“Gatorade compares all the state winners and from those selects their national winner. We just got word that David is the first football player to win the National Player of the Year for Football twice. This puts him in line to possibly be the first two-time Male National Athlete of the Year,” she announced, surprising me.
Tracy had to qualify the award as for a male because a track athlete from New Jersey had won the female equivalent twice.
Tracy continued on, detailing all the All-American teams I’d been selected to. She next enumerated my other awards for being a top quarterback, including my Elite 11 Co-MVP last year.
I started to get embarrassed when Tracy listed the national, state, and school records I’d set. She rattled off my records for passing yards, touchdowns thrown, and scoring, including my rushing touchdowns. She then talked about baseball and my MVP honors for the USA’s Under-18 Team at the Pan American Games.
When Tracy had finished, I took my seat, and the video started. Jeff Delahey narrated.
It began with our freshman year and included highlights of the games. We all laughed when Kevin Goode, our All-State linebacker, was shown. The other two leaders of that team followed: ‘Magic’ Mike Wade and Luke Herndon.
Everyone groaned when they showed the play that ended our season. I was at quarterback, the ball was snapped errantly, and I fumbled, preventing any last-minute heroics. I still contend that if I hadn’t been pulled from the game, I might have won it.
Kevin, Magic, and Luke were all interviewed and had some kind words to say about Lincoln High and the six of us who’d landed Division I scholarships.
The video jumped to sophomore year and our first state championship. Bill Callaway was the only player on that team who’d gone on to play college ball. The video showed him at USC. He gave a quick talk about what we were building here at Lincoln. He added how proud he was to have been a part of it at the beginning of the resurgence.
From the junior-year team, Jim Ball had gotten a scholarship to play college ball for Alabama. After the highlights of the year were shown, he talked about the friends he’d made at Lincoln. I could see they’d taken my idea of building a family to heart by his comments. Jim made us laugh when he held up Alabama jerseys for the three of us to hint at our final destination.
It was apparent from Jim’s video that Alabama had turned him into a beast over the last year. When you compared the film of him playing at Lincoln, he looked like he’d put on fifty pounds of muscle and was a legitimate three-hundred-pounder now. I had no doubt that he would be starting soon, now that his body had caught up with what it needed to be for the college game.
Next it moved on to senior year. Jeff gave out some interesting facts about our team. We had more players—six—receiving Division I offers than any other school in our state this year. Our group of six equaled the combined number of players to receive football scholarships from Lincoln over all the years our high school had fielded a team.
After the video, Coach Hope took the microphone to add his appreciation for the six of us and then focused on me.
“When I came here, they told me that David was a bit of a prima donna. I learned that he was anything but. I also learned that not only was he the best football player I’ve ever seen in high school ball, he may also be the best leader I’ve ever coached. And that’s not only on the football field. Many of you are probably unaware that David was the catalyst behind all the facility improvements here at Lincoln, including this field house.
“He’s the shining example of the phrase, ‘if you put your mind to something, you can get it done.’ Because of that, I expect him to go on to college and make us proud.
“What sets David apart is that he isn’t just about David. He wants to leave a legacy of excellence here at Lincoln High. David has forever changed the culture here to one of winning.
“He and his teammates have laid the foundation. I, for one, plan to carry on his dream that Lincoln High be year-in and year-out part of the conversation as the best of the best,” Coach Hope said. Then he turned to us. “It’s time for you to announce your next conquest.”
“We’re not going to play any hat games,” I started. “Let’s get the suspense over with.”
Wolf, Tim, and I all stood up and put our arms over each other’s shoulders as we faced the camera and smiled.
“We’re all going to the University of Michigan,” we said together.
Then we pulled off our Lincoln High sweatshirts and showed that under them were Michigan jerseys. Ty did a fist pump and joined the three of us standing. It is extremely rare that two players from the same high school go to a college program of Michigan’s caliber, let alone four. We hoped the viewing public would recognize this for what it was. Bryan and Brock came up with their Western Illinois jerseys on so we could get a group photo.
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