them enjoying each other is a good feeling. I want to talk to You more. Help me learn how to do that. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Later that week my folks and I were at Georgia Tech for the big showdown battle of the Techs. The state school was playing Virginia Tech, another ACC rival. Virginia Tech had beaten Georgia Tech the last three or four years. But with this being a home game for Georgia Tech and both teams needing to win it, this was an exciting game for a recruiting visit.
I love Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. It was cozy and not so overwhelming, like some schools I’d gone to. But it was still massive and very appealing to the eye simultaneously. The head coach’s office, like in South Carolina, was right inside the stadium. They had just renovated and added on to their stadium. However, I had to admit I was disappointed when I came to my seat right at kickoff and still noticed that there were empty places. The stadium held only fifty-five thousand, but a lot of seats were open. Even at Duke that wasn’t the picture. Did I want to play at a place where the fans weren’t totally behind the team? Maybe I could be a part of a recruiting class that changed that. Who knew?
Before kickoff, though, Lance Shadrach and Saxon Lee came and sat beside me.
“Wasup, fellas?” I asked, greeting them both.
“They got two senior receivers on the field and a senior QB. I hear their backups in all positions can’t touch us. What’s up is, are we gonna sign here?” Saxon asked.
“Be careful, Lee, our sisters go to Georgia,” Lance said as he tapped my back.
“Like we care about going to school with our sisters,” Lance said, like he knew everything.
“Lance, I hear y’all still undefeated,” I said.
“Yeah, I might have to lose one so I meet y’all at the state playoffs,” he joked back to me.
“I’m just messing with y’all. I’m not ready to commit anywhere, either,” Saxon said. “Too many folks want me on their team. However, Perry, this is the only school where they need two receivers badly.”
“I hear ya, Saxon.”
Tech was making an impressive go at beating Virginia Tech 23-17. We recruits liked it when the schools we came to visit ended up winning. And if seniors were on the field or juniors leaving early to enter the draft were winning for their school, that was even better. They’d really need new players to make that kind of impact.
Later, back in the hotel room, I walked in to find my parents arguing. My mom was thinking this was the best place in the world and the only place I needed to go. My dad thought that the academic challenge, though I could handle it, might put me under too much pressure.
“All right, guys, keep it down,” I said, coming into the room and hoping to interrupt them.
“Son, what are you thinking about this place?” my mom asked.
“It’s cool,” I said, really having mixed feelings.
My mother politicked. “I know Lance Shadrach is really thinking about going here. His mom just told me, he’s almost a shoe-in. He’ll commit before he leaves.”
“Well, I don’t think any of us are sure at this point.”
“You know you can’t sign right now. You got to keep all your options open,” my dad said.
My mom debated, “Honey, goodness forbid something happens to that boy, and he hurts himself before the season’s over. He needs to take this opportunity to sign in a place he knows he will like, and that’s in the city of Atlanta. It’s not Miami but it’s not North Carolina, either. This is a good place right in the middle for this boy. He could have a good education and a nice football career. Not to mention he won’t be that far away from us.”
“Well, if he goes to Athens, he won’t be too far away from us, either,” my dad responded.
“So, Dad, am I hearing you say Georgia is where you want me to sign?”
“Why not go to school with your sister? It’s all about who you know. Tad is up there. Dakari is up there. But they only have one senior receiver slot. I agree with your mom. Ain’t no need in holding out if you pretty much know where you want to go. I guess we need to get you signed early after all.”
I wish I knew where I wanted to go. I hadn’t even been to Georgia’s game yet, but I did like Tech. I just wasn’t ready to make a decision. It was just October, and signing day wasn’t until February. Why the rush?
The next day we drove back home. I thought about the weekend. Georgia Tech had some pluses that made me truly excited. The major thing was that the team chaplain was a brotha who was off the chain. His love for God was actually pretty contagious. I knew that if I sat around him for a bit, I might become a better man of God. However, the academic advisor sort of scared me. I wasn’t going to be able to just major in anything. Being an engineer wasn’t my heart’s desire. Productive recruiting trips confused my mind even more as to where I wanted to go to school.
When I got sick and tired of my parents arguing, I just said, “Hey, guys, enough. I hear you think I’ve got the great future. And I’m excited to play college ball somewhere, too, but you guys have got to lay off and let me make this decision.”
I hated to be so frank with my folks, but I was tired of people telling me that I was such a good student that I could choose any school. It was just a lot of pressure. The only things I could do to stay sane were to stay prayed up and humble in the midst of hearing I’m great.