That would cross so many lines that if the NCAA caught wind of it, I would never play a down of football.
“Maybe a booster could fly him out on his private jet and put him up at a resort while you’re at it. Oh, and don’t forget to invite me,” Dad said.
“I’ll look into that the minute he tells me he’s coming to Alabama. We try not to hand out the good stuff until you commit,” Bo said with a laugh.
“I’m hungry, so I had the place across the street deliver dinner,” Coach Mason said as we walked to the dining room.
Bo and I helped organize everything. Coach Mason had bought salmon with dill sauce, roasted potatoes, and broccoli in a butter lemon sauce. Not too shabby for takeout. Over dinner, we began to talk about why we were there.
“Before we weigh in, why don’t you tell us the schools you’re looking at and why they’re on your list?” Coach Mason started.
“Wolf, Tim, and I visited several schools over the last two years to figure out where we wanted to play. If I can, I want to go to the same school as they do. We looked at the Power 5 conferences and then Notre Dame as the lone independent.
“Once we determined which ones would accept all of us, it came down to Michigan, Oklahoma, and USC,” I said.
“I assume the front-runner is Michigan,” Bo guessed.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“They had a camp at your high school to show their commitment. I’ve heard that Ty will commit to them this week, and they’re in the Big Ten, right in your backyard,” Bo reasoned.
Those were pretty much my reasons, so I just nodded.
“I want to hear why you’re considering Oklahoma and USC,” Coach Mason said.
“Oklahoma offers me an excellent path to the NFL. The Big 12 Conference is focused on offense. I would be able to put up huge numbers there. I also liked the fans and students. Their fanbase is enormous, and they rabidly support their team. The community itself was somewhere I’d be comfortable living. Except for one incident with a recruit’s father, there wasn’t much not to like. And now that the conference has its own championship game, I expect you’ll see a school from the Big 12 in the conversation for the playoffs each year,” I explained.
“USC?” Coach Mason asked.
“They have a tradition that stands up to anywhere else in the country. I also have two friends who play ball for them, Ridge Townsend and Bill Callaway. In fact, USC may be the best spot for me if I want to make it to the NFL. Each one of their starters over the last decade has made it to the next level. Nowhere else can make that claim,” I said.
“I agree, but they haven’t had a great one since Carson Palmer, who won the Heisman and was drafted number one in 2003,” Bo pointed out.
“Good point, but they have been good enough to send quarterbacks to the NFL consistently. I also contend that Ridge might be the next one who wins the Heisman and gets drafted number one.”
“You might be right,” Bo conceded.
“There’s another factor outside of football that makes USC a good fit for me, and that’s Hollywood. The downside there is that the NCAA isn’t sure how to deal with my acting career. We’ve come to an uneasy truce, but I worry that they’ll change their minds at some point, and if I go to USC, that’s more likely. That being said, it would be much easier to get work if I were out here.
“There is another downside. USC is in LA. I’m not a big-city boy, and the temptations out here could be a problem. I would be living under the constant scrutiny of the press. I can’t even take my clothes off and go for a swim here,” I said.
“With about thirty other people,” Dad added.
I shrugged, and Bo and Coach Mason gave me looks that said that someday I would grow up, but they were envious.
“Are you sure that’s a negative?” Bo asked.
“My girlfriend thinks it is,” I shared and then got serious. “The culture out here is so different from where I’m from. I like that I know most everyone in my town. They don’t get goofy when I meet them. There I’m just the youngest Dawson. Yes, they get excited when I do a movie, but it isn’t like I have paparazzi staking me out like I will have here.”
“I admit, I liked living there,” Coach Mason said. “I think you would get used to LA in short order, though. There’s a lot more to do here.”
“The only factor that makes me hesitate about USC is its fan base. I’m sure if we were winning games, they would be out in force. The problem is, there is too much else going on. We have a great example of that with Northwestern in the Chicago area. There are no other college teams that close to the city, and they couldn’t even sell out when a nationally ranked Stanford team played them. If I go to either Michigan or Oklahoma, I know that I’ll play in front of sellout home crowds.”
“I agree that a huge home crowd makes a difference. You see it in the professional teams as well. Fans here tend to show up late and leave early. Like I said, a lot is going on here,” Coach Mason said.
“May I ask why Clemson didn’t make your final list?” Bo asked.
