Through My Eyes (10 page)

That following spring of 2005, my junior year in high school, he’d seen me for the first time in person during a Nease baseball game. We both remember that game, but for different reasons. It was the district championship game against St. Augustine, in which I homered in the last inning to win it (it was just football that I never could beat them in). Coach Meyer says that he remembers observing my leadership during the game and on the field, and that he’d never seen a right fielder impact his team the way I did. Whether I really did or not, I’m glad that
he
thought I did.

Simply put, Coach Meyer loves football and loves winning. That was a good place to start for me. In the beginning, we had a blast just sitting around and discussing the philosophy of the spread offense that Florida ran. And Coach Meyer continued to recruit me seriously, even when other coaches might have bailed. Jevan Snead was a quarterback out of Texas and was highly recruited. He committed to Florida, but Coach Meyer continued to recruit me anyway. That was fine by me—if Florida ended up being the best fit for me, I didn’t mind the competition. Apparently Jevan felt otherwise about Florida’s continuing to recruit me. We had met before at an Elite 11 quarterback camp in California. Sometime after Jevan Snead’s verbal commitment to Florida, Coach Meyer called me one day and asked if I was still truly interested in Florida. I said I was, but that I hadn’t made a decision yet. He told me that my answer was good enough for him.

I later heard, even though I didn’t hear it from Jevan, that he had called Coach Meyer and told him that he would decommit from Florida if they continued to recruit me. I guess Coach Meyer had gauged my continuing interest with that phone call, and when I told him I was still interested, I understand he told Jevan that they were still interested in me as well. At the end of the day, Jevan decided to decommit and sign with the University of Texas instead.

That kind of character and commitment was typical of Coach Meyer, but he also had a work ethic and drive that were unparalleled. It is clear to anyone who watches him recruit or is around him for any period of time that his charisma around others is attractive, sincere, and compelling. No matter what was going on, he was always engaging and enjoyable to speak with, and yet somehow he was able to balance that by being totally focused on championships. He possessed an overwhelming drive and determination to win championships—so strong that I had no doubt he would succeed.

My official visit to Florida was impressive to all my family members who attended: Mom, Dad, Robby, Peter, my sister Katie, and her husband, Gannon. Four of the six were Gator grads and Florida beat FSU that day. We ate dinner with University of Florida president, Dr. Machen, Athletic Director, Jeremy Foley, and of course, Coach Meyer and his family. Very impressive.

In addition to my relationship with Coach Meyer, I also really enjoyed my time getting to know Greg Mattison, Florida’s co-defensive coordinator at the time, who was my primary recruiter. My relationship with Coach Mullen, then Florida’s offensive coordinator, developed more after I got to Florida. Coach Mullen told Peter during one of my visits that it would be fine if I came to Florida, but he so believed in the offensive system he ran that he felt he could play any number of quarterbacks in the system and it would work, so to him, I was just another guy. That was one thing that Coach Mullen and I had in common: we believed in Coach Meyer’s offensive system. The difference was I thought I actually could make it even better.

On the other hand, Mike Shula never gave me the impression that I was “just a guy” to him. Rather, he was always very clear about how they viewed me and what they wanted me to do, which was to do some Michael Vick–type things on the field. He was also focused on championships at Alabama and returning them to their prior levels of success. More low-key than Coach Meyer, his faith and that of his staff was appealing. Many of the position coaches, for instance, prayed with their players. I enjoyed that—and in my experience it was unique.

It was sometimes hard during the lengthy and intense recruiting process to figure out others’ agendas; they all had them, we all do, and so much of the typical recruiting process is insincere and depends on how good a salesman the recruiter is. Those coaches, as well as some of the others I’ve mentioned, however, stood out for their honesty and integrity, and as a result, I faced a difficult decision.

I told each
of the coaches who were recruiting me that I would decide by the middle of December, shortly after we finished our season, for two reasons. First, because of homeschool, I had the flexibility to start college early. Wherever I ended up, I wanted to begin in January so I could participate in spring practice. Second, I wanted to help my college recruit if I could and if it would be helpful. Through my unofficial and official visits and playing in all-star games, I had gotten to know some of the players who were looking at similar schools. If I waited until signing day, which was the first Wednesday in February, to commit, then I would lose any ability to influence who could be some of my future teammates. By deciding early, I could try to help convince others to attend with me and in the process hopefully increase our chances of winning championships in the future.

Unfortunately, the decision to attend early meant I also faced a difficult decision with respect to being able to continue playing other sports. My senior year of baseball was approaching, as well as basketball, and my dad really wanted me to keep going with baseball. Baseball had continued to be the sport at which I felt I was most naturally gifted. I was named to the All State team my junior year, and we went to the State Championship. My head baseball coach at Nease, Boo Mullins, tried to talk me into staying for that year, telling me that I was a “five tool” player and that many major league general managers were contacting him to set up private preseason workouts in January. The term “five tool” is used to identify position players (as opposed to pitchers or designated hitters) who can: (1) hit for average, (2) hit for power, (3) have excellent base-running skills and speed, (4) have good throwing ability, and (5) are good defensive players. I was flattered. My coach and my dad would tell scouts that my character made me a six-tool player. Of course, to my dad, that sixth tool was the only tool that mattered. Dad kept pushing baseball and had been making a compelling argument from when I was young: if you’re good enough to have a professional career in baseball, it’s usually longer than a football career, injuries are less frequent, and the pay is greater.

The baby of the family: My mom and my brothers and sisters with me shortly after I was born.

With my mom.

I had football on my mind from a very early age.

When I was growing up, my brothers and I were inseparable. Once we moved to the farm, we’d play just about any sport we could together.

Playing football in the yard with Uncle Dick.

Here I am with my favorite teacher, my mom.

Uncle Dick’s love and generosity provided a start for the orphanage in the Philippines that was eventually named after him.

No matter what sport I was playing, I only knew how to play one way: hard.

With our beloved family dog, Otis. Whenever we came home, he was there to greet us.

With my brothers after a church play.

When I first played football, I played at the Lakeshore Athletic Association in Jacksonville.

Life on the farm made our entire family “farmer strong.”

My sister Katie and the infamous “bridesmaids.”