Our decision was to move to a city that was reasonably between her hometown and mine. That, coincidently, put us about 30 minutes away from where Mike lived, just outside of Lansing. I felt that if we were to live together, we would be taking a very serious step in our relationship. I wanted to make sure that we were serious about each other. I couldn’t think of a better way to find that out then to ask for her hand in marriage. After her parents gave me their blessing, I proposed on the first day of living in our new place. She said yes.
Mike came in for a small engagement party. After much celebration, he wanted to talk about football. He told me that even though I didn’t get selected by a pro team during the Selection Showcase, my football life could still exist. If I was still serious about our goal, I would have to again work hard to achieve it, and would have to get to the next level in another non-traditional way. Just like at USM, the Knights also held try-outs for walk-on players. Unlike college, the walk-ons were allowed to participate in spring training with the rest of the team. After a long process, most of the walk-ons would be cut. Even if a walk-on was able to survive the exhausting process, they usually only made it as far as the practice squad; used to help the real team prepare for upcoming games. However, on a rare occasion, a member of the practice squad would be called up to be a part of the regular roster. Even though my best shot would only land me on the practice squad, I was willing to make the commitment. But as a man about to be married, my decisions weren’t made on my own anymore. Christine and I were suddenly presented with our first major decision as a couple.
She knew how badly I wanted to play professional football, especially with Mike. She also knew how much I would regret it if I chose to cut my career short after a difficult six years of creating my own path. Our biggest obstacle was money. We were living together and had to pay a monthly rent. As recent graduates, we didn’t have much money. Even if I made the practice squad, I wouldn’t make nearly the kind of money that Mike was making. Additionally, I would only be paid during the football season and wouldn’t make any money during the off-season.
Christine’s solution was to use the money that I put into savings during college to pay rent while she found a job. Once she found a job that paid enough money, she would be willing to pay our rent, and other bills, while I chased my dream. If I didn’t make the team, I would need to find a real job. If, however, I did make the team, I would be making enough money to help with the bills. During the off-season, I would have to use my degree to find a job outside of football which would help support to our new family.
Once a plan was agreed upon, Mike made a suggestion of his own. He enjoyed my commitment to play in the pros. He also enjoyed the support Christine had shown in making sure I got there. Once he knew that we were in this together, he decided to include her in our team. As a member of our team, he decided that he would invest in my dream. As a new millionaire, he spent his money foolishly on expensive cars and a large home. The building was so big that it could’ve easily been divided into two houses. He offered to move the two of us into his place so we wouldn’t have to pay rent at all. And just like that, I was ready for the next stage in my life.
The Professional Years
Chapter 78
While waiting for us to move in with him, Mike was getting his house ready for us. Although his house was big enough for the three of us, he wanted to make sure that we had our own privacy. To do that, he built an addition to his house that would give us twice the living space we had in our apartment. As a gift, he also custom-tailored his home-gym to my personal workout routine that I adopted from the University of Southern Michigan.
I spent the entire month of June preparing for the new challenge ahead of me. I assumed that professional football would be more intense than college football, so I knew that I would have to keep up with my conditioning and strength on my own time That was easy to do while living with Mike. His gym was spectacular.
With my own personal equipment, and the workout routine that had helped increase my strength in college, I worked out nearly every day. When I wasn't in the gym, I was spending time with Christine making plans for our wedding the following summer. A summer wedding was an easy choice for us because we knew, if things went well, we would both have the summer off. She had already accepted a teaching job at a local elementary school.
The evenings were also fun in our new shared housing arrangement. Some nights I spent with just Christine, while other nights I spent with Mike and his teammates. His idea was for me to meet some of the guys on the team and for them to know what kind of a hard worker I was. He wanted me to hear their stories so that I knew both the incentives of playing professional football, as well as the dedication and hard work that it took. It was a great plan, however, I couldn't get over the fact that I was hanging out with celebrities. Mike was too young to hang out with the veterans who were legends in the state of Michigan, but the young guys at our house were still heroes to me. They were the guys who I watched play football every Sunday afternoon. They were also the guys who made our driveway look like a foreign car dealership.
One afternoon, while hanging with my soon-to-be teammates, they started talking about the process of training camp. Apparently, it was something that everyone planning to make the team had to endure, even those who were on the team the previous season. Training camp was a two-week process used to evaluate the young players, while giving the veterans a chance to get back into shape. After those two weeks, teams played in four exhibition games used to give anyone surviving training camp a chance at playing professional football. Those games would be played at real stadiums, against real teams, but only the new guys would get most of the playing time. After the exhibition games, the team’s roster would be cut down from 90 players to 75. A few days later, they would have to cut another 22 players. Of those not making the 53-man roster, eight were offered a job on the practice squad.
Chapter 79
Even though the training camp officially began on Monday, Mike and I drove to camp on Sunday for the team’s mandatory orientation meeting. On the way there, Mike reminded me that he had gone through the same process a year ago. He also pointed out that he, as well as the other guys I had met, would be going through the same things with me. Even though most teams had their rosters set prior to camp, everyone on the team had to go through the same drills, meetings, and practices at the same intensity level. That meant I was faced with the challenge of standing out amongst an elite group of football players, while trying to earn a spot on the team. We both agreed that, as a walk-on, I shouldn't be disappointed if my goal was only to make the practice squad; even doing that would be an amazing honor. After Mike calmed me down a little bit, I spent the rest of the car ride introducing him to the songs of Mike Mains and the Branches.
At the training field, I was briefly introduced to the offensive line coach. Mike told the coach about my awards and hard work, both on and off the field. The previous season was only Mike’s first season on the team, but as the starting running back, all of the coaches listened to what he had to say. His words wouldn't get me a spot on the team, but they would definitely put me in the spotlight. With the added attention, it was up to me not to let down my friend while showing the coaches that I could be one of their best linemen.
The veterans on the team already knew what was going on, but the coach still explained the schedule to the rest of the group. Our days would start out early with a team breakfast, followed by an hour of lifting. From there, we would have an hour long team meeting. That meeting would be followed by another hour of reviewing video of previous practices in our positional groups. At 10AM, we would go through a two hour walk-through practice in which we didn't use pads. After lunch, we would take part in another two hour practice, that time working on technique, going full-contact, and competing for a spot on the team. After that practice, we would have more meetings, followed by a 10PM curfew.
With the schedule laid out, we were given the rest of the da
y to get used to our new quarters. The training camp was held at a local college where we would be sleeping in dorm rooms. Again, Mike and I were roommates. While in our room, I started telling Mike my plan for training camp. I told him that I wasn't worried about waking up early, or learning new plays at the meetings. I was great at memorizing plays and knew I wouldn't have to memorize that much as a center. My biggest target would be the two hour practice after lunch. While others would fear it, I would have to look forward to it. It would be my only chance to fight for a spot on the practice squad. During those two hours, I would have to block my strongest, hit my hardest, and run my fastest just to keep up with the rest of the team.
Chapter 80
By 7AM the next morning, we were all in line waiting for a hearty cafeteria breakfast. Then, after a lifting session, we met as a team and talked about the basic game plans of the Michigan Knights. That meeting led into the next meeting just for offensive linemen. There, we talked about the offensive line from the previous season. Those five linemen stood up and introduced themselves. The line coach said that they would be the starters during the upcoming season, while the rest of us would have to fight each other for backup roles. With 10 of us left, we knew that five of us would be sent home as there were only five backup positions left on the roster. Some were upset by that news because they thought that being picked during Selection Showcase Week guaranteed them a spot on the roster.
While the other guys went to the locker room to get their helmets, I was held up by the offensive line coach. He told me that Mike was the only reason why I was given a shot to make the team. At this point, it would be up to me to make it to the end of training camp on my own. He acknowledged that I was one of the best linemen in college football, but told me that the professional level was full of the best football players from some of the best football teams across the country. The guys in the room with me were no bigger than I was, but the coach assured me that they had a lot more experience than I did.
Instead of breaking me down, the coach ended up inspiring me. He was right; I was on my own and I would only have myself to blame if I went home. I had the exact same chance to earn a spot on the team as those picked during the Selection Showcase. I took that inspiration with me out to the practice field. I didn't allow myself to be overwhelmed by the fact that I was on the same field as football legends; hanging out with Mike’s friends helped me get past that feeling. Instead, I paid attention to what the coaches were saying the entire time and succeeded in not stopping practices so that the coaches could yell at me.
After a light lunch, I was ready to block. Even though it was only the first day of practice, nobody held back. We only had 10 days to show what we were made of, and nobody was going to waste that time. I continued working with the offensive linemen in our blocking and running drills. Halfway into that practice, we got our first chance at live contact. Similar to my first practice in college football, the first hit was the hardest. As I stared up into the sky, the only thing I could think of was that I had just been run over by a semi-truck driven by one of my favorite defensive linemen. While some people paid to get his autograph, I was one of the lucky ones who had his cleat tattooed on my stomach.
Practice continued to be painful. Even though I continued to get run over, I bounced back up every time. I knew that I wasn't quite ready to play at the professional level, but I sure wasn't going to let people think I was a quitter. The team’s doctor even made me feel at ease. He told me that he normally saw about 20 players after the first day of training camp. Most of those made it back the second day.
Finally, after dinner, I could say that I survived my first day of professional football training camp. I was bruised, tired, bloody, and couldn't raise my hands over my head, but I was excited that I would have a chance to do it all over again the following day. Back in the room, Mike wanted to make sure I wasn't too discouraged. He knew that I had been working my tail off in the off-season, and didn't want me to get discouraged because I was literally being walked all over. He told me that even the strongest players looked like they had just finished 10 rounds with the champ after their first day of practice. The injuries and soreness I was experiencing had nothing to do with how in shape I was; it was all due to competing at an elite level that my body just wasn't used to yet.
Chapter 81
I made it back down to breakfast the next morning. After a lighter breakfast, I was ready for our full-contact practice. I wasn't as sore as I was the night before, but I was still plenty sore. I made sure that my aches didn't impact my playing performance, though. As the day went on, I was eventually able to block a defender once or twice. Other linemen during practice were able to block the defender nearly every time, but I wasn't worried about what they could do; I was only worried about my personal progression.
As the week went on, I was getting more comfortable with practicing at this new level. My ability to block defenders continued to improve and I was able to stop the defenders on a more regular basis. Although I still wasn't quite at the backup level, I certainly had backup potential. Rather than being concerned with the nearly 40 players who were going to be cut at the end of the pre-season, I chose to focus on the five offensive linemen that would be sent home; that would decrease my competition by nearly 90%. I didn't get much time to play during our practices, but I felt that I was at least able to show how quickly I could progress in the short amount of time given.
By the second week of training camp, only five players had left the team voluntarily; all during the first day. Of those five, none of them came from the offensive line. I still had another week to be in the top half of the 10 of us eyeing a backup role on the offensive line. Not only was I improving in skills at practice, but my ability to heal was improving as well. I was no longer going to bed in pain, my bruises healed, and my wounds closed faster. After a sore first week, I was able to practice the entire second week without any lingering injuries. My improved recovery time allowed me to practice at my full potential, which allowed me to progress exponentially at the professional level.
Finally, training camp was over. The veterans were happy because they were ready to start the season and felt training camp was a waste of time. The younger guys were glad it was over because they were tired of being flopped around like rag dolls. I, personally, was a little disappointed that it was over. I only had two weeks to show my skills and I wanted more opportunity. But training camp would only be the beginning of a long summer.
Chapter 82
Our pre-season was only one third of the way complete at the end of camp. We still had four more weeks to display our talents before the coaches made their final cuts. We worked in our small groups during the first two days of practice, and in our large group during the second two. We would use Thursday as a full team scrimmage, and as a way for the coaches to set their depth chart. After two days off, we would be able to play in a full game. The practice schedule was nothing new to me, but the game at the end of the week would be a new experience.
Going into my first exhibition game, I was slated as the third-string center. At the college level, I wouldn't have seen any time as a third-stringer. During the exhibition games, however, I would be able to see more playing time. The exhibition games were similar to non-conference games. They were used as tune-up games to see which plays were successful, and what players would contribute the most. The exhibition games didn't count towards the season records, so coaches rarely played their starters once they determined who their starters would be. For fear of injury, the starters would only play a fraction of the game, while the rest of the game was used to see who would be allowed to stay with the team.
Getting to the game was an experience of its own. The team actually flew us to those games, where we had a flock of supporters waiting for us at the airport. Before the season had even started, we were treated like celebrities by loyal fans. From the airport, we were shuttled to the hotel where the entire team was housed. The next morning, we were shu
ttled to the game on luxury busses and escorted into the locker room. The only time I had ever been treated like that was during the Major College Football Championship Game. The exhibition games were not championship games, though. They were simply scrimmages against another teams.
In the locker room, I expected the usual pre-game speech. Before that game, however, there was no speech. Apparently at the professional level, coaches never gave speeches because players were expected to be fired up on their own. Instead, Mike and I talked about our high school goal of playing professional football together. We had decided that even though we were technically playing in a professional exhibition game together, the game was merely a scrimmage and we still hadn’t really achieved our goal yet of playing together in a pro game. We walked onto the field with the team. The field reminded me of the national championship game except that the arena wasn’t nearly as full.
During the first half, I finally got called in to play in my first professional game. The play was simple, so I only had to worry about the defender across from me. Thanks in large part to the defender in practice, I was prepared for the guy who towered over me. As I snapped the ball, I stood up without fear and braced myself for a hard hit. That hit, however, never came from him; it came from me. The team we were playing against also had their third-stringers in, so the guy I was playing against was closer to my experience level. I was able to own him for the entire second half.
Chapter 83
I went into the next practice with more confidence after having played in my first game. The offensive line coach still had me as a third-stringer, but treated all of us as if we were starters. He made it clear that even though his starters had been set, the rest of us would have to play at the same level of intensity as the other five positions were still open. That meant that I would have to play in the rest of the exhibition games as hard as I played in the first game. I would also have to use the following three weeks in practice to continue my progression as an elite player.
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