Midway through spring practice my life took an unexpected shift that caused me to veer off course. I signed to come to Tennessee because I was promised that I would be a part of the legacy of great receivers. I made it clear that I wanted to play wide receiver in college. Before spring practice I had meeting with Coach Steele and Brown. They presented me the idea to move to defensive back citing that I could potentially start quicker on defense. The receiver position was loaded with quality talent and experience, but the secondary wasn’t as experience or loaded. Victor Peppers and Terry McDaniels, starting corners, moved on to the next level. Preston Warren, Tony Nelson and Jeremy Lincoln were the only cornerbacks on scholarship. Cedric Kline,
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That’s when the psychological games started. Taking a tip from police investigators, Coach Brown played bad coach while Coach Steele played the good coach role. As a receiver, I felt like an unwanted step-child. Coach Brown and I never had any issues because I truly respected him as a coach and person. However, I didn’t get the same vibe from him. He wasn’t rude or condescending in any way, it was more about subtle things he did that made me feel unwelcomed. Off the field, he barely had anything to say to me other than speaking, but with the other receivers he joked and engaged conversation with them. At first, I didn’t pay it much attention chalking it up because they had a longer relationship with …show more content…
They duped into believing that they had a genuine interest in my passage into adulthood, but I was just a piece of property that belonged to UT for the next four years. If this was any indication of how they treat their players, I wanted no part of UT football. I started to lose interest in football activities. I avoided training, lifting weights, practicing, or studying film unless it was mandatory. Even then it was difficult for me to focus and I had difficulties remembering plays. Overtime, my feelings of rejection from being moved angered me tremendously. Overtime, my rebellious spirit started gravitating towards the regular students as a means of escape. At first it started innocently playing cards, socializing and having a good time. I have always been a beer drinker, but I started drinking more. I reached the point where I was drinking at least a six pack of beer a day. On the weekends I would drink rum, vodka or brandy. My rebellious spirit continued to spiral out of control summer. The only thing I accomplished that summer was mastering the art of playing cards. Most of the summer students stayed in Humes
That’s when the psychological games started. Taking a tip from police investigators, Coach Brown played bad coach while Coach Steele played the good coach role. As a receiver, I felt like an unwanted step-child. Coach Brown and I never had any issues because I truly respected him as a coach and person. However, I didn’t get the same vibe from him. He wasn’t rude or condescending in any way, it was more about subtle things he did that made me feel unwelcomed. Off the field, he barely had anything to say to me other than speaking, but with the other receivers he joked and engaged conversation with them. At first, I didn’t pay it much attention chalking it up because they had a longer relationship with …show more content…
They duped into believing that they had a genuine interest in my passage into adulthood, but I was just a piece of property that belonged to UT for the next four years. If this was any indication of how they treat their players, I wanted no part of UT football. I started to lose interest in football activities. I avoided training, lifting weights, practicing, or studying film unless it was mandatory. Even then it was difficult for me to focus and I had difficulties remembering plays. Overtime, my feelings of rejection from being moved angered me tremendously. Overtime, my rebellious spirit started gravitating towards the regular students as a means of escape. At first it started innocently playing cards, socializing and having a good time. I have always been a beer drinker, but I started drinking more. I reached the point where I was drinking at least a six pack of beer a day. On the weekends I would drink rum, vodka or brandy. My rebellious spirit continued to spiral out of control summer. The only thing I accomplished that summer was mastering the art of playing cards. Most of the summer students stayed in Humes