Jeff Freeman: A Tribute

[SteveBailey]

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.



Hello all, I am Steve Bailey, sports writer for the Dallas Daily News. I have recently completed the biography of Jeff Freeman. I will present this work in serial form for free to allow Jeff’s fans the chance to learn more about the legendary football player and coach. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thanks,
Steve Bailey

[SteveBailey]

A person would be hard pressed to find a more divisive character in the history of college football than Jeff Freeman. His fans and friends swear by his innate football skill and his undying loyalty to his friends, while his detractors commonly point out the long list of character defects and poor decisions Jeff made during his career. However it is universally accepted that Jeff Freeman had an astounding impact on the game of college football that will not be soon forgotten. In this biography I have gathered interviews, newspaper articles, first hand accounts, and my own personal knowledge of Jeff’s football career into a comprehensive look into the life of a man who meant so much to so many people in so many different ways. Much is already widely known about Freeman due to the news media’s never ending coverage of him. However, this book will be a honest and forthright look into his life and career and will hopefully show college football fans a new perspective of the events of my friend’s career.

[SteveBailey]

Jeffrey Samuel Freeman was born on May 5, 1993 in Houston, Texas. Little is known about Jeff’s father, Johnny Freeman. Johnny lived in the Houston area his whole life working construction jobs where he could find them. Jeff’s mother, Tammy Davis, was born in a small town in northeast Texas called Mount Pleasant. She moved to Houston directly after high school and met Johnny Freeman where she soon became pregnant with Johnny’s son. In a tragic construction accident Johnny was killed, leaving young Tammy and her newborn son to fend for themselves in Houston. Tammy worked hard to provide for her son and they lived fairly comfortable live given their circumstances. Even from a young age it was evident that Jeff was a gifted athlete, however he did not play any organized sports while living in Houston. Once he made it to high school he fell in with what his mother called “the wrong crowd” and his grades suffered. Tammy feared her son was going to drop out of high school, so during the spring of Jeff’s junior year of high school she sent him to live with her parents in Mount Pleasant.

[SteveBailey]

I met Jeff at the start of the spring semester of our junior year of high school. I had lived in Mount Pleasant my entire life and worked part-time with my dad for the local newspaper. I also played football for the Mount Pleasant High varsity squad. I was in the school office when a new kid walked in. He was about 6'-1" with an athletic build. He walked up to the secretary's desk and said "I'm Jeff Freeman, this is my first day of school here." The secretary gave him a schedule and asked me if I would help him to his first class, so Jeff and I made our way to the hallway to our first class. I asked him "So, it says on your schedule you're taking P.E....why aren't you playing football?" He replied "I have never played actual football before." I told him "Well, just looking at you, you should at least try out." He said he would think about it and we parted ways. At the end of the day I went to the football locker rooms to get ready for our offseason workouts and Jeff was there talking with Coach Sampson. We were going to do some drills that week to see where each player was physically and try to get a rough depth chart started for next year's team. The following is an interview I had with Tom Sampson, head football coach for Mount Pleasant High:

Steve Bailey: "Coach, what do you remember about Jeff's first day of offseason training?"

Coach Sampson: "Freeman told me he had never played football before, so I wasn't expecting much, but he had the build to be a good player. So we go out with everyone to try to sort everyone into positions and I decide to let Jeff throw a few balls to see where he was at"

SB: "What happened then?"

CS: "He dropped back, threw the ball to one of our young wide outs, and threw it so hard he broke two of the kids fingers! Me and our offensive coach at the time, Jim Suiter knew we had our next quarterback."

SB: "Was there anything else about Jeff you noticed at the time?"

CS: "He was cocky, even back then. He had never played a down of organized football in his life but he felt like he owned the field, the team, everything. Looking back now I think that's what made him great, and caused alot of his problems."

- End of this portion of interview

Jeff was placed at the top of the depth chart and worked during the spring and summer to learn football for the first time.

[JJunior23]

Don't give up. This could be something good here

[packabacka19]

Quote: Originally Posted by JJunior23

Don't give up. This could be something good here

Agreed. Keep this thing going.