Crimson and Shroeder

[EagleFan]

My name is Leonard Schroeder. I have recently completed my senior year in high school up in the chilly north of Minnesota where I was an all-state running back with a fun high school career.

I thought I had everything going for me and was ready to take on the world. I met an ex-college football star during my senior season, out of sheer chance, Billy Fitzpatrick, star QB from Penn State.

He really helped me get my feet back in reality. Seeing the troubles that he went through after his final season, and dissapointments, have helped me lower my expectations and know that I can become something if I just keep a level head about myself.

I am getting ready to go to Alabama for my freshman season. I came close to following in Billy's footsteps and going to Penn State but I am getting a little tired of cold winters so I chose my second choice in Alabama.

I just received a letter from Billy, he is now in the Army and may be getting assigned to fight in Iraq. Actually, he would find out the day after he wrote the letter so he may be there now.

I'm just getting packed and ready to head out into the world on my own as I become a college freshman. There is so much that I want to accompish, I hope that I can achieve those dreams for myself, my family and for Billy.

[Lokugh]

A promising start...

[EagleFan]

During our preseason workouts and practices I have been concentrating on catching passes out of the backfield. That seems to be a weekness of mine and I want to build as complete of a game as possible.

There is also a little hope for me, The returning starter, a senior, is on academic probation. I have a good chance of getting some playing time if I can just keep a good attitude and work ethic. I really want to let the coaches see just how much I want this.

There are some nice looking girls roaming around the campus. I haven't really had a chance to get to meet anyone though. I've been concentrating on gettin my game as good as it can be.


With a week left before the season starts the coach told me that he isn't planning on red-shirting me. that's great news since I might be able to get in some good playing time. Also he said I have a good chance at starting with the current crop of backs they have.

[EagleFan]

Week 1: We have the week off so we get to watch some of the other games. #1 Penn State crushed Oregon State 52-3, Billy must be proud of his old team.

Week 2: We're hosting Southern Mississippi. They come in at 1-0. Neither of us are in the top 25. The game looked promising as we had a 31-17 lead with under 7 minutes to play but then Southern Mississippi scored twice to tie the game and send it to overtime. We kicked a field goal on our possession and hoped our defense could stop them. On their first play they had a 10 yard penalty, pushing them back to the 35. On the very next play their QB fired a 35 yard TD pass to beat us 37-34, not a good start as we're 0-1. I started and had 26 carries bt only 88 yards. No touchdowns for me but I did get a 2 point conversion. I did have 5 catches out of the backfield for 38 yards, giving me over 100 yards of total offense. They say I will be getting 9 stokes fo my performance, kind of surprising.

Week 3: We travel to #5 Marshall (1-0). Looking for our first win of the season and I'm hoping to really have some kind of breakout game. We took a 17-7 lead into the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for the second straight game we gave up the lead and the game went to overtime. We failed on our first time with the ball and they scored on a 25 yard run on the first play to beat us 23-17. This is getting frustrating. I had an awful game. 17 carries for just 23 yards. I did have a 6 yard touchdown run. I also had 3 tackles on special teams. Somehow I'm getting 9 more stokes, but that is meaningless with an 0-2 record.

Week 4: We host Hawaii (1-1). Neither of us are ranked and this is a game that we need. Finally, an easy game. We won 34-8 with little resistance from Hawaii, holding them to 5 first downs. I had 31 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown. 10 stokes awarded but the important thing is we now have a win in our record and are 1-2.

Week 5: We travel to Kentucky (1-1) with hopes of evening out our record. We jumped all over them going up 35-0 by the end of the first half and coasted to a 55-14 win to even our record at 2-2. I had 18 carries for 116 yards and 1 touchdown. I was given 4 stokes for the game. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the season, maybe we'll end up pulling out a bowl bid.

Week 6: We are now ranked #23 and we will be hosting South Carolina (1-2). This could be a turning the corner kind of game for us. The game featured all field goals and was 12-12 going into overtime. South Carolina scored on a 12 yard run and made the PAT to go up 19-12 on their possession. We were unable to get the ball into the end zone, but got robbed by an awful non-call of what should have been pass interference in the end zone. We're now 2-3 with all of our losses in overtime. I had 15 carries for only 42 yards. I also had 4 catches for 28 yards. On my last carry of the game I came down hard on my right shoulder and felt the worst pain I can ever remember. I was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and they say I am done for the season.


I haven't heard anything from Billy in a while. I will have to try to call his parents house later to see how he is doing. The war has been going on for quite some time now. Unfortunately it wasn't over as quickly as the government promised us it would be.


Week 7: We travel to Arkansas (2-2) and again look to even out our record. I think if the game goes into OT we should just get on the bus and go home. Our hosts didn't treat us well, beating us 38-24. We're now 2-4. Kind of hard watching from the sideline without being able to help.

Week 8: We go to Mississippi State (4-2). It's been a rough week in school, found out that I'm really only getting C's across the board. My dad is going to be pissed if that's what I end up getting. Another dissapointing game, losing 38-7 to go 2-5. This year is going downhill fast. One other thing that happened this week is that Penn Sate's winning streak ended at 31 games, just 1 shy of South Bend's 32 games.

Week 9: Off this week. I got to spend a lot of time on my school work and talked to my dad some on the phone. I also got a letter from Billy's fiance telling me that he is assigned somewhere in or near Iraq but they haven't heard anything from him in a while. They are concerned but also hopeful because they figure if something bad happened they would have heard.

Week 10: Louisiana State (3-5) comes to play us. We playe a great game and won 38-13 to improve our record to 3-5. My replacement, Ronald Van Der Linden had a good game with over 100 yards on the ground. He has now passed me in rushing yards this season, no surprise.

Week 11: Television game this weekend. #5 Georgia (7-0) comes to town. We need this for any chance of a bowl game. We play them very close but lose 24-19 to drop to 3-6.

Week 12: With our bowl hopes gone we travel to Mississippi (4-4). I was hoping we would get to a bowl, there might have been a chance I could play by then. We came up with a big 28-20 win to move to 4-6. We will be hosting our rivals Auburn in two weeks for our last game of the season.

Week 13: Big news on the war front. There was a nuclear explosion in Iraq. The Iraqi government is saying that we nuked them. Our government is denying it. There has been some video and photographs of there being a large battle in that area. I didn't get if it was a factory or a base that we were after. The Middle Eastern countries are now up in arms about it, claiming we committed an atrocity. Something is going to hit the fan. There are still no confirmed numbers of dead and injured.

Week 14: After last week's news we now have the Auburn (#3, 9-1) game to play or in my case, watch. This is huge for them, we can play spoilers here with a win and make them watch the National Championship game like we'll have to. Unfortunately they were too much for us to handle. We lost 35-24, of course we were losing 35-13 with 4 minutes to go in the game so it wasn't even that close.

That marks the end of the season for us, finishing up at 4-7. Very dissapointing. I still haven't heard anything about Billy. I'll have to try to call his family again.

Talk about something a little different. The National Championship game will be #1 Syracuse (11-0) vs. #3 Georgia (12-0). At least it is a battle of the lone remaining undefeated teams. Syracuse whipped them 41-20 to win the title. Talk about partying going on in upstate New York.


Wow, talk about a surprise. I was given the Conference's Top Offensive Freshman Award. I only played in 5 games before getting hurt. It's nice to get recognition but that was a real surprise.


I'm glad that a season of suffering is over for my Vikings. A 5-11 season, just awful. Martin Gaines, Billy's friend, came back pretty well from his injury with 69 catches.

Time to hit the books, and the rehab to get ready for next season.

[EagleFan]

bump for the edited post.

[EagleFan]

Just starting out the spring semester. The shoulder is feeling much better, almost 100%. I've been training my ass off trying to get ready for next season. I want to come back and prove that I still have what it takes.

I have made a few friends outside of football. I want to keep myself well rounded socially. One of them is Bryant Fleming, also a freshman. He's one tall SOB, 7'1". He's a center on the basketball team. They've been doing pretty good so far, 16-8 with a couple weeks left in the season.

I'm going to be going with some of his friends to see them play at Mississippi State. They are 23-4 and #7 in the country. He says it's a big conference game for them, we hope we can provide a rather vocal section for them. As long as we can get served we'll be ready to go.


We made it to the game fine and get settled in and ready to yell our asses off. It's close most of the first half until they go on a 9-0 run to go up 25-16 with about 7 to goin the half. They finally put Bryant in and he comes up big to end the run by getting an offensive rebound and then jams it home. We're going nuts, getting heckled by their fans, but that's cool. They bring the ball down court and Bryant stuffs one of their shots as they try to go inside against the big guy. We're beyond stoked at this point.

A few minutes later they bring him out, down 26-18. He's been a spark, what is that coach doing. They said he doesn;t play freshman much, why doesn;t he want to win if he has a good one?

We fought back and are down 36-31 going into the half. This is the first time I have ever been to a college basketball game, it's great. I've never been good at the game so the interest was never there.

Went out to get a beer at the half and while standing in line I get shoved from behind. Some guys in Mississippi State jackets telling me that we don't belong here and we're going to get our asses kicked if we stay. I told them to get over it, it's called a game. They said that they will wait for us after the game if we're brave enough to stick around. One of them moved his jacket a little to reveal what might have been a gun. SOB's like that don;t scare me, total morons.

I told everyone what happened when I got back to the seats. A couple of Bryant's friends are pissed. They said no-one disrespects them like that and they will have something waiting for them if they want to try something. Maybe I should have kept quiet. I just want to watch the damn game.

The game is getting ugly, with 2 minutes left we're down 74-58. We've been silenced, except a couple that are still pissed about the halftime incident.

We end up losing 79-58, I enjoyed it, except for the halftime problem. Bryant only had 2 points in 8 minutes along with a couple blocks and a couple rebounds.

As we're waiting for Bryant outside I hears some yelling. Shit, it's the guys from halftime. They're yelling all sorts of shit at us. One of Bryants friends is really pissed and is calling them over to settle their problem. Come on Kevin, let it go.

Shit he's got a gun. Shots are fired, all hell starts breaking loose. People are screaming and runngin all over. I'm just trying to find someplace safe. Kevin's been shot, oh my god, I've never been through anything like this.

I got through the mess somehow but Kevin is hit pretty bad, twice in the chest. The ambulance is here and they're taking him to the hospital. Police are all over the place. We're all being detained and questioned. How the hell did this happen over a basketball game?

[EagleFan]

We were detained for quite a while while police verified everyone's story. The police seemed to keep pressing to make us look to be the ones that started it all but luckilly there were other's that verified our story. It looked like we were about to be railroaded for a while.

We went to the hospital and found that Kevin was undergoing an operation right now and the doctors still aren't certain about his chances. I'm still shaking from all this, growing up in a small town I never had to see any of this kind of crap.

Talking to Bryant I found out that he grew up with Kevin. He said that Kevin had some problems for a while where he had been involved in gangs and stuff but finally got himself straightened out thanks to a little help from Bryant pushing him to try to make a better life for himself. His problem is still his temper, which was obvious tonight.

After waiting for what seemed like forever the doctors came out and told us that Kevin's surgery is done but he's still in danger and they can't really give any estimates until they see how the next 24 hours go.

Bryant called Kevin's mom and she's going to be getting here as soon as she can. She was hysterical on the phone, I never want to have to go through something like that.

Some of us headed back home to our campus, we had quite a trip ahead of us and wanted to get back for our classes.


Unfortunately later in the week I would find that this problem would follow me. The Athletic Director called me into his office and they are looking into this situation. They are concerned that I was involved in a shooting and said there is a possibility that the school might push for a suspension if they think I had an 'active' role in the events. Active role, I was there to watch a friend play basketball. This is a bunch of BS, I just want to play football and get a degree.


Kevin is still in a coma after a week. I'm still going through the school board crap. I got a call from an agent, how quickly they seem to pounce on these things. He asked if I had considered going pro. Not really, especially since I can't see myself going too high in the draft after the injury filled season. He tried to tell me that could be a good thing, since I would just need a good showing in the combine and they had already seen promisee with my speed so I might go in a decent position. That would get me away from this in school stuff and I could work on my degree later.

I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Right now I just want to worry about my test coming up tommorrow and I want to get rid of that picture of Kevin getting shot that seems to be burnt into my head.


That makes me thing about Billy and what he must be going through over in Iraq. His family hasn't heard anything from him or about him since before the nuke went off over there. Iran has now entered that war and is fighting against us because of that explosion that we say wasn't us. North Korea and China have also threatened intervention. France has threatened to surrender, who didn't see that coming.

When did the world stop making sense?

[EagleFan]

After going through hell and back I decided to stay in school, at least for another year. I really want to get a full year healthy to get my game back in shape.

After they looked into the shooting incident they decided that I had no active role. That's what I was telling them the whole time, a little frustrating.

Kevin is still touch and go, he has good days and bad. There were a few times that Bryant told me he and Kevin's mom were waiting to hear that it was over as he seemed to almost be wanting to die. Right now it's just a battle of wills within him I think. Hopefully he'll pull through. I barely knew him but I still want him to make it through.

I heard that they are still looking for the guy that shot him. It seems he took off before the police got there and hasn't been seen since. I can't imagine what a life on the run must be like, I just hope they catch that SOB.


On the diversionary front. The first game of the Conference Tournament is today. We got the number 8 seed in the conference and are playing Auburn, the number 9. We were 17-12 during the season, they were 12-14. Bryant didn't play much but our team came away with a 2 point win to advance.

Next up is that number 1 seed, Mississippi State, bad memories here. Not going to that game because of some extra work I have for class but will be watching it on TV with others at the dorm. They are 28-4 going into the game, really good team. The game was ugly from the start and ended up being a 76-61 loss, not even that close.

Oh well, I enjoyed watching them on their run. A couple of the guys said something about them being on the bubble and might make the tournament but probably not.


Selection Sunday came and surpised me. They got an 11 seed in the East and will be playing UCLA, the 6 seed in the first round.

We played them tight until about 5 minutes left and then they pulled away to a 72-58 win to knock us from the tournament. Hopefully Bryant will start to get more playing time next season. It would be great watching something like this with a friend actually out there more.


On to studying and trying to get ready for next season.

[EagleFan]

Our second season has begun. We're actually sexpected to compete for a bowl birth this season. We open the season at home against Florida State in a big test.

I still haven't found one girl that I like enough to go out with as my 'girlfriend'. Oh well, I'll just enjoy the college life for now.


Week 1: Hosting Florida State we come out fired up but it doesn't take too long before reality hits us hard in the face. They jump out to an early lead and are up 35-7 by the half en route to a 52-7 drubbing. I saw little action with only 4 carries for -2 yards. The shoulder felt good, but the loss really hurt. I had 1 catch for 6 yards. Only 1 stoke for the game. Starting off 0-1 for the eason is not how I pictured my return to the lineup.

Week 2: We have this week off and pricatice quite a bit extra after getting our asses kicked. I was able to talk to Bryant a bit this week and found out that Kevin is doing well and back in school. They still haven't caught the guy that shot him. I talked to Billy's family and they haven't heard anything from or about him since before the blast. World opinion is mixed with many countries against us, claiming we set off a nuke against Iraq. Our claim is that we had nothing to do with it. They are still sorting through the aftermath, the radiation has made it near impossible for them to really assess the damage at the site of the blast.

Week 3: Our first road game, this one at Southern Mississippi. We need to turn out season around here so we can get on the right path. An early interception return puts us up 7-0. We get 10 more in the second to go up 17-0 at the half. Good game so far, but I'm still not getting much on the ground. On my first carry of the second half I get a lineman rolling onto my leg as I go down. I'm in immediate pain, feels like my knee. I get carted off to get checked out, dammit, this wasn't supposed to happen. We went on to win 62-7. I had 11 carries for 36 yards along with 2 catches for 15 yards and got 3 stokes. The biggest concern is that I can;t put any weight on my leg.

Week 4: MRI's show that I have a torn ACL. I'm done for the season again. Maybe I should have went pro, at least I would have a paycheck now. We're off this week, but then again I'm off for several months now.

Week 5: We played at Tennessee. I didn't make the trip with the injury. Had surgery on the knee this week. We won 55-35 to go 2-1.

Week 6: We play at #6 Oklahoma (3-0). I went and stayed on the sideline on crutches. The doctor wanted me to stay off it for another week but I want to be with the team. They beat us 38-21 to drop us to 2-2.

Week 7: We host Mississippi State (1-3). Bad memories when ever I hear that school's name. They beat us 24-17 to drop us to 2-3.

Week 8: We host LSU (2-4), a big conference game if we want any hope of post season. A 41-12 win evens us at 3-3. It's really getting frustrating watching from the sidelines. I probably can;t even try to go pro after this season with this injury since I won;t be recovered by the draft they tell me.

Week 9: We host Nashville (2-3). They kicked out butts 38-10 to send us to 3-4.

Week 10: We travel to Arkansas (3-5) to attempt to even our record. A 52-13 win makes us 4-4 and keeps bowl hopes alive.

Week 11: We host Florida (3-5). A close 28-24 win makes us 5-4. We're 4-2 in the Conference and still have a shot at a Conference Title.

Week 12: We play at #3 Auburn (7-1) with a huge game. Not just a big conference game, but a big rivalry. They end our hopes of a Conference title with a 38-13 win to drop us to 5-5.

Week 13: We play at Mississippi (4-5) for a shot at a record over .500. We win 31-13 to go 6-5.

Bowl Game: We made it to the Unmatched Sock Bowl against Miami (6-5). Not a big game bby any means but I would still like to be playing in it instead of watching. We lost 33-27 to go 6-6 for the season. They led 33-7 at the half and we almost made a complete comeback, but not good enough.


Nebraska (12-0) and Colorado State (11-0) will be playing in the Championship. North Texas, Maryland, Oregon and East Carolina were all also undefeated at 11-0. Nebraska won 19-18 to win the title. They won on a touchdown with just 3 second left in the game.


I'll be going to some of the basketball games this season. I loved those conference games last year, what a rush. I'll wait until after I get back for the next semester. I'm going to go back home for the remainder of the time off before coming back for the Spring semester.


My Vikings went 4-12, an awful season. Billy's friend had 91 catches for 840 yards and 6 TD's, he's definitely back from his injury.

[EagleFan]

I've been going through rehab for the knee. This routine of getting operated on every year and missing a bunch of time is really getting a little old. I wish I had tried to go pro last year. Now there is no way that I can go pro this season. I'll have to come back for my junior season and hope that I have made a full recovery.

That will give me a little extra incentive to play for. I might have two years to prove that I can play in the pros ir else start looking for another career choice.

Big news on the war front. There is some sort of talks going on and there has been a cease fire for quite a while now. Both sides seem to be digging in to prepare for the talks not lasting much longer though.

Billy is alive, we think. I can;t believe what they are saying about him though. A tape of him was being sent out by Iraq stating that he was attempting to assasinate Saddam. Actually he doesn't say those exact words but it actually seems like it's the case. They are attempting to use that footage to show the world what the US is actually doing. Along with their claims that the US is responsible for the nuke that went off.

Unfortunately Army Intelligence has come out and said that Billy was not on an authorized mission and was reported AWOL prior to his being captured. It sounds like he went off with a band of men and did this on their own. Something doesn't sound right there.

Back to the rehab, the knee is getting stronger and I hope it will be fully recovered in time to play the first game of next season.

I'll be going to the Conference Tournament later this week to see our basketball team play. Bryant seems to think they have a good shot this season.

[EagleFan]

Even though I've been hobbling around trying to get my knee ready for next season, I've still taken some time out to enjoy college life. It's a great experience and I'm glad I actually have taken the time to really appreciate it and not just focus on football.

I'll be going to see the men's basketball team play today in their first game of the conference tournament. They're 20-9 so far this season and Bryant has done a great job this year with a lot more playing time. He's averaging 10.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. There is starting to be a little bit of a buzz around him and some talk of him going pro. He wants to wait it out though.

They are the 8th seed in the conference and will be playing LSU (16-13), the 9 seed in the opening round of the conference tournament.


After the first three minutes of the game it has been all LSU and they are up 9-2. We settled down and started working inside and got them in foul trouble. Pulled back to 35-32 at the half.

It got ugly in the second half as the whole team suddenly forgot how to shoot. They blew us out 80-58. Bryant is upset with his performance, just 6 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block. Of course they were shooting like mad from outside so there wasn;t much opportunity for blocks for him.


He's very concerned now about their chance of making the tournament now with that embarrassing loss. A good showing is really all they needed to clinch a birth but now it's not that certain.


When the brackets came out they ended up the 8 seed in the west. They will be playing Providence to open the tournament. I'm going to try to get out to see a game, if possible, but it opens in Sacramento.

[EagleFan]

I didn't get to go out to see the tournament games. The coach heard that some alumni were going to send me out there and said that I couldn't go, something about violations.

Oh well, I got to watch in the dorm with a whole group of screaming fanatics. It was great.

They opened the tournament on Friday against Providence (also 20-10). After getting out to an early lead and leading by 15 part of the way through the second half we started to slow and let Providence back into the game. With 2 minutes left they had the ball and were down by only 4. Bryant grabbed a defensive rebound and made a quick pass up court that led to 2 points for us and we held on from there to win 71-65 and advance to the second round. Bryant was in foul trouble so he didn;t play as much but did have 8 points and 10 rebounds.


A tough game coming up against the number 1 seed, Michigan (29-4). I am enjoying the hell out of this, it's a great break from football and school work.

After the first half we're trailing 41-29. They have shut Bryant down with just 2 points. They are deadly from outside, this could be a really tough game. It's a great run for them at least to get this far.

With 6:27 to go they've played some great defense and come back to 57-51, they're still not out of it. Bryant has only 4 points but does have 8 rebounds so far. With 3:59 to go it's 57-54 and we've just forced a jump ball, possession arrow to us.

Wow, with 39 seconds left we have just went up 63-62. We're all fired up watching this, wishing we could have made the trip out there. They were fouled and made 1 of 2 shots. We have the ball with 28 seconds left and a tie game. Harris got mugged on an open inside shot and made 1 of 2 shots. We're up 64-63 with 19 seconds left. Time for some solid sefense. No, an open 3, they made it with 7 second left to go up 66-64. Time for some kind of miracle. We miss a last second shot and lose by 2. Not bad going against the 1 seed.


Time to get back to working out and getting my knee ready for next season. I think I can be ready to go by the beginning of the season.

[EagleFan]

Preparing for the season my knee isn;t quite up to 100% yet, but it's getting close. I really can;t wait until I get on the field and take a few hits to get the feel of the game back.

I've been doing okay in practice but the coach says I have been a little too tentetive and that I need to avoid that or it will certainly lead to reinjuring it.

On ther personal front I've hooked up with another junior named Rhoda. Weird name and it took me a while getting used to but she is a great person. We've been seeing each other for a month now, in what little time I have between practice and rehab.

They have signed a peace treaty in Iraq but it is not certain whether Billy will be released to come home. It is rumored that he will stand trial for war crimes in an attempted assasination of Saddam. In a strange twist the UN is now discussing sanctions against the US for using nuclear weapons in the attack on Iraq, though we still claim it was not us who did that.


We are off week 1, which is good since I have a little extra time to get my knee in shape and ready to play. I used some of the time to spend with Rhoda. We went to see Lethal Weapon 9, it might be time to give up the movies, soon they'll be retirement home security guards or something.

Week 2: We travel to play Florida State (0-0). I'm looking forward to finally getting back out on the field. Not a good comeback for me as we lose 35-13. I ran the ball 12 times for 31 yards and had 2 catches for 13 yards. I got 1 stoke for the game. Not the type of game I was hoping for.

We are off for week 3, kind of a slow start to the season but coach put us through our paces this week after looking so bad against Florida State.

Week 4: We host Southern Mississippi (0-2). My knee is finally feeling like it's 100 percent. No weekness or pain during practice over the past couple weeks. What the hell happened to our defense. We got blown out by an 0-2 team on our own turf, 66-37. I had 2 big touchdown runs, 74 and 40 yards. The speed is back, I feel great. I had 12 carries for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. I caught 1 pass for 30 yards. They awarded me 3 stokes for the game. We're 0-2 now and need something to turn the season.

Week 5: We travel to play at Florida (0-2). Our first conference game, we need this one big time. On my 4th carry of the game I get hit hard and I feel something wrong. My ankle is killing me. I had to get carted off and it's a broken ankle, I'm sidelined for 6 to 8 weeks they say. We lost the game 56-21 to go 0-3 and it looks like I get to watch another season from the sideline.

Week 6: Nashville (2-2) comes to town. I'm frustrated at this point, maybe football isn't for me. I can't even make it through one season without getting seriously injured. We finally get on the winning track with a 41-22 win to go 1-3.

Week 7: More time on crutches and starting to concentrate on getting my grades up. That will be something I can take from my college experience if not a football career. We travel to Mississippi State (3-1). I stayed at the campus and didn't travel with the team. Coach wasn;t too happy but I told him that I had extra schoolwork that I needed to work on. They upset Mississippi State 31-6 to go 2-3. They're 2-0 without me, is that telling me something?

Week 8: They hosted LSU (3-2). I watched from the stands with Rhoda. They won a thrilling game 31-24 to go 3-3. Still unbeaten without me.

Week 9: They travelled to Kent (4-2). I went out with Rhoda and checked out the score later when I got back. They lost 38-17 to drop to 3-4.

Week 10: They hosted Arkansas (2-5). They won 37-17 to go 4-4. They are now 4-1 in the conference and second to Auburn in the division.

Week 11: They travelled to Tennessee (3-5). They won 41-18 to go 5-4 and 5-1 in the conference.

Week 12: An off week that allows me to recover a little more. I still feel pain when walking and they aren't sure when I'll be ready to play again, hopefully soon.

Week 13: Hosting Mississippi (5-5). I will be suiting for the game, still up in the ari about playing time though. It felt good to be back. I got 13 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. The ankle is still tender but I think I can work through it. I got 6 stokes int eh 21-19 thriller to make us 6-4, 6-1 in the conference heading into the Auburn game.

Week 14: This is what it's all about. We travel to Auburn (9-1) to play for the chance at a conference title. Ouch, we got our butts handed to us, 50-6 to drop us to 6-5 and give them the division. I rand the ball 6 times for 35 yarda and caught 2 passes for 15 yards but we barely had the ball and barely ran it due to trailing so bad. I earned 1 stoke.


Bowl Birth: We will be facing Bowling Green (8-3) in the Clip On Tie Bowl. It felt good to end the season on a positive note with a 27-21 win. I carried ther ball 25 times for 130 yards. The ankle is feeling 100 percent now. I also had 6 catches for 46 yards. We ended 7-5.

UCLU (10-1) played Colorado State (11-0) for the championship. UCLA won 38-14 to win the title.


My Vikings went 5-11 for another dissapointing season. Martin Gaines had small injury trouble and had only 66 catches but 9 touchdowns.


Time to think about what I want my future in football to be. I think I want to try one more season and hope I can make it through without getting hurt.

[EagleFan]

Last year I kind of lost touch with Bryant and my other friends as I have been spending more time with Rhoda, we're doing great together. I made aure I kept my workout schedule up because I want this season to make up for the injury plagued first three seasons.

We're off the first week of the season as we prepare for out opening game against Florida State. Coach put us through some intense training sessions to get us in shape. I would really like to end my college career on a positive note, like maybe a major bowl game.

Week 2: We travel to Florida State for the first game of the season for both of our teams. The held our offense practially motionless. I ran the ball 11 times for just 3 yards and had 1 catch for 4 yards. Somehow they gave me 3 stokes for the game, not sure what they were watching. We're 0-1 and looking pitiful.

Week 3: We host Kent (0-1) for our first home game of the season. We lose a heartbreaker 28-21 as they score a touchdown with 3 seconds left to beat us. I had 13 carries for 81 yards, including an 11 yard touchdown, and I caught 1 pass for 10 yards. I got 3 stokes for the game but we're now 0-2 and that's what counts.

Week 4: We travel to Southern Mississippi (2-0). They beat us 31-21 todrop us to 0-3. I ran the ball 16 times for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns. I also had 2 catches for 5 yards. They gave me 5 stokes for the game.

Week 5: We host Tennessee (1-1) in our first conference game of the season. We won 31-21 to go 1-3, 1-0 in the conference. I ran the ball 16 times for 62 yards and caught 7 passes for 42 yards. I picked up 2 stokes in the win.

We're off week 6. Coach actually took it easy on us since we were coming off a win. I spent some time with Rhoda, we mostly just stayed in and watched TV. We saw VH-1's Where are They Now last night, featuring Eminem, some over-hyped singer from several years ago. He's somewhere asking, would you like fies with that.

Week 7: We travel to Arkansas (1-3). As normal we make sure that we don't wander off campus, especially towards any back roads. A 24-10 win makes us 2-3 and 2-0 in the conference. I had only 12 carries for 36 yards but did have 5 catches for 48 yards. I like the extra receptions I've been getting, the pro scouts should really like that. I got 4 more stokes.

Week 8: We host Mississippi State (3-2). I still hate that school, even though it was pretty much just a couple of punks that ruined that place for me. It felt so good to crush them 30-13. I had 18 carries for 70 yards, including a 29 yard touchdown run, and 2 catches for 13 yards. I was given 6 stokes but more importantly we are now 3-3 and 3-0 in conference.

Week 9: We host Nashville (3-4) and hope to go over .500 for the first time this season. A 28-20 win makes us 4-3 and 4-0 in the conference. I ran the ball 8 times for 34 yards and had 2 catches for 14 yards. No stokes this game, but I didn't deserve any. I did take a tough hit in the middle of the tgame and came out in the second half. The doc said it's a mild concussion, but it shouldn't keep me sidelined.

Week 10: We travel to LSU (2-5) looking for win number 5. Big time win for us, 48-0. We're now 5-3 and 5-0 in the conference. I ran 16 times for 87 yards and a touchdown and had 1 catch for 11 yards. I was given 4 stokes in the effort. We currently lead our division.

Week 11: We travel to Florida (4-3) for our second game in that state this season. This is a huge game for us. A win here could put us on the verge of a conference title game appearance. They hand us out first conference loss though, 27-14. We're now 5-4. They held our offense in check. I had 13 carries for 49 yards and 5 catches for 48 yards. I was given 2 stokes.

Week 12: We travel to Mississippi (5-3). They are 4-1 in the convference, along with Auburn to be a half game behind us in the division. We need this game to have any shot at a conference title game. We came out fired up and crushed them 44-7. Just the Auburn game left, that one is going to be huge. I had 10 carries for only 30 yards and caught 3 passes for 16 yards, including a touchdown. I was given 6 stokes for the game.

We're off week 13 and I got to watch the Auburn game. They beath LSU 31-19 to set up next week's showdown with us. We're both 6-1 in the conference, the winner gets to go to the conference title game.

Week 14: #11 Auburn (8-2) comes to town. This is the biggest game of my college career, and I'm actually healthy for it. They lead 17-16 after 3 quarters. Just over a minute into the 4th they score on a 11 yard pass to go up 24-16. We answered with a 46 yard touchdown pass and coverted the 2 point conversion to tie it at 24 with 11:26 to go in the game. With 5:44 to go they had a 56 yard touchdown pass on broken coverage to go up 31-24. We went 3 and out to follow. They were then able to go on an 11 play 72 yard drive to run out th eclock and win the game 31-24. I had no room to run, 12 carries for just 31 yards. I had 2 catches for 18 yards. A very mediocre season, and I was hoping for something more.

Bowl Birth: We are playing in the Clip-on Tie Bowl against Georgia Tech (6-5). We won 20-14 to end 7-5. I had 14 carries for 67 yard and 7 catches for 40 yards.


For the season I had only 617 yards rushing and 38 catches for 269 yards. Nothing to even make the pros want to consider me. Hopefully I'll at least go late in the draft. I'll have to work really hard to show them what I can do in the predraft workouts.


My Vikings got a little better at 8-8 this past season. Billy's friend Martin Gaines had 100 receptions this season.


Time to get myself in shape and hope for the best when the draft rolls around.

[EagleFan]

The waiting is getting to me. The first round has completed and I knew I wan't going in round one, I hope that maybe a late round selection.

Round two has completed and nothing yet, but I still expect it to be late. I knew there was no way that I would go on day one.


After a nervous night spent with Rhoda, we alked around campus and watched some TV. A rerun of Law and Order: Pet Unit was on. I think they've stretched that show about as far as they can with 32 spinoffs.


Day two has begun and it's up to the start of the 5th round with no word yet. I was hoping that the Vikings would take me, it would be great to play in front of the home fans.

Round 5 is done, still nothing. Just 2 rounds to go. I've been thinking about the possibility of not being taken and know there is a chance with all the injury time I missed.

No word after round 6. One more round to go and it could be the end of football for me.

Last pick of the draft, not me. Damn, I guess that might be all for me. I'll still try this summer to see if I can get picked up as a free agent but if I can;t I'll just start my life outside of football.

For now I'll enjoy the rest of my senior year and keep working out.

[EagleFan]

Spent the summer trying out for a couple teams. Finally St. Louis signed me prior to the preseason games. A 1 year, $340,000 contract. Wow, that's a lot of money. I know it's not what stars make, but it's more than the average person so I'm beyond happy.



Preseason Game 1: We beat Kansas City 31-15. I didn;t get in the game much at all. Had just 3 carries for -1 yards.

Preseason Game 2: In a 16-13 loss to Buffalo but I got to show off my speed in the little action that I saw. 2 carries for 59 yards, with 1 being a 59 yard touchdown.

Preseason Game 3: A 9-3 win over San Diego. I had 3 carried for 9 yards. It looks like the bench will be my position this season.

Preseason Game 4: A 30-27 loss to Cincinnati. I had a whole 3 carried for 6 yards. Kind of dampening my enthusiasm a bit but I'm still getting a lot of money for this.

[EagleFan]

I've made the team as a backup and the coach says that I will see some playing time this season. I just need to keep a positive attitude and hope for the best.


Week 1: Tennessee comes to town for the season opener. They beat us rather easily 36-21. This losing thing seems to be following me a little too much since getting out of high school. I did get 3 carries but only for 2 total yards. Not a great debut.

Week 2: New Orleans comes into town and edges us 24-20, actually it was a very late touchdown that even made it that close. I did get 16 yards on 4 carries, a little better than the first game.

Week 3: Another home game and yet another loss as Atlanta beats us 31-14. Our fans are really starting to get upset and we're getting blasted on the talk radio lately. I had 6 carries but gained only 3 yards total, I haven't had any room to run at all.

Week 4: At San Francisco this week. We held a 20-14 lead with under a minute left and then Terrell Owens torched us for a 78 yard touchdown to beat us 21-20. He's fast for his age. I'm getting there, 8 carries for 35 yards. At 0-4 it's not looking good for us as a team though.

Week 5: We travel to New York to play the Giants. Not much offense at all but we come away with a 7-6 win to go 1-4. I had 5 carries for 26 yards.

Week 6: A bye week and I went home to visit my family and to go to a Vikings game with my dad. They beat Tampa 31-10. It really took me back to being a kid and watching the Vikings with dad. Felt good to go home again.

Week 7: Hosting Carolina and beat them badly, 37-7, to improve to 2-4. Their only score was a punt return for a touchdown with just over 2 minutes to go in the game. I had the most carries of my career so far with 12, but only managed 27 yards.

Week 8: We travel to Pittsburgh this week and got to see them destroy us 34-7. I had 5 carries for 7 yards. We only managed 5 first downs. We're now 2-5.

Week 9: We host San Francisco and lose 33-27 in overtime. I had 8 carries for 16 yards. We're 2-6 and looking towards next season.

Week 10: Green Bay comes to town and beats us 17-14 to make us 2-7. I had 6 carries for 12 yards.

Week 11: We travel to New Orleans and come away with a 38-14 win to go 3-7. I had 11 carries for 33 yards, including my first NFL touchdown on a 7 yard run. I also had my first reception for 10 yards.

Week 12: We travel to Carolina and lose badly, 48-21. We're now 3-8. I did have 7 carries for 30 yards.

Week 13: We host Philadelpphia and beat them 27-17. I had 8 carries for 5 yards with no room to run at all again. We're 4-8, just 4 more wins away from .500.

Week 14: We travel to Cincinnati, this should be an easy win. Unfortunately it is about as embarrasing as it can get as we lose 31-28 to the Bengals. They scored 10 points in the final 3 minutes to beat us. I finally got to break one and had 5 carries for 71 yards. We're 4-9 and officially out of the playoffs now.

Week 15: We just add insult to injury as we go to Chicago and lose to the Bears, 25-19. I had only 10 yards on 7 carries. Luckily the coach keeps giving me chances but I haven't been able to capitalize on them. We're 4-10.

Week 16: We host Jacksonville and come away with a 27-3 win to go 5-10. I feel like I am going backwards now. I had 9 carries for 2 total yards.

Week 17: The misery is over finally. We travel to Atlanta and take our frustrations out on them with a 31-3 win. I had 4 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.


My rookie season stats:
108 carries
330 yards
3.0 yards per carry
2 touchdowns

1 catch
10 yards

1 tackle


Philadelphia beat Cincinnati in the Super Bowl 38-24 to win the title this season. Tim Couch won the Super Bowl MVP for Philadelphia.

Time to start working on my strength a little more. I need to be better at breaking tackles and I think my speed could then start to show itself.

[EagleFan]

With my one year contract up I wait out the free agency period. St. Louis hasn't discussed any kind of new offer with me. I have tried to talk with a couple other teams but there seems to be little interest.

The draft has arrived and still nothing from any team. I will hopefully get to one of the training camps so I can have another shot at things.


Unfortunately the season will be starting soon and still nothing. I have decided to go back home and take my dad up on his offer. He has gotten me a chance to coach my old high school team. Coach retired after 35 years with the team last season. Luckily my dad has a lot of pull in the town and I think that might be good for me. It'll give me a chance to stay in the game that I really love.


I'll be heading home and meeting with the school to discuss the possibility. It's not certain yet as they have a couple other dandidates that actually have a better resume than I do. I figure this way I have something going on until I hopefully hear from a team and get an offer.

[EagleFan]

I got the job as the high school coach. Being the first member of my high school team to make the pros, though just for one season, seems to have some benefits back home.

I used my experience from when I was in high school and knowing what coach used to put us through before the season to get everyone ready. I tried not to be as tough on them as coach used to be though.

As we prepare for our first game it is brutally obvious to me that we won't be able to just let our skill players win the games for us. We have good players but no-one that is returning is of star caliber. I do like the defense that we have, they all have learned a lot from working with coach the past couple seasons and there are some freshman that look like they might really turn into something in a couple years.

I'm looking forward to a change in roles for me in football. It's an interesting challenge and I hope I can take what I've learned from everyone in my past and use it to make this work for me.

[EagleFan]

My first season as a football coach. Feels kind of strange being on this end of it. I like the group of players that I have but we're not the most athletic team in the region. We'll have to play as a team to win some games.


Our first game we played the preseason favorite and I got schooled by their coach. They beat us by 30 and we looked awful out there. I got a little too predictable, I think. He seemed to be reading my mind on all of my calls.


Over the next 4 weeks we split the games to go 2-3. I have definitely started to get a better feel for the team and don't think that I am as predictable as game one.


We then went on a tear down the stretch to win the last 5 games of the season. We ended up 7-3 and just missed the playoffs thanks to our poor start. Our defense is what did it for us. My defensive coordinater is really good at getting the kids to respond to his system and changing it to match what talent he has. That was womething that I learned witht he offense as the season wore on.


We were picked as a .500 team this season and without any star players we had a great 7-3 record. The seniors got to graduate on a winning note and that's the most important part. I've been talking to my old high school coach and getting tips from him on how to handle the kids and some other coaching tips.


It's been a great learning experience for me. I hope to do much better next season and am really enjoying this. I think I found what I want to do with my life. Even if I can;t be on the field at least I can still be around the game, even though it's just as a high school coach.

[EagleFan]

During the offseason I worked at a local grocery store in the receiving department. Lugging around the freight makes for a great workout to go along with the daily workouts that I also do.

I haven't heard from any pro teams yet but I still am keeping up the hope. I also got to look over the team that I'll have next season. We won't be graduating any of the potential key players so I am hopeful.

The Vikings didn't bring me any joy angain this season, with yet another 5-11 record. The team is getting ripped by the local stations. Even Martin Gaines is getting his share of complaints about his play. He seems to be about the only one that still believes in the coach, I think they are due for a change.

Maybe I can turn my coaching 'career' into a Vikings job. Okay, enough of that dreaming. Right now I have to start looking into getting the game plans ready for next season and trying to come up with some good new ways to use the team that I have.


I met with my high school coach in the offseason to talk football. It was great talking with him on the same level instead of the player/coach level as in the past. We discussed a lot of different things about strategy and basically just how to handle players. He has a lot of knowledge that I would really like to tap into.

He mentioned a couple old freinds of his that I should meet. He was impressed with my dedication to the game and wanted to help me learn as much as I could. He says that he can see big things in my future if I keep the attitude where it is.

One of his friends has something to do with some college in Alaska, another is actually a line coach in the NFL. This should be fun getting the various views and opinions. He said there was one last person that he will introduce me to, given the chance but wouldn't tell me who. All he said is that this person may have the ability to help change my life. I hate surprises, especially potentially life altering ones. The only thing I want surprising me is the Olsen twins in a hot tub, they just turned 30 this year but they still have it. Oddly enough, I just found out they were actually in some TV program when they were babies with some annoying guy that seemed to think he's funny. Hard to imagine them as kids after their Penthouse spread they did last year. I'll never look at a Tootsie Pop the same again, but now I know the answer to that age old question.


I should get going now. Me and my newest girlfriend Alley are going to camp out to see if we can get tickets to see Ben Lewis next month. He's got 3 shows and they think he'll sell out in a couple hours. I just saw a photo layout in the last month's issue of People. He's got one hell of a house. He calls it BenELand, not sure of the significance to the name.

[EagleFan]

We were able to get tickets to the concert and Alley loved it, she is a huge fan of his. After the concert we had a chance to meet him briefly and Alley really loved that. It was a great night overall.


Later that week I met with Coach again and he introduced me to the offensive line coach of the Bengals. He used to play for Coach a while ago and they have remained in touch. It was a day of talking football and just life in general. It was a really valuable experience to get a whole different outlook on things.

I am also seeing the real man behind Caoch's tough exterior that I saw when playing for him. He is a very intelligent and emotional person. I had no idea that he had a son that was killed in the Gulf War, I was too young to even remember that war. He went through hell and back during that time, I can't imagine what that must be like, and I hope I never find out.


As we left, Coach asked me to meet him again the following week. He said that is when his friend will be in the area and wants me to meet him. This is the big surprise, it seems. I'm a little anxious to find out what may be a life altering meeting.


Back at home I have been killing a little free time, when not at work, by playing a couple computer games. It's a fun way to get away from it all. My favorite is a little text sim, Front Office Football 12. It's made by the same guy that created that smash hit Front Office Curling.


It's getting to be time for work so I should be going. We have a big shipment coming in today so I'll be exhausted by the time I get home so I told Alley I would just call her tommorrow.

[EagleFan]

The week at work was hell. My boss is really getting on my nerves. I need to get a better job, I just with the coaching thing paid a little more.

I had a huge fight with my boss. It seems that someone changed the numbers on the time sheets. He is the only one that has the access to it but claims that he didn;t do it and then went on to be a total ass. He has a grudge against me for some reason. Henry Manson, a name that I just can't wait to get away from.

There is some new guy this week that I was talking to, he is pretty cool. Quinton Sanders is his name, he's a graduate from the local college and is trying to get into teaching. He keeps us on out toes with all sorts of interesting little mind twisting puzzles. The running joke is that if you don;t know the answer, guess 2/3 as that seems to be the ultimate answer for a lot of them.


My personal life took a turn for the worse as Alley and I broke up. We had a huge fight over some really stupid stuff. I'm more pissed that she got so upset over little stupid things. She said I wasn't spending enough time with her, it was like she needed me every hour of every day. My dad said he was trapped in the den, he heard what was going on and wasn't sure if he should walk through the room or not.


I did get to meet with coach and his freind. Come to find out it was the owner of the Vikings. It seemd they went to school together. We got to talk about football for a while and I was nervous as hell. I kept hoping that I was going to get offered a job. All it turned out to be was an internship for the summer, to see some of the behind the scenes stuff. I said that I would because any exposure is good.


I also heard some great news for the future of my football team. A freshman from a different school in our area is going to be moving into our town and that means he'll be at our school. This kid looks like he will be a great quarterback by his junior year. That could mean big things for the team.


Will be going out with some old high school friends tonight. We're heading out to a local bar to see a couple bands play and have a few drinks, guys night out. Actually that was what started the fight with Alley and me.