Guts vs Glory

by Jason B. Osoff

  Our opponents were also more prepared for us on defense. They were ready for our powerful receiver, who was a danger in the receiving game. In fact, they were so ready that they forgot about our running game and gave up an 80-yard touchdown run that Mike took right up the middle of their defense. By the time their coach figured out our top runner was running again, his decision to go back to their initial game plan was too late as our lead was too much. We were state champions.

  Chapter 33

  We’ve had cafeteria spaghetti and garlic toast many times in our lives; but on that night, it was the best we had ever tasted. That’s because, after dinner, we were served a three layer cake of awards, trophies, and records. The coach presented the team with the state championship trophy. It was a beautiful piece of gold that would stay in our school’s trophy case forever. It was accompanied by the Becker County Conference Trophy that we also earned that year.

  After the trophy ceremony, the coach moved into the records part of the team banquet. Of course, there was no surprise that Mike broke his own record of rushing yards and touchdowns in one season. We were surprised, however, that he broke the conference record in both categories. I was even more surprised to learn that there were more records broken that season. One of our players broke the school record of tackles for loss in one season, and in one game. I had no idea it was me because, for most of the season, I didn’t have any tackles. Thankfully, the post-season stats counted as well.

  The banquet wrapped up with team awards. These were always fun because it was obvious who some of the recipients would be for some of them, but for others, it was a guessing game. There were five awards handed out that year. The 1st award, the Most Valuable Player of the Season, obviously went to Mike. The offensive strategy was based around him, and none of our opponents out-scored our offense, so it was well deserved. He also deserved the 2nd award, the Offensive Player of the Season, for the same reasons. I was honored, but I kind of predicted that I would take home the 3rd award, the Defensive Player of the Season, after learning that I broke two school records. I also felt honored when the 4th award was announced.

  The 4th award was the Most Improved Player Award. That award was given to the player who improved the most in a given season, while being a contributor to the team. I guessed a few names for that one, but didn’t get a single one right. I knew it wasn’t either of us, since we started the season already improved compared to the previous season. I never considered the winner because I always saw him as the best offensive lineman. However, I never took into consideration his improvement as a defensive lineman. Trevor went from our worst defensive lineman at the beginning of the season, to a major weapon in our arsenal (and the reason for my record-breaking 7 tackles for loss in one game).

  The 5th, and final, award was even more shocking. It was the Shane Hagadorn Inspirational Award, named after an inspirational player from the 1950s. It was awarded to the player that was able to inspire the team to play at a higher level. The coach gave an explanation for the award before handing it out to the recipient. He said that it was the most important award because, without a player to be a role model for the team, we would have a big group of players only looking out for themselves and wouldn’t be able to grasp the concept of team work. Without an inspiring player, an offensive player of the season and a defensive player of the season wouldn’t be able to get us a state championship trophy on their own.

  That year’s winner started off as a criminal on the street with no athletic ability. After two years, he turned into a leader who was in the weight room every day and became stronger, both physically and mentally. The rest of the team saw how hard he was working, and became inspired to work as hard as he did. Once he became captain, there was no breaking the bond that was created amongst his teammates. That player’s hard work and dedication, both on and off the field, was a big reason for winning the trophies sitting in the room that night.

  At the end of the night, we were able to take pictures. Many of the pictures included the team surrounding our championship trophies, the two of us with our awards, and pictures of us with our families. On numerous occasions, I’ve looked at that picture of me holding the Shane Hagadorn Inspirational Award, with my parents on either side, and still can’t figure out whose eyes were watering more, my mom’s or mine.

  Chapter 34

  That exciting time of the year finally came. The previous year, Mike went on recruiting trips and had coaches trying to lure him in with luxury. The following year, not only did I have a good chance to live that life, but we would also be deciding on the team that we wanted to play football with for the next four years. We stayed true to our goal of playing college football together. We would only make a decision if it involved both of us. We had just finished an unbelievable record-breaking season, and believed that we had a good chance of achieving that goal. Mike again got offers from the same schools that gave him offers the previous year. They were all anxious for him to play and were not only willing to let him start as soon as possible, but most of them were willing to revolve the offense around him. Sadly, I also got the same offers that year that I had received the previous year; none.

  In a private meeting with my coach, I tried to understand why I didn’t get recruited. He summed it up that my success was simply too late. Most of the recruiters looked at players their junior year. Teams started building their rosters with those young athletes in mind. A senior had to really stand out all season long for them to be considered due to the fact that there was limited room on college football rosters. Unfortunately, all of my big plays came during the playoffs. Even though I had an impressive run, I did not have an impressive overall season. Just like that, our dream was terminated.

  I released Mike from our pact. He was left to make a decision on his own. He could sign with any team he wanted without me, or he could join a junior college that would accept me. That decision was made easier when the University of Southern Michigan called him. As usual, he informed the recruiter that he wasn’t going to sign without me. That time, however, the recruiter asked to meet with both of us. Suddenly, our plan had a pulse again.

  The recruiter agreed to meet with us in our head coach’s office. He agreed with our coach that I had a great playoff run, but I would have to have two great years to be considered by a major college football team. Sadly, that would put Mike in a situation where he would have to play at the junior college level if he wanted to continue playing football with me. If he did that, he would be wasting two years of his football career, would be risking injury, and would jeopardize his chances at playing for a major college, according to the recruiter. Mike’s best option was obviously to sign with a major college now, hot off an impressive season, so people would remember his talent and what he did at the high school level. The recruiter made it clear that for the both of us to have a chance at playing together professionally, we would have to play separately at the college level. After he let us digest the bad news, he had good news for us.

  He was willing to make an offer that would apply to both of our college careers, and would give us the best opportunity to play together in the long run. The recruiter would talk to a friend of his on the Whitaker Junior College football team. He had a good feeling that they could use my talent. I could then spend those two years, since it was only a two-year program, preparing myself to play at the collegiate level, and prove that my playoff run wasn’t just a fluke. That would give me the best shot at being noticed by the University of Southern Michigan. He couldn’t guarantee it, but he was willing to bet that I would be able to make the team with two years of college experience behind me. That would give us the opportunity to practice together, live together, and be on national TV together for the second half of our college career.

  A few days later, the recruiter took the two of us to meet with his friend at Whitaker Junior College. The friend turned out to be the team’s head football coach. Surprisingly, he was aware of my career, and was shocked that I hadn’
t been noticed by any junior colleges in the area. Unfortunately, he never planned for me to visit his school and didn’t have room for me on the defensive line. The defensive line slated to start the upcoming season was the same line that took them to the playoffs the previous season, and he obviously wanted to keep them intact. He was able to counter with a better offer, though. If I wanted to stay on defense, I would have to remain a backup defensive lineman during the entire season and wouldn’t be able to see much playing time. If, however, I switched to the offensive line, I would stand a better chance at fighting for a starting spot that season because the starting offensive line had openings.

  For me, it had been over a year since playing on the offensive line, but I knew I would still be able to do it. The question was would I be willing to turn my back on the position that I loved so much. After meeting with the coaches, Mike and I went back to my house and talked about our options. Everybody had made good points that day and we knew we would have to be realistic. He didn’t want to lose an opportunity with a major college, and I knew that I would have a better chance of starting in the junior college level by being an offensive lineman. Even though I had more fun on defense, would I be willing to sit on the bench for a year? I knew I would have to become a starter as soon as possible to really have any chance of making the University of Southern Michigan’s football team.

  He reminded me of our promise to make sacrifices in the short-term to achieve our long-term goal. My sacrifice would be walking away from the defensive line, while his sacrifice would be playing without his best friend for two years. Finally, we agreed that we would be willing to play apart for the first two years, if it meant that we could play together the last two. The next day, he officially became a USM Dragon.

  Chapter 35

  My parents were excited about my decision. Not only was I going to college, but I would still be living at home. Whitaker Junior College was in the city of Whitaker, and didn’t have dorm rooms, so living at home was my only option. Mike’s parents didn’t take the news as well as mine did. They weren’t sure if either one of us would graduate high school, so they were very excited to learn that Mike would be going to a top university at no cost to them. What they didn’t like was the fact that the University of Southern Michigan was near the Indiana state boarder, five hours away from their home. Because they wouldn’t have to pay for his college, Mike’s parents bought him a car. However, the car wouldn’t be dependable enough for him to make the 10 hour round-trip drive every weekend, so he would only be able to come home during longer school breaks.

  With time winding down, we continued to make the most of our spring. Rather than worrying about the two years we would be off on our own, we decided to enjoy the next few months and looked forward to again playing together during our junior year of college. We continued to run and spend time in the weight lifting room, because we didn’t want to lose our speed or strength, and we used our free time after school to work on our grades. We knew that college courses would be more challenging than the high school classes we were taking, so we wanted to prepare ourselves for the next level. Although Mike wouldn’t need to maintain really good grades as an athlete at the university, I would have to as a student at junior college. I would especially need to continue working hard on my grades because I would be transferring to USM as a student, not as an athlete, and would need impressive grades to get in. We continued to study together, though; keeping our grades reasonably up as we finished high school.

  That studying paid off when graduation day finally came. We ended up fulfilling our promise to our high school coach by improving our grades. We had both started off with a D average but, after two years of hard work, Mike ended up with a C+ average, while I maintained a B+ average. We were very proud of how well our grades had turned around, but we were also proud of the simple fact that we were graduating from high school. We’d been in the spotlight before, our names announced over a public address system in front of a large crowd, but that time we couldn’t contain our emotions. It wasn’t just a 12 year path that we were celebrating; we were celebrating a two year journey that turned our lives around forever, thanks to the second chance given to us by a county judge. That judge, by the way, was there to watch us accept our diplomas. With him at graduation, we felt like we were finally able to prove to everyone that we didn’t take that second chance for granted.

  A week after graduation, it was time to say goodbye. Even though we had a three month break before we started our first year of college, Mike would have to leave early to spend the summer working on strength and conditioning with his new team. We decided that we would keep in touch over the phone. I would be curious what the life of a major college football player was like, and what I had to look forward to, while he would be curious about my playing ability at the college level. After talking about our plans for the following two years, there was nothing more to say. Once he got in his car and took off, I was on my own to face the next stage in my life.

  The College Years

  Chapter 36

  It was the first day of summer practice. Because of my grades, I was able to receive a couple of grants from East Whitaker High School. Grants were basically free money that I could apply towards my college tuition. Junior college costs were much lower than university costs, so the grant money was enough to pay for my two years there. Because they would not have to pay for my first two years of school, my parents offered to pay for the second two years if I made it into a university. Because I didn’t have to worry about paying for college anymore, I was able to quit my part-time job so that I had more time to dedicate towards football and school. Even though I had already saved a bit of money, I lived a few miles from school, so taking the city bus made more sense than buying a car. Taking the bus also made me feel anxious, though. While playing football in high school, Mike and I would simply walk to the field right after school with our friends on the team. However, all of that changed once I got to college. Suddenly, I had to get to the field by myself, and I didn’t know anyone on the field once I got there. After a few stressful minutes, I saw a familiar face. The head football coach I had met during recruiting walked onto the field and got everyone together for our first huddle as a team. Although I had only met the guy once, I knew he wasn’t a complete stranger. As he was talking to the team, I decided that I really liked the coach because he treated us like adults, yet knew we were still fresh out of high school.

  Once in the team huddle, rather than going right to work, the coach began to explain how junior college football operated. He knew we were used to watching our favorite college teams on television, but those major college football games had a different format than what we would be a part of. During the regular season, we would play nine games; six of those games would be conference games. At the end of the season, the top four teams in our conference would take part in a conference tournament. After that, all conference tournament winners would be ranked nationally and would play in a post-season game based on their overall rank, with the top two teams playing in the National Junior College Title Game. The previous year, Whitaker Community College won the Michigan Junior College Conference and made it to a post-season game. The coach’s goal was to make it to the title game that season.

  He began to explain how the season would run. We would spend the summer without pads working on strength and conditioning. A few weeks before the regular season began, we would start practicing with pads. After two weeks, the coaches would decide on their starters. He made it clear that once starters were announced, they weren’t permanent positions and could change at any moment. Not only was it up to us to use those first few weeks to make the coaches’ decision easier, but it was also up to us to fight to keep those positions once we earned them.

  He finally explained his philosophy as a junior college football coach. He knew that all of us were either new to the team and felt like outsiders, or had been on the team for a year and were just starting to form bonds with their tea
mmates from the previous season. He wanted all of us to be on the same page, with no one feeling left out, so he would treat all of us like we were new to the team. He explained that although we were part of a two-year program, some of us would only stay for a year, while others would be there for two. Since we had a short time together, we would have to quickly bond as a brotherhood within our team. That being said, he wanted us to use the rest of the day to get to know each other while we did some casual stretching on our own.

  Chapter 37

  Most of the guys were laughing and having a good time. They were taking advantage of the free time because they knew our practices would get much harder after the first day. Watching those guys, I felt like most of them were playing on that team because they had fun playing football in high school and weren’t ready to walk away from it. I wasn’t going to let any one of them stop me from achieving my long-term goal. We wouldn’t be hitting for a while, so I decided to use my available time to get to know my competition. I wasn’t looking to make friends; I just wanted to know who I was up against, and what they were bringing to the table.

  I didn’t want to waste time on players who I wouldn’t be competing with, so I immediately began talking to the biggest guys on the team. The more I talked to them, the more I realized how inaccurate my initial assessment was. Every player I talked to was using junior college as a stepping stone to play major college football. A handful of players were in the same situation I was, but the rest of them were only playing on the team because their grades were too low for major colleges. Even though they were some of the best players in the country, they wouldn’t be able to play until they raised their grade point average. That meant that I would be competing with major college level players who all had the same motivating factor as me. My only chance of standing out was to be bigger, faster, and stronger than all of them. As easy as that had been to achieve in high school, it would be hard to do at the junior college level because my new team was full of some of the best high school football players in the state who simply weren’t smart enough to get into any major college.