Catching Controversy | The Legend of Ethan Woy

[Woy]

Last Hurrah


#12 Syracuse Orange (9-3) vs. #5 Oregon State Beavers (10-2)

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me," I whispered Philippians 4:13 to myself while the rest of the team started to put on their jerseys. After I finished my prayer, I opened my eyes and started going through my routine; possibly for the last time. Socks, pants, Spider-man cut-off and finally the white Syracuse number 15 jersey that I've grown to love over the last three years...it would be tough to let that go.

Coach came out and went through his gameplan, then he left the stage open for me to speak. Walking to the middle of the locker-room, I gathered my thoughts for a few seconds before finally delivering my pre-game speech.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm not satisfied yet. 60 minutes stand between being us just another good program or rising to the elite again. Win and we'll be remembered as the team who helped resurrect Syracuse football. Lose and we'll be forgotten. Do you want to be remembered? I know I sure as fuck want to be! Now for the final time, who we are!?"

"SU!"

"And what we do!?"

"Stomp on you!"

"I said, what we do!?"

"Stomp on you!"

"One, two, three..."

"SU will rock you!"

...

"And now here are your Big East champion Syracuse Orange!"

The sky was cloudless and the temperature was just right as we ran out to a loud ovation from the Syracuse fans who made the trip. From there, Ryan and I walked out for the coin toss, facing Jacquizz and their All-Pac 10 quarterback Ryan Katz. They won the toss and decided to play offense first while I pointed at the north goal. Jacquizz avoided me when it came to shake hands and we ran back to our respective sidelines awaiting the kickoff.

If you would have blinked at all in the first 15 minutes, you would have missed a boring first quarter. Consisting of three-and-out after three-and-out, there was barely 50 yards of offense between the two teams as we went into the second quarter, 0-0.

Finally things got exciting when our defense forced Oregon State into another fourth down. Their punter unleashed a booming kick that played right into Torian's returning strengths. The coverage was out of place and Torian found a large seam, breaking it for a big 66-yard touchdown that sent Landshark Stadium into a frenzy.

Then it was Oregon State's star receiver, Micah Hatfield, and not Jacquizz who put on a show on the Beavers next drive. Katz and Hatfield hooked up four times, including a 13-yard touchdown from a perfectly thrown fade route. The scoring stalled after that and both teams went into the locker-room at halftime tied at seven.

...

"Phillips to receive the second half opening kickoff...it's caught at the three. He starts up-field, makes a man miss...has some blocking...watch out! He's to the 50 with just the kicker to beat, coasts right past him! The 30, 20, 10...touchdown Syracuse! Torian Phillips has done it again!"

14-7 ten seconds into the second half turned into 21-7 within a minute after Katz made a mistake and threw a pick-six to Rishard. Everything was going wrong for the Beavers with Katz starting to struggle and Jacquizz not finding any sort of running room.

I still thought we needed one more score to completely put the game out of reach. After Torian fair-caught a punt early in the fourth quarter, we jogged out looking for that dagger. Coach Green called a run play in the huddle but after Ryan scanned the defense pre-snap, he made a hand gesture in my direction to go deep.

...

"Nassib takes the snap, fakes the hand-off to Collier and will look to pass. He has Woy deep and lets it go...it's caught! Woy to the 30, the 20, 10...touchdown Syracuse! That might be the dagger folks!"

I tossed the ball back to the ref and then when he wasn't looking, I got down on one knee and started using my invisible hammer to shut the coffin for good. This one was over.

Oregon State got two touchdowns late, but the damage was already done. The clock hit triple zeros and we gave Coach Marrone another Gatorade shower celebrating our accomplishment. This wasn't just a BCS bowl game win; no, this was the game that marked our return to college football's elite. I threw my Orange Bowl champion hat and shirt on with a smile, finally knowing whether this was my last collegiate game or not.

"And Syracuse is your 2012 Orange Bowl champions! Congratulations!"

The trophy was handed to Coach Marrone, who raised it high above his head to the cheers of 70,000+. He was then interviewed for a few minutes before they brought out another trophy; the one for the MVP of the Orange Bowl.

"It's been an incredible season for this young man. With 12 catches for nearly 200 yards and the last Syracuse touchdown, this Heisman winner definitely was a good choice for this award. Your Orange Bowl MVP ladies and gentlemen is junior receiver Ethan Woy!"

I was pushed up front by my teammates as I went to accept the award. The fans stood up to give me a standing ovation and started chanting "one more year" in hopes that I would return for a shot at the national title.

"Congratulations Ethan, what an incredible performance you put on out there tonight."

"Thanks Jeff. This was our goal at the beginning of the season, to be here tonight on this stage, and it feels so good."

"There are speculations that you might declare for the 2012 NFL Draft soon. Would you like to address those?"

The chanting gradually got louder and louder as I smiled and soaked it all in.

"Yeah, I'm declaring for the draft right now. I'm sorry to all my fans here at Syracuse, but it's been one hell of a ride. I'm so glad I committed here three years ago and wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I set a goal to become one of the greats in school history and help resurrect the program and I feel like I accomplished both. I'm honored that I'll be related to Syracuse for the rest of my life. Thanks for the memories."

And with that, I walked off the stage and off the field for the last time to the chants of "Heisman" and "Spider-man." This was exactly what I wanted.

#12 Syracuse 28
#5 Oregon State 21


12 catches, 194 yards, 1 TD

[Woy]

Meeting the Head Scout

The night was young as two villains sat in a dark basement with just an overhead light bulb lighting up the center. After hours of brainstorming and coming up with just some far-fetched ideas, they finally finished and decided on a simple plan that would hopefully be effective.

"When do you want me to carry this out?"

"Two weeks. Let the hype die down from their Orange Bowl win and then execute the plan."

"And when will I get paid?

"When this is done. I don't pay unless the work is carried out."

"Deal."

...

After coming home to thousands of excited fans, I kept a low profile and started my training for the NFL. Three straight days of busting my ass and packing on muscle, I decided to reward myself with a night out at one of my favorite places; Buffalo Wild Wings.

"Good choice," Ryan said as he patted me on the back. "I don't remember the last time I've been here."

"Yeah B-Dubz is pretty boss," I replied. "They just built one back home last summer and I went there to eat at least three days a week."

"Damn, you're addicted man," Averin laughed. "Who you got in the game tonight?"

"Miami. I hate those Buckeye fuckers, haha."

The tables were pretty much filled up and they said it would be an hour wait, but after the host recognized us, they let us in before all the others. I felt a little bad for the ones that were there for over an hour, but it wasn't my decision to jump all of them in line.

After ordering my food from a waitress Ryan and Averin were enamored with, I got up from my seat and went to wash my hands. The bathroom seemed pretty empty as I turned on the sink. When I turned it off and looked back up, I turned around to see a guy in a Cleveland Browns polo and hat.

"Autograph session here tonight, Mr. Woy?"

"Nah," I sheepishly replied. "Me and a few teammates just decided to come out for dinner and the game."

"Yeah, must be tough knowing you won't get that chance that Terrelle Pryor and A.J. Highsmith are getting tonight." Then he put his hand out for a friendly handshake. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. Name's Paul Warfield, scout for the Cleveland Browns."

"Nice to meet you sir," I replied, returning the gesture. "What brings you out to Syracuse?"

"Well I was sent to talk to you about possibly being the number one overall pick in April. How does that sound to you?"

I thought about it for a few seconds. Obviously the Browns are horrible, otherwise they'd have at least a pick in the middle of the round. Colt McCoy looked like he was one weapon away from being a good quarterback in the league but their defense needed tons of work.

"Sounds pretty good," I answered with a grin. "Why aren't you targeting defense in the draft though?"

"Oh we are. But you're clearly the best player on the board in our opinion. If we passed on you, I know we'd regret it." Then he looked at his watch and started to walk towards the door. "I gotta go though. Could we set up a meeting on, say, the 16th?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

...

"...two, one, and that's it! Miami rode an outstanding performance by quarterback A.J. Highsmith and they are the champions of the college football world! The final here from Landshark Stadium is Miami 29, Ohio State 24."

As most of the customers filed out of Buffalo Wild Wings, I kept my eyes focused on the TV screen where Randy Shannon and the Hurricanes were accepting the AFCA National Championship Trophy. They looked so happy out there and it made me wonder for a second how much better that felt from winning just a regular BCS game.

It would have to be something I'd have to go my life without.

[Woy]

Change of Heart

After meeting Mr. Warfield of the Browns, I spent the next few days continuing to prepare me for the NFL Draft. Day after day in the gym, balancing my meals - I was doing everything I could to help my case for the number one pick, even though Cleveland said they'd most likely take me.

The night before the actual deadline to declare, I was sitting in the living room watching Mark May and Lou Holtz talk about Miami's chances to repeat next season, when Melyssa came out of the bathroom with just a towel on.

"Whatcha watching babe?" she asked as she sat down by me on the couch.

"Ah I'm just flipping through channels," I replied, turning down the volume and putting the remote down. "Do you think I made the right decision?"

"About what?" she questioned. I raised my eye-brow to tell her non-verbally that she knew what I was talking about and she sighed when it finally came to her. "Oh...I think you did. Sure, an education would go far especially if you get hurt early in your career, but this is guaranteed money. We can buy a nice house and give Sean Joseph a great environment to grow up in. It would be a whole lot better than living in this crammed, little apartment here."

"Yeah I think I did too," I said. "But I know I'm going to miss this place so much."

"I completely understand. If I were in your position, I'd miss this experience too. You can only go through college once and they say it's the best time of your life."

She had a great point there. I could go to the NFL any time and play for so many years; assuming I don't get hurt. The college experience only happens once and I can't tell you how much fun I had last season. How much more fun would senior year be possibly? But I already made the commitment to the Cleveland Browns that I was coming out, there's no way I could back-stab them and reverse my decision.

"I think I'm going to head to bed," I told Mel as I got up from the couch. "My head's hurting a bit."

"Alright, I'll be there in a bit."

---

"Hello?"

"Hey Tim, what's up?"

"Nothing really, just working around the house. What are you up to?"

"About to announce my commitment on NBC."

"Oh shit...really? Where are you going?"

"That's why I called. Any advice you can give me? I don't know where I want to go."

"The only advice I can tell you is to follow your heart. Decide with it and not what others think."

"Thanks Tim."

"No prob man, now get up there and do your thing."

---

Waking up at three in the morning was a common thing for me back as a freshman and sophomore. I'd be drenched in a cold sweat after a bad flashback or a dream I didn't understand, but this time it was different. Before I fell asleep, I was a NFL draft prospect, but now I was feeling indifferent.

A flashback to my signing day brought me to a phone conversation I had with a family friend, Tim Lucko. Follow my heart? Was my heart even into jumping to the NFL now? Or did I declare because I thought it was the "right thing" to do? My heart and mind were telling me two different things and I didn't know what to do.

After thinking about it for a few more minutes, I got out of bed, picked up my phone and walked out to the living room quietly so I didn't wake up Melyssa. Despite it being 3:30, I scrolled down to the C's on my contact list and called the third name on there.

"Ethan Woy, what the hell are you doing calling me at 3:30 in the morning?"

"Coach, I just wanted to let you know that I'm staying."

After hearing the excitement in his response, I smiled to myself, knowing I made the right decision.

[Woy]

Reunite

Waking up around 10, I had a missed text message from Coach saying about a press conference for all the declaring juniors. He wanted me to be there to talk about reversing my decision, which my teammates didn't know about yet. I accepted and jumped into the shower to get ready for my announcement that would shock the college football landscape.

...

"Ready to take the NFL by storm next season?" Ryan asked me as the reporters started to file into the press room.

"Actually I'm staying," I told him which by his expression, didn't seem to shock him. "I just feel at home here at Syracuse and wanted one more go around."

He looked down, twiddling his thumbs, before poking his head back up. "I kinda saw it coming. And don't worry, I'm not mad. Maybe we can still find ourselves on the same team someday. And if not? I'll make sure my team beats your team's ass."

We both laughed. "We'll see bro, we'll see."

The table consisted of Ryan, Coach Marrone and I as the journalists started asking questions. But Coach calmed them down and let us announce our intentions first.

"After some thinking, I have decided to declare for the 2012 NFL Draft," Ryan said, shocking no one. "I've had a great run here at Syracuse and thank my coaches and teammates for all they've done...but I feel like I'm ready to jump to the pros."

"And I've decided to stay at Syracuse for my senior season," I revealed, shocking everyone minus Ryan and Coach in the room. "I feel like I rushed my decision after the Orange Bowl because I was riding an emotional high, but after some long thinking, I felt too attached to the school to leave a season early."

Then I noticed an extra chair beside me and quickly saw it filled up by our offensive coordinator, Coach Jeremy Green. Not having a clue what this was about, I sat back in my seat anxious to hear what he had to say.

"Ryan was an incredible player last season and he will missed, but I'm confident that Charley can fill his role well next season. Obviously though, having a Heisman winning receiver return for his senior year will help a little bit as well. Unfortunately, I won't get the opportunity to coach them."

The entire room, minus Coach Marrone, was shocked when the last statement came out of Coach Green's mouth. "Did Marrone fire Jer?" I thought to myself, but quickly shook off my stupid assumption.

"That's because I have accepted the head coaching position at Robert Morris University who had an all-time great in Joe Walton retire a few days ago. I'm glad that Coach Marrone supports me in this decision and hope you all can do the same."

Coach Marrone tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, "You know what this means?"

I sat there without a clue. "What's that?"

"Remember your old high school coach, Waltman?"

---

"Say Coach, if a certain position would open up with the team, would you consider leaving here?"

"Syracuse? Yeah, possibly. I think Angelo can do a fine job as the head coach here. Why?"

"Well, our offensive coordinator is looking to make a name for himself and some FCS teams have called about his services. I doubt he leaves this year, but maybe next year? Anyways, Coach Marrone wanted to know if I had anyone in mind if he did decide to leave and your name instantly came to mind."

"Oh wow, if that job is open at the end of the season, throw my name into the discussion and we'll see what happens."

---

"Are you serious!?" I excitingly asked, finally realizing what he was getting at.

"Yeah he just accepted last night. I figured to use him as a bargaining tool to keep you in school, but I obviously didn't have to do that, haha."

I laughed and shook his hand. "You won't regret the hire, I promise."

Despite not being even close to spring practice yet, this season was already shaping up to be a lot of fun.

[Woy]

End

Reactions from campus were what you'd imagine. Everyone was all smiles - most of them drunken smiles - who were celebrating every night, because their Heisman winning hero was coming back for another year.

Now instead of preparing for the NFL draft, I talked to Coach Boeheim and asked if I could rejoin the team when I got back into basketball shape and he obliged. Sure, it would only be for a little more than a month - not including the Big East and NCAA tournament - but it's better than sitting on my ass and getting ready for spring practice. I'm kind of like what Brett Favre was back in the day before he finally retired for good; I'd do anything to get out of off-season work.

...

"You enjoying yourself tonight?" I asked Mel before taking another bite out of my steak. I decided to take her out for a nice dinner to kind of celebrate my decision to stay at Syracuse, plus I felt like I haven't done anything special for her in a while.

"Yeah this is great," she replied, smiling. "It's about time you do something nice for me again."

"Hey! You know I've been busy with this whole draft bullshit lately."

"Calm down, I was just joking," she said, pushing me away playfully. "You don't know how happy I am that you're staying in school."

"I thought you didn't mind either way?"

"I didn't, but I had a preference. And that preference was you staying in school. Now I can get my degree and find a job at wherever you're drafted."

I grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let me pay for this and we'll get out of here."

...

"Am I really about to do this?" she asked herself as the Syracuse campus passed on the right.

At the next red light, she pulled open her glove box and pulled out a large knife, something resembling a dagger, with the initials CP carved into them. Then pulling down her sun visor, she saw the picture of him and her together and shook her head. She couldn't believe it had to come down to this.

...

"Wait till we get inside!" Melyssa said as I continued to kiss her neck. "Then we can do whatever you want."

"I like the sound of that," I responded mischievously as I opened my car door.

We got out of my car and walked into the house. Right away we dropped our stuff and ran off into the bedroom for a night of fun, but were interrupted with a phone call to Melyssa's cell.

"Who is it, hun?"

"Didn't show up on the caller ID."

That phonecall reminded me to see if I had my phone...

"Fuck, I forgot my phone at the restaurant."

"You want me to come with you? I can get dressed real quick."

"Nah, it won't take more than a few minutes. Put something sexy on for me when I get back though," I suggested, which got us both smiling.

"We'll see," she replied with a wink. "Love you."

I kissed her on the lips and started to walk out to my car. "Love you too."

...

"Must be the place," she said as the GPS confirmed her thoughts. She grabbed the dagger from the passenger seat and pulled out the picture from the sun visor.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way," she whispered, kissing the photo of him and her. "But you left me no choice."

Walking to the front door, her palms started to sweat and her heart started to race. She had second thoughts about doing this the entire drive up here, but there was no backing out now.

One knock on the door provided no response, but the second brought a sound of walking, which got closer and closer. She tightly grasped the dagger in her right hand and as soon as the door opened, she closed her eyes and unleashed a fury of stabs towards the victim's torso. When she finally stopped and opened her eyes, she saw an unpleasant surprise and dropped the dagger.

"Oh my God, what have I done!?"

[Woy]

Suicidal Thoughts

The young woman's body laid motionless on the floor, blood still flooding out of the wounds. Her face was in shock, with her lips barely moving like she was desperately trying to say something.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the instigator shouted, completely regretting what she just did. She felt around for a pulse, got one for a few seconds, then it went away as she dropped the victim's arm and put her hands over her face. This was an absolute nightmare come true.

"What do I do?" she thought to herself, pacing around quickly to figure out how to keep her away from as much trouble as possible. After minutes of thinking, she finally decided on making it look like a suicide. So covered the wounds with a blanket, drug the body onto the couch and placed the dagger in her right hand. Checking herself for blood, she was relieved to find none and ran out of the house to leave the scene.

...

"Damn, they were in a hurry," I thought to myself as a car passed me from the other side of the road going over 100 MPH. I drove as fast I could to the restaurant to retrieve my phone, because I was excited for what the night had in store for Melyssa and I.

Notorious B.I.G.'s voice faded away through my speakers as I turned off and stepped out of the car. All the lights in the house seemed to be on as I put the key in, but the door already seemed to be unlocked, so I just opened the door and walked in to a clean front room.

However, when I walked into the living room, I saw Melyssa sleeping on the couch with something in her hand. When I got closer, I saw it was a knife of some sort and after uncovering the blanket, I realized that I was alone once again.

"No..." I muttered, choked up from the constant tears falling from my eyes. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

I pulled out my phone and dialed three numbers. Immediately I got an answer and after they heard my crying, they told me someone would be over right away. I sat there on the recliner in disbelief, still deeply saddened and confused about the turn of events. What brought this upon Melyssa? Did she really take her own life? Questions without answers were burning a hole into my brain and I didn't know what to do to find them out.

Finally the authorities showed up and asked me what happened. I obviously didn't know and told them that, so they looked around the place and started looking for clues.

"I think we might have something here," the one officer said to the other. He was holding the dagger and I moved in closer to overhear what they were saying.

"Find something?"

"Yeah, someone's initials are carved into this dagger," he replied, holding up so I could see. "Do you know anyone with the initials CP?"

---

"...I will be attending Syracuse University, to play both football and basketball. I went with my heart on this choice. Basketball was my first love ever since junior high, and now having the opportunity to play my favorite sport and my favorite hobby at the same school is a dream come true. I'm sorry to the coaches that didn't get me, believe me, it was a tough decision. I don't really want to answer any questions, sorry..."

"Wrong decision."

---

"I fucking knew it," I muttered, punching the wall beside me. "I can't believe he'd stoop to a level like this."

"Who are you talking about, Mr. Woy?"

"Chris Perry," I spoke up, revealing who I assumed committed this crime. "He's still upset I didn't go to Michigan and said he would get revenge on me. I just didn't know he would do something drastic like this."

"Do you know where he might have went?"

"No clue, but please find him. He shouldn't be able to get away with this."

"I promise we'll find him, Mr. Woy. Now I'm completely sorry about this, but we're going to have to kick your out of your own house for a day as we continue this investigation. We'll let you know when we're done. Now I already called the local hotel and they offered you one of the suite rooms for free."

I nodded my head, wiped another tear from my eye and shook his hand before walking off to my car.

As soon as the car started up, I looked at my picture of Mel and I and couldn't handle the pain. The tears were going to continue to pour from my eyes all night no matter what.

The next song started up on my iPod and I started listening to Biggie talk about ending his life in 'Suicidal Thoughts.' Completely depressed, I decided to hammer on the throttle and risk everything; my friendships, my future career, my life. Nothing seemed worth it with Melyssa gone.

Hitting 130, I didn't face any cars ahead of me and had open roads the entire time. However, the third turn was a very sharp one and I missed it spinning into the direction of a ditch. I tensed up, closed my eyes and hoped for the worst...

...and when I opened them, I saw a smashed windshield in front of me. Rolling down the driver's side window, I crawled out and saw a completely totaled car but no scratches on my body.

Dropping to my knees, I started crying uncontrollably once again, because I didn't know what to do or where to go next. All I knew was that Melyssa was gone and my life would never be the same...

[Woy]

Saying Goodbye

Tick, tock.

---

"...the halo above your head completes the masterpiece,
Be my guardian angel; that one girl that completes me...Melyssa, will you marry me?"

---

Tick, tock.

---

"Whenever we met in Hilton Head, I saw someone I could be with for a long time. And when I saw you in my first class that year, I knew we were supposed to be together. God brought you from those sandy beaches right to me, and for that I'm forever grateful. I know I can finally see someone that loves me for who I am now, and not who I can be later on in life. Melyssa, I love you and always will."

---

I looked at the clock and swore that time was standing still; seconds seemed like days, minutes seemed like years, and hours seemed like centuries. It was like everything was moving in slow motion and that the above world was playing games with me by making me suffer longer with Melyssa gone.

Every day, one of my friends would stop by to see if I was holding up okay. I would tell them that I was fine, but the truth was that I wasn't. However, despite the long nights of crying my eyes out, I never once thought about suicide since I totaled my car on that gloomy night.

Eventually, I started to make more appearances outside my house and received condolences from everyone that saw me. I told Coach Boeheim that my heart wasn't into playing basketball this year and he was completely fine with that, considering my situation and plus the team was on track for another Big East championship.

...

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

I woke up in the afternoon, knowing today was the day I dreaded the most. I met up with Averin and Torian for a lunch where few words were spoken, then got myself together back at home for the night's remembrance. Kissing a picture of Melyssa and I, I held back tears for the umpteenth time this week and slowly walked out the door to get into my old Ford F-150; the same one I was given to by my father during my high school junior year.

When I got to the chapel, I was greeted by many mourners. The room was filled to capacity, as thousands of friends, family and classmates came out to say their goodbyes to the beautiful young woman taken from this world way too early.

Sitting in the front row, I watched as the priest walked to the podium to give his opening statements. One by one, members of her family paid their respects and everyone walked by the coffin to take a look at her one last time.

Finally it was my turn to speak. I walked to the coffin, kissed my hand and placed it on her cheek. "I'll love you forever," I whispered as a tear dropped on the fallen corpse. Then I made my way to the podium, looked down to gather my thoughts, then raised my head to see thousands of saddened folks staring back at me.

"Wow...where can I begin? I'm absolutely crushed that Melyssa isn't with us anymore. She was an incredible young woman who brightened up my day whenever I saw her. Although she's gone far too young, I'm blessed that I got to spend over four years of my life with such an amazing person."

I pulled a tissue out from my back pocket and wiped the tears from my eyes, then started on a story about how we met. I continued with how I proposed to her, tales of our marriage and other random tidbits which had everyone interested. After speaking for a good 10 minutes, I made my closing statement and walked off.

"I promise that I will never love someone as much as I loved Melyssa. No matter how hard I try, I know that I will never recover from this; she meant too much to me."

With one last goodbye, I knew I would have to go to an empty home with an empty heart for a long time.

[Woy]

Rookie Again

After Melyssa's memorial service, things started to calm down around campus. I was obviously still a shell of my former self, but with my decision to stop playing basketball, Coach Marrone invited me to spring practice; not mandatory, but only if I wanted to.

Missing the first two practices, I decided to take Coach's offer even though my heart wasn't into it. Maybe playing the game that I love would keep my mind off of Melyssa and help me regain the happiness that would brighten anyone's day.

...

"Well look who it is!" Averin shouted as I walked into the locker-room. "Glad to have you here, Ethan."

"Nice to be here," I replied as I threw my bag near my locker. "Shit, I just remembered that I've never played spring ball before because of basketball."

Averin chuckled, then pronounced to the entire locker-room, "You hear that guys? Our Heisman winner is a rookie again! And you know what rookies get to do, right?"

Everyone started to laugh as I stood there without a clue about what was going to happen. Then one by one, teammates started lining up, dropping their shoulder pads at my feet and patting me on the back as they jogged out to the field.

I had to make a few trips, but I got all the shoulder pads out there, bringing the last one - my own - to a humorous applause by both the players and coaching staff. I laughed the hazing ritual off, then everyone got focused and went into their position drills.

...

"You and Charley looked pretty sharp out there," Averin noticed as we were done with practice and were at the university cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.

"Yeah, hopefully he can pick up where Ryan left off," I replied, grabbing the cheeseburger that the chef made me. "I'm real excited about this season."

"Me too man, me too." Then his head turned to the TV as a group of students were moving closer and closer to the screen. "Yo, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure," I said as I picked up my plate and moved over to the TV. There was a breaking news update on the local station and it switched to a commercial right before we got there.

"Damn, I wonder if anyone was shot," one of the students said to another as I overheard their conversation.

"Woah, what happened?" I cut them off, stepping into their circle.

"There was a..." he started, before the last commercial ended and the news came back on. "Just watch."

I focused my eyes on the TV as the anchor started to explain the story.

"Shades of the Virginia Tech tragedy hang over the University of Buffalo today as Thomas Nash, a 19-year old football player, killed seven students and injured two others before taking his own life. Nash was a back-up defensive lineman on the Bulls football team and was reportedly tired of the pressure being a student-athlete provided..."

That's all I caught of it before I ran off to my car to get my phone. Scrolling to the B's in my phone, I called the fourth name on the list and waited very impatiently for an answer.

One ring, two ring, three rings went by and I was fearing the worst before I heard a voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"You alright bro?" I asked, relieved that Brad wasn't one of the victims in the shooting.

"Yeah I'm fine," he replied on the other line, still sounding frightened. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"What do you mean?"

"The NCAA is going to come down hard on us, I just know it. I need out of here, Ethan."

"I don't know what to tell you man. I know that Robert Morris just hired my former offensive coordinator and you'd fit their offense perfectly," I suggested. "Plus you wouldn't have to sit out a year."

"Maybe. Wait, didn't Waltman take the offensive coordinator job up down there at the 'Cuse?"

"Yeah he did. I'd tell you to transfer here but I'm not going to red-shirt just to play a year with you."

We both laughed for a good ten seconds before he spoke up. "That would be so awesome. But anyways, I'll look into RMU...maybe I can be the next Joe Flacco or Pat Devlin."

With everything that's gone wrong lately, it was sort of refreshing to know that another bad situation didn't turn out to have extreme consequences concerning me after all.

[Fox1994]

Cool. You got it caught up to where it was, right?

[Woy]

Cool. You got it caught up to where it was, right?

No, because if I had it caught up already, I would be done updating cause I actually finished out the story. I've been posting 10 updates per day until I get to the finale.

[Woy]

Family Reunion

After four more days of practice, we got a break and I spent my day off chillin' with some of my teammates. Averin, Torian and I decided to go check out our number one ranked lacrosse team play in their second game of the season. When we got there, they already had a 5-2 lead on Army going into the second quarter.

We ended up keeping our number one ranking by defeating the Black Knights, 15-12. I didn't get to see much of the action though because there were autographs to be signed and pictures to be taken. Once the final horn sounded, we got back in my truck and drove off to a local sports bar/grill to get dinner.

ESPN was on the TV in front of our table, as Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler were discussing various schools' spring practices and games. I asked the guy beside me if they mentioned us, but they didn't, which made me think they'd get to us later on in the broadcast. As I sat down though, I heard something from a local sports channel on the other side of the room that caught my attention.

"And you have some breaking news regarding the University of Buffalo shootings, right Paul?"

"Yes I do, Tim. It's been reported by multiple sources that the Bulls have demoted their football program to the FCS level. Taking their place in the Mid-American Conference will be last year's FCS champions, the Robert Morris University Colonials. I bet new head coach Jeremy Green, formerly of Syracuse, had the goal of eventually moving up to the FBS coaching ranks and he gets to do that without coaching a game."

I had mixed feelings because I liked seeing Robert Morris move up to the MAC, but now Brad basically had to stay at Buffalo...

...or so I thought.

"Also, in part of this self-given punishment, Buffalo and the NCAA will allow any player to transfer to another university, regardless of division, without giving up a year of eligibility. This really gives guys like All-MAC quarterback Brad Swindell a chance to get more recognition at a bigger school..."

I couldn't hear the rest of what he said, because of my celebratory yelling. "Fuck yeah!"

"What E?" Averin asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

Before I could respond, I felt a vibrating in my pocket and pulled out my phone. The text was exactly what I wanted to hear from my former quarterback.

"Syracuse, here I come!"

I replied with, "I saw bro, fucking sick. Welcome to the team."

"We just got ourselves a beastly quarterback," I answered Averin.

"Charley not good enough for you?"

"Nah," I said, shaking off his assumption. "Charley's going to be a good quarterback for the 'Cuse someday."

"Then who's this beast we're getting?" he asked. "Ryan is getting drafted in a week, he can't come back."

"My boy from Buffalo," I replied with a smirk. "Swindell."

"Nice. You think he can win the job?"

"He already has it when he steps on campus. Trust me."

...

The next day after practice, Coach said he wanted to speak to me in private in his office, so after showering and such, I slowly opened the door as he motioned me to come in.

"Take a seat," he suggested, pulling out a chair.

I obliged and sat down, awaiting the reason why I was here. Scattered across his desk were various recruiting profiles; probably from the commits we signed before LOI day.

"So how good is your buddy Swindell?" he asked before taking a drink of his coffee.

"You're going to love him Coach," I answered. "He's smart, athletic and a hard worker. Plus with Coach Waltman running the O, we're going to put up huge numbers."

"Glad to hear that. I already talked to Charley earlier about the situation and although he was disappointed, he was fine with being the back-up once Swindell arrived on campus. I went from being horrified with our QB situation to relieved that he have two capable starters."

"Yeah I bet. So was that the reason why you called me in here?"

"Part of it was, yes, but not all of it."

He started going through his recruiting folders before pulling out one that said 'Rodgers, Maurice.'

"What's this Coach?" I asked, without a clue of what he was getting at.

"This was going to be one of Averin's back-ups at runningback," he replied, before throwing the entire folder in the shredder. "Not anymore. Grades weren't up to par and he has to go to prep school."

"So what does this mean?"

"Well I've been calling around, trying to find someone who can fill that last scholarship. And well...take a look at this."

He opened his one desk drawer and pulled out a folder with no name on it. Handing it to me, I opened it and instantly recognized what he did.

"Are you kidding me!?" I shouted with joy as Coach had a big smile on his face. The paper in front of me was a signed letter of intent from 'Woy, Evan' to play football at Syracuse University in 2013.

"Called him yesterday after I found out the news about Maurice, offering the scholarship. He was planning on playing for Jer and was ready to sign a LOI with Robert Morris, but once I told him about the opening here, he couldn't refuse."

I got up and gave Coach a big hug, then walked out the door. Life would never be as good as it was with Melyssa, but at least things were looking up for now.

[Woy]

Tribute

"So the Orange defeat the Blue, 24-14, in Syracuse's 2010 spring game. And I'm standing here with last year's Heisman winner, Ethan Woy. Ethan, how does this team compare to last year's?"

"I think we're going to be even more explosive on the offensive side of the ball. No disrespect aimed towards the players we lost, but everyone has picked up Coach Waltman's offense so quickly and we feel there's not a defense in America that can stop it."

"How's it feel to know you'll be catching passes from your former high school quarterback in the fall?"

"It's a great feeling. We'll spend most of the summer getting our timing down and make some noise in our opener against USC. There's going to be a much different result that last year, that's for sure."

"What do the initials 'MDW' stand for on your eyeblack?"

"No comment."

---

"And at number 10, we have the returning Big East champion Syracuse Orange. Kirk, tell the nation why they have a legit shot at winning it all this season."

"Well Chris, despite losing their offensive coordinator Jeremy Green to Robert Morris and their starting quarterback Ryan Nassib to the Minnesota Vikings, the Orange come in as a darkhorse to get back to Miami; this time as one of the two teams in the BCS National Championship. The defense lost just one starter and the offense returns Heisman winning receiver Ethan Woy. New offensive coordinator Tom Waltman gets to coach some of his former players in the Woy brothers and former Buffalo quarterback Brad Swindell. But Desmond, what could be holding the Orange back?"

"A killer schedule, Kirk. Syracuse opens up the season by finishing up their home-and-home with number three ranked USC. Then they travel to South Bend to face number nine Notre Dame, followed by games against Hawaii and at Minnesota. In addition to those non-conference tilts, they head to Death Valley on the next to last week of the season to face number four ranked Clemson. I don't know if they can get through this without a blemish."

---

"Police, open up!"

"Is there a prob...hey, what are you doing!?"

"Chris Perry, you are under arrest for the murder of Melyssa Woy."

---

"Over the past few months I've gone through a lot," I said while sitting in my truck outside the Carrier Dome. "I just want to thank you for looking after me."

These words were spoken to a picture of Melyssa I was clutching in front of me. Although still heart-broken, I knew she was in a better place and that she would keep watch over me for the rest of my life.

I walked into the locker-room, pads over my shoulder, ready to do battle and get revenge on the team that completely embarrassed us on national television the year before. Like last season, College Gameday was on campus for the game, but both Lee and Kirk went with USC because of 51-10. I had that posted in my locker all week for motivation and it was finally time to unleash all the anger and tension I had towards them.

Brad and I went out early to toss the football around, just like what we'd use to do as middle schoolers on the sidelines while the varsity played. After playing three years of high school ball with him, taking three years off and then reuniting one last time...I couldn't help to think of the past. Right before we were loosened up, Coach Waltman came out to talk to us a little bit, then went back into the locker-room; probably to his office to gather his own thoughts.

One of our managers were hanging up the orange jerseys we requested to wear for the home opener in our lockers as Brad and I walked in to a full locker-room. When he hung mine up, I noticed a black patch on the right chest area and moved closer to view it. After realizing what it was, I turned around and noticed the same exact patch was on everyone else's jerseys. I held back tears and smiled, giving Coach Marrone a hug when he walked out of his office.

"It was the least we could do," Coach said, holding his hat up near my face and pointing to the 'MDW' patch on it. "I know how hard it's been on you, but this was an idea that was brought up by your teammates to let you know that we all lost a loved one."

"Thank you so much," I replied. "I know she's looking down right now from heaven, smiling because she's being honored."

When I put on that jersey, I put my hand over the patch and felt a hand from above covering mine. I smiled one last time, then put on my helmet with the dark visor shielding me from the world before walking out to the end of the tunnel for pre-game introductions.

[Woy]

Payback is Sweet


#3 USC Trojans (0-0) at #10 Syracuse Orange (0-0)

"And now, let's give it up for your defending Big East champion Syracuse Orange!"

The thunderous applause was the signal as we burst out of the tunnel full of confidence and emotion. USC followed to a chorus of boos and some of the Trojan fans that made the long trip started to chant '51-10,' reminding us of our debacle last year.

I joined Averin and Brad as captains, while facing us at midfield wearing red and gold were Matt Barkley and Joe Nobles. We won the toss and elected to receive, then jogged back to the sidelines as our kickoff return team passed us. Brad and I started warming up again as Evan - who won the returning job during fall practice - brought the kickoff out to the 35 yard line.

Our new-look offense had the Trojan defense confused right away. Brad started the game with a quick slant to me which netted 11 yards. Averin carried the rock twice, then I lined up in the slot and came around the right end for seven yards. Eventually we got down to the two-yard line before Brad took a quarterback draw into the endzone, giving us a 7-0 lead. However, Joe Nobles came right back and ran down our defense's throat, scoring on just six carries.

We took the field and after two carries by Averin that netted one first down, Evan came in for his first offensive play of his career. Brad handed him the ball and after making the first guy miss, a linebacker poked it out from behind, giving USC back the ball. He was visibly upset with his mistake on the sidelines, so I walked over and tried to calm him down.

"Settle down," I said as he had his helmet gripped tightly in his hand, ready to slam it down on the bench. "It's still early."

"First carry and I fucking fumble," he cursed at himself, loud enough for me to hear. "Marrone isn't going to let me see another offensive snap."

"Shut up. You'll be fine and get another chance. Stop being so hard on yourself."

With that I walked away, allowing my younger brother to gather his thoughts. After we got the ball back, he came in on the fourth play and busted a 12 yard run up the middle, completely shifting his confidence around. An 11 yard touchdown pass from Brad to me gave us back the lead, then after Matt Barkley threw an interception, I caught a bomb from Brad from 40 yards out, adding onto our lead.

Then after Nobles scored again to start the second quarter, we came back with a drive of our own but it stalled at the 13 yard line of USC. It seemed like we'd be forced to a field goal, but the perfect play call from Coach Waltman shook off that assumption.

"Swindell back in the gun, brings Woy in motion...the snap is high and he hands off to Collier...no it's a fake! Swindell and Woy are running the option to the left, he pitches...Woy shakes a tackler and he'll get into the end zone! Touchdown Orange on a fantastic play call!"

That touchdown pretty much took all the momentum out of USC's sails. We poured on the points and Evan scored his first two collegiate touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Although giving up nearly 200 yards rushing to Joe Nobles, we raised our arms in celebration as the final horn sounded, checking off the first opponent from our road to Miami.

#10 Syracuse 54
#3 USC 33


3 carries, 40 yards, 1 TD, 9 catches, 225 yards, 2 TD

[Woy]

Another Star is Born


#10 Syracuse Orange (1-0) at #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0)

"So after Syracuse's big win over USC to start off the season, they have to travel out to Indiana to face another top 10 team in Notre Dame. Kirk, can the Orange take down another national title contender on their road to Miami?"

"Most definitely Chris. Their new-look offense looks very explosive, putting up 54 points on a very good Trojans defense. I especially like how they're getting their Heisman winning receiver Ethan Woy into the running game with reverses, jet sweeps and option plays."

"Speaking of last year's Heisman winner, we have him on the phone here...Ethan, how's campus been since the big win over USC?"

"Great Kirk. Over the four years I've been here, I love how the support for the football program has increased so much. I think besides my announcement of coming back, there hasn't been a bigger buzz on campus and everyone's really excited for the rest of this season."

"Ethan, it's Desmond here. As former Heisman winning receivers, we both know that we caught the ball a lot. But in your new offense, you've been carrying the ball a little bit. Now what's more fun; catching or carrying the rock?"

I laughed on the other line and Desmond joined me before I finally got around to answering the question. "I'll do whatever it takes to help my team win; whether that's carrying the ball or catching it. But maybe I could move to runningback and win the Heisman from that position...call me the next Adrian Peterson without the fumbling."

More laughter ensued before Kirk chimed in with a question of his own. "So how do you come off a big win over USC and go into South Bend the next Saturday for another top 10 match-up?"

"Well there is a little personal motivation on my side considering I couldn't stand Notre Dame when I was growing up. But past personal bias aside, they are a very good football team and it'll take a lot to beat them in their home stadium. Their corners are talented, but first year starters, so we should be able to exploit some flaws in coverage against them. I think it'll be a great game."

...

My hatred of Notre Dame obviously stirred up the Fighting Irish faithful leading up to the game. I received "Fuck you Heisman" chants from the student section during pre-game warm-ups with Brad, which I replied to them with a smile and a hand wave, then on my first catch of the game, the boos started raining down on me. I was starting to think that these people thought it was a sin to hate Notre Dame.

In the third quarter, we were tied at 20 when I got free on a deep route and caught a perfectly thrown pass from Brad for a 68 yard touchdown. Notre Dame answered with a field goal, then they scored a touchdown of their own after Dayne Crist scored on a QB draw with 4:11 left. Brad was then picked off, but we got the ball right back after a three and out.

With all three timeouts, it looked like we could milk the clock a little bit and try for a tying field goal or game-winning touchdown. We got to the 40 yard line of theirs before disaster struck once again.

"Swindell back to pass...looks left towards Woy, but he's hit as he throws it! It's picked off! What a tough break for Syracuse as that could probably end it."

Luckily we still had all three timeouts and the Fighting Irish went three and out on their following drive. With no timeouts and 44 seconds left, we jogged back on the field with 72 yards separating us from a win or a season-ending, crushing loss.

"Swindell takes the snap...feels pressure but gets away from it...heaves a bomb in Woy's direction...it's caught! Woy's out to the 40, 30 and is tackled around the 20 yard line! What a clutch play by the former high school teammates!"

My huge catch put us in field goal position and we spiked the ball with 27 seconds left, hoping to get a few throws into the end zone. After throwing those two picks and coming back with a momentum-shifting play, Brad was feeling a bit more confident and looked to seal the deal with a touchdown pass. However, that wouldn't be the case.

"Swindell is in the gun, takes the snap...rolls to his left, but there's pressure...switches direction and there's an opening! Swindell crosses the line of scrimmage and is looking towards the end zone...side-steps a tackler and will dive in...touchdown Syracuse! What a play by Swindell and the Orange will win this game!"

#10 Syracuse 34
#9 Notre Dame 30


3 carries, 44 yards, 13 catches, 254 yards, 2 TD

[Woy]

Yo Side of the Bed

Jumping two spots in the polls, we came back home and faced our first unranked team of the season in the Hawaii Warriors. Although they started the game with a 91 yard kick return touchdown, we bounced back quickly and routed the men from the islands, 45-7. After scoring the last touchdown of the game on a 60 yard run, the press decided to interview Evan after the game. I took a shaving-cream pie like what they do in baseball and smashed it in his face, drawing the applause from both the media and the fans that stuck around.

We continued on our roll the next week, traveling to Minnesota and beating the Golden Gophers, 31-21. It wasn't as close as the score indicated, as Minnesota scored two garbage touchdowns on our second-string defense. Nothing really stood out in this one, but at 4-0, we were sitting pretty at seventh in the nation and on top of the Big East. However, our long-time rival West Virginia was looking to derail our national championship hopes on Saturday.

Things were going great on the field; off-the-field, not so much. Despite the community's embrace of me and how they would pick me up after the Melyssa tragedy, I still was miserable inside. I spent every night alone, sleeping on just one side of the bed, staring at the other side waiting for Melyssa to come back and fill that void. I knew that it would never happen, but I couldn't bring myself to consistently talk to one girl and get my love life back on track. No one would ever live up to Melyssa.

After getting back from practice, I picked up some food from the McDonald's drive-thru and went home to work on a project. For the millionth time, I unlocked my door and opened it to an empty house. Setting the bag of food and my cell on the counter, I walked into my room to change and re-entered the living room with a missed call. Not seeing the name in a while, I hesitantly picked up my phone and called them back.

"Hello?"

"Hey," I started to say before I was interrupted.

"I didn't call at a bad time, did I?" she asked. As soon as she ended her question, I swore I heard a car door close on the other line and went to the window to see if it was her.

"Nah," I answered, still looking out the window. "I was just about to do some homework. How've you been?"

"I've been okay," she said, before shooting off to another question. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure," I hesitantly answered, wondering what was up. Her voice sounded like a mixture of happiness and one that needed someone right now...I couldn't put my finger on what was going on.

"Give me a place to stay tonight? I'll explain everything when I get there."

"Okay," I permitted, interested to hear what she had to say. She then hung up the phone and I continued to look out the window, awaiting her vehicle. After five minutes though, I didn't a car pull up in the parking lot and started to walk away from the door when...

*KNOCK KNOCK*

I opened the door to a smiling face. "Someone drop you off or something?"

"Nah, my car broke down," she answered before giving me a hug. "I haven't talked to you in person in almost a year. How's you and your wife doing anyways?"

I stood there speechless and as the awkward silence filled the room, she finally spoke up. "I guess that's a sore subject to discuss, huh?"

"She's not with us anymore," I revealed, which had her jaw drop. "Long story."

"Awh, I'm really sorry. I didn't know. If it makes you feel any better, my boyfriend and I just broke up not too long ago and that's why I'm at Syracuse right now."

"You were dating someone from Syracuse?" I asked, surprised of the assumption I just made.

"Nah, he was in town working on a project and I was just returning all his stuff," she replied. "That was hard enough and then my car goes and breaks down...just great."

"Tough luck," I said softly, rubbing her shoulder as a sign of letting her know I was here for her. "How has life been though, besides the obvious?"

"Pretty good. I've been traveling around the states, but it'll be nice to go back home and get back to work. This just put a damper on everything."

"You could have called if you wanted to talk," I reminded her. "Even though we haven't talked in forever, I'm still here for you."

"Thanks Ethan," she said, flashing a weak smile in my direction.

Instead of finishing my homework, I spent the night catching up on her life. We talked till three in the morning, then both fell asleep; her filling Melyssa's spot in the empty spot of the bed.