Catching Controversy | The Legend of Ethan Woy

[Woy]

The Biggest Disappointment

Syracuse Orange (2-1) at #19 Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0)

You know what's more disappointing than dropping a game-winning touchdown? When your ability to control the game's outcome has been taken away from you. You sit on that sideline, kicking yourself for what you did and wishing you could go back and change things.

"I wish that I'd never gone to that club," I said to myself as Ryan threw a pick-six on just the second drive of the game. We once again gotten off to a horrible start and fell in an early 7-0 hole.

Things just continued to get worse and worse, as Virginia Tech used a power running game led by Ryan Williams to rattle off another touchdown. Their kicker booted through three field goals as well and we went into the half down 23-0.

...

"And that's a spark they needed as Woy comes in for his first play and makes a nice catch to net 25 yards."

However, as Virginia Tech realized that I was in the game again, they started shifting their coverage to my area and even doubled me part of the time. We couldn't get any more offense going, as Ryan threw three more interceptions. Good thing our defense stepped up in the second half, otherwise the final would have been similar to the USC game.

#19 Virginia Tech 26
Syracuse 0

5 catches, 85 yards

 

[Fox1994]

I didn't think this was still going. I've got to get on my shit. I'll be following again, of course. XD

 

[Woy]

I didn't think this was still going. I've got to get on my shit. I'll be following again, of course. XD

I actually already finished it on IGN and TGL, so I'm just bringing all the updates over here to have it done on three sites.

10 more updates coming up in a bit.

 

[Woy]

One More Chance

The plane ride back from Blacksburg was just as quiet as the one from Los Angeles. However, it obviously wasn't as long as we got back around 11. I drove back to my apartment and opened the door to see Melyssa curled up in a ball with some ice cream.

"Well there's my favorite woman," I said, greeting her with a kiss.

"Hey babe," she replied. "Sorry about the loss today."

"It's fine. At least I have something to look forward to when I come back," I answered, as I start to kiss her all over.

"Stop!" she laughed, pushing me away. "Wait till we're ready to bed." Then she put on a confused expression as if she remembered something. "Oh I forgot to ask...why didn't you play the first half today?"

For some reason, the angel side of my conscience kicked in and told me that I should reveal why I was suspended.

"I missed curfew," I revealed. "That's why."

"For what?"

I wanted to keep the truth bottled up inside but that wasn't happening tonight. I shook my head and walked over to my bag, opening the side-pocket and revealing the mistake I made last weekend.

I threw the tabloid magazine on the table and sat down right beside her. She obviously seemed disappointed, but it was better to tell her now than completely hide it and risk ruining our marriage.

"Why did you hide this from me?"

Taking her hand and looking her in the eyes, I cleared my throat and started telling her exactly what happened.

"Ryan, Averin and Torian wanted me to go to a club with them," I started to answer before stopping for a second to figure out exactly how I wanted to tell this. "I didn't really want to, but after some more pushing from them, I decided to go."

The room fell to a dead silence for a few more seconds as I continued revealing what had happened.

"Once I got there, I bought a few drinks and ended up running into Lauren..."

"Yeah I know," she interrupted. "Conrad. The one from Laguna Beach and The Hills. Get to the point."

"There is no point...I didn't do anything besides dance with her," I pleaded. She raised her brow at that, but I let go of her hand and raised it in the air. "Swear on my life I didn't."

"If you say so," she scoffed. "Have you hid anything else from me?"

"Well..." I stuttered, trying to figure out if I wanted to tell her about the other mistakes.

"Well? That has to mean you're hiding more from me, Ethan."

"Alright," I said, clutching her hand once again. "Do you remember when you and Troy had to go to South Carolina two years ago to visit your uncle?"

"Yes..."

"Well that's when we lost to West Virginia. I was depressed that night and ended up making a horrible decision by drinking myself to near-death. Thankfully, Britt called the paramedics and saved me before I was too late."

"Britt? Who the hell is that?"

"Ugh, I didn't tell her about Britt either?" I thought to myself as Mel's expression continued to become sadder and sadder.

"Answer me Ethan Scott," she demanded as I tried to figure out what I wanted to say.

"She's someone I met here during my first week of campus," I responded. "We become good friends and I ended up hooking up with her after we broke up."

"So you cheated on me then?"

"No. I only was with her when you broke off the engagement. Once we got back together, I never spoke to her again." Mel obviously didn't like my answer and just shook her head in disgust. "Come on hun, you have to believe me."

"Why should I?" she shot back. "You hid the whole abortion thing with Rebecca from me - even though it wasn't as serious as I thought - and now all of this!"

"Mel, please believe me. I don't know what I would do without you. I've made some mistakes in my life, but I'm only 20; I'm not expected to be perfect." I choked up a little bit and felt some tears coming on, but I fought hard to hold them back. "Please Mel, believe me. I love you."

...

She looked into his eyes and saw the pain and compassion in the blue corneas of the star receiver. Shaking her head for the umpteenth time tonight, she softly whispered in his ear, "I believe you, but you have one more chance."

He went to hug her, but she pulled away. "You'll be sleeping on the couch though." Then she got up and walked back to their bedroom, where she slammed the door and fell right into bed.

...

However, the night was filled with constant crying and zero sleep as she couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. It wasn't because she made similar mistakes to his - because she didn't - but it's because he seemed sincere with his apology and she barely forgave him.

"Maybe it's all in my head," she thought to herself as the clock hit 4 AM. "I shouldn't be thinking of it too much." Then a little breeze came through the crack in the window and she started to shiver; maybe it was a sign to show her that he shouldn't be sleeping alone tonight?

Getting out of bed and slowly opening the bedroom door, she saw him laying sleeping uncomfortably on the couch. Sighing to herself, she walked over and laid beside him, wrapping his arms over her. "Yes, this is much better," she thought, smiling as her exhaustion overcame her and she drifted into sleep.

...

I woke up around five, confused as of why my arms were around someone. As I focused my mind, I realized that Mel came out to sleep with me, which made me feel so much better about everything. I smiled and fell back to sleep, with my love in my arms; just like it was meant to be.

This would be one chance that I wouldn't screw up.

 

[Woy]

Back on Track

Syracuse Orange (2-2) at Connecticut Huskies (3-1)

After facing two of the biggest college football powers in USC and Virginia in consecutive weeks, it was a relief to face a usual conference bottom-feeder in Connecticut. However this Huskies team wasn't a joke; their only loss was a single-digit one to the Hurricanes of Miami.

Ryan seemed to be fully recovered from his concussion finally as he came out firing on all cylinders. Our first drive consisted of a lot of throws to Torian and Van, before I made the first stamp on what would be an incredible personal day.

...

"Nassib in the gun...he looks to his left...pump-fakes...fires to Woy...touchdown Syracuse! Nassib's pump-fake completely froze the corner just enough to let Woy get a step on him and it was all gravy from there!"

...

7-0 for the good guys in just two minutes of play. That would remain the score until the second quarter, when I got open again for another touchdown.

...

"Nassib fakes the hand-off to Collier...throws a bomb in Woy's direction...it's caught and Woy is off to the races! The 40, 30, 20, 10...touchdown Syracuse! What a throw by Nassib, it was right on the money!"

...

With three minutes left in the first half, we got the ball back and went to work. Averin took a swing pass and turned it into a 21-yard gain, then Torian found himself all alone on a slant route and scampered 26 yards before being dragged down. Another pass to Torian netted us 14 yards and we called our last timeout of the half with 22 seconds left.

...

"Here's the snap...Nassib looks to the air once again...sees Woy come open across the middle on a post route and hits him...and he's gone after splitting the safeties, touchdown Syracuse! What a first half for Nassib and Woy as they've hooked up for three scores already!"

...

You might think that would be it for our first half scoring, but Connecticut decided to give us another shot after fumbling the hand-off with eight seconds left. Coach Marrone wanted to just take a knee and go into the locker room with a 21-0 lead, but Ryan and I wanted to go for the kill and overturned his decision.

...

"Looks like Syracuse will be chucking it downfield on a Hail Mary here. The snap is perfect, Nassib will drop back as Connecticut rushes just three...looks like he's staring down the All-American Woy...he fires...and it's caught once again! He shakes off the tackler and it's going to be another touchdown! Oh my God, Nassib and Woy have done it again!"

...

If you're counting at home, that's four touchdowns in just the first half. Unfortunately, we ran the ball for most of the second half and although Connecticut found some offense with 20 points, we tacked on three field goals and got back on the winning side of things.

Next week I know will be more of a struggle, as we had rival West Virginia visiting us.

Syracuse 37
Connecticut 20

10 catches, 204 yards, 4 TD

 

[Woy]

Fighting with Food

"I hate him so much," CP said to himself as the TV screen showed the results of the Syracuse/Connecticut game. "Four touchdowns and over 200 yards receiving? Does anyone know how to cover this motherfucker!?"

Frustrated, he lit up a cigar and walked over to the computer. From there, he signed onto his Facebook account and noticed a message from his one apprentice. Pleased with what his apprentice found, he jotted down the number and saved it for a later time.<hr>After beating Connecticut, campus livened up again; especially with West Virginia coming in this weekend. Mel and I were back on good terms and it seemed like everything was once again looking up in my life. However, that wouldn't be the case as I arrived at practice on Wednesday.

"Who's down at the field?" I asked Ryan as we walked into the locker-room.

"Not sure," he replied with a confused look. "Maybe some high school team."

"Gather around guys," Coach Marrone shouted as he walked out of his office. "Now you might be wondering why there's another team on the field right now. Well, due to some technical problems in Morgantown, West Virginia will be practicing here."

Suddenly the silence turned into a large uproar from the team, furious with the fact that their biggest rivals are on their campus, using their facilities.

"Hold up!" Marrone shouted to quiet the team. "I wasn't finished. Coach Stewart, President Cantor and I have all agreed to house them in the open dorms over the next few days. If I hear any of you mess with them, you'll be doing suicides until you'll want to commit suicide. Now they're just about done with practice, so let's get dressed and be ready to go out there."

"This is total bullshit man," I whispered to Ryan as he nodded his head in agreement. "Who does WVU think they are using our shit? I don't think I can go the rest of this week without starting something."

"Gotta keep your cool Ethan," Ryan pleaded. "We need you for the entire game."

...

After a rough practice, I showered and returned to my apartment for a relaxing night. Around 11, when Mel and I were laying on the couch together watching TV, I saw some headlights shine through the window and got up from my position to see if anything was going on.

*CRASH*

Suddenly an object flew through the window and I heard the sound of tires screeching as I opened the door. I turned on the front light just in time to see a West Virginia license plate, leaving me to believe that it was a group of their players that vandalized my apartment. I walked back inside and slammed the door, obviously upset.

"What the hell?" Mel asked, pretty pissed off as well. "Who would come out this late and try to break in?"

"It wasn't someone trying to break in," I stated, as I picked up the object. It was a rock like I expected, but rather a football. Attached was a note, so I snapped the rubber-band off and unfolded the paper. "This will be the only ball you'll see all day on Saturday, better hang onto it." I laughed and threw the note in the trash, then sat down on the couch beside Mel who was still confused about the situation.

"Should I call the cops?" she asked with her phone in hand.

"Nah, it was just some kids trying to pull a prank," I replied, taking the phone from her and putting it on the counter. "I'll call after practice tomorrow to get it fixed."

...

Thursday was my worst day of classes, with my earliest being at 10. However, there was a little break in between for lunch and a few of us football players decided to hit up the cafeteria.

"Yo Ethan, who's that in the corner?" Averin asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" I shot back, looking for who he was pointing out.

He nodded his head to the far left corner, where Geno Smith and a few other Mountaineer players were enjoying the Syracuse food. His little smirk when he looked over gave it away that he was apart of last night's incident.

"Let's just grab something to eat."

After grabbing some food, I picked a table for us near the group of West Virginia players and quickly downed half my food.

"Damn, you hungry brah?" Van asked as he took a bite from his cheeseburger.

"A little," I replied. "But I have a surprise for them over there."

I whispered in Torian's ear and he nodded his head, laughing at what I told him. Then I got up and walked over to the opponent's table, tapping Geno on the shoulder when I got there.

"What the hell...oh it's you," he said as his teammates laughed. "You like that message we sent you last night?"

"That was you? I would have never guessed," I replied sarcastically as they continued to laugh. "But I have a message for you as well."

"Oh really? What is it?"

"You sure you wanna know?" I asked, just trying to piss him off a little further.

"Yeah. What the fuck is it?" he answered, standing up to get in my face.

I smirked and raised my hand, which signaled Torian to throw the pie he bought towards Geno. I ducked just in time to let it hit him in the face, drawling tons of laughter by everyone in the room.

"Food fight!" Van shouted we ran out of the room, leaving the rest of the students inside to pelt the visitors with their over-priced lunches. Laughter filled the area as Geno and his teammates tried anything to take cover and save themselves from even more embarrassment.

Consequences or not, this was totally worth it.

 

[Woy]

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

#16 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1) at Syracuse Orange (3-2)

After the little cafeteria incident, there weren't any more conflicts between us and West Virginia; besides a few shoving matches between practices. However, the tension would escalate when the media showed up for the Friday walk-throughs.

...

"How do you guys think you'll fare on Saturday against an improving Syracuse squad?" the one reporter asked, pushing a microphone in Geno Smith's face.

"Improving?" he shot back, shocked. "The only legit competition they've faced stomped the sh...I mean, crap out of them. We're much better than Wake Forest or Boston College or whatever joke teams they've beaten. I'm not at all worried about them; it should be a rout."

"Okay," the reporter said with a confused expression, turning his body back towards the camera. "Well you heard it here first; West Virginia believes they'll rout Syracuse and prohibit them from taking home their first Schwartzwelder Trophy since 2001."

...

After our walk-through, I was walking with Ryan back to the locker-room when I was stopped by a reporter who wanted my thoughts on the match-up tomorrow.

"Now you know West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith has guaranteed not only a win, but a rout over you guys tomorrow. Do you have a response for that?" he asked, hoping that I would drop even more fuel into the fire.

Nevertheless, I disappointed him when I responded, "Actions speak louder than words."

...

"And now introducing your 2011 Syracuse Orange!"

We ran out of our tunnel to a chorus of cheers and boos; the negativity coming from the surplus amount of West Virginia fans that made the trip up for the game.

Geno and Keith Tandy walked out for the coin toss, facing Ryan and I. No words were exchanged, just some death stares and a smirk on the face of yours truly. We won the toss and elected to receive, walking back to our sidelines before acknowledging what side they wanted to defend.

However, they had a little trick up their sleeve for the first play, overloading the right side of their kickoff coverage and booting a successful onside kick to swing all the early momentum their way. Just a few plays later, Geno took it to the house from 13 yards out on an option keeper, giving West Virginia an early 7-0 lead.

We struggled offensively early and were forced into three three-and-outs in the first quarterback. Thankfully, our defense stepped up and didn't allow more than one first down a drive as the first 15 minutes ended rather quickly.

Their defense was very talented and had a great game-plan to take me out of the game. They switched up their coverages and usually had two defensive backs in my area, limiting my opportunities to rack up some catches. Eventually we got on the scoreboard with a pair of field goals, but West Virginia still held that early touchdown over our heads, going into the locker-room up 7-6.

The score remained that way for the entire third quarter and for most of the fourth quarter. It was a surprising defensive struggle and I was held to four catches going into possibly our last chance to score and take the lead.

West Virginia already exhausted all three of their timeouts; one of those being on a failed coach's challenge. With the clock winding down inside two minutes, we had the ball at their 30-yard line facing a third and long. Coach Marrone decided to call a timeout to draw up a play, but instead looked at Ryan and I to determine our fate.

"We've got this Coach," I said confidently, looking across to an equally confident quarterback beside me. "Just watch."

And with that, we jogged out to the huddle and called a simple route combo that would free me up over the middle. Ryan took the snap and instantly looked my way, as I was struggling to get free against Keith. But seeing the middle completely open up, I dug my cleat into the turf and shot up-field, gaining just enough space to call for a pass.

Ryan's throw was right on the money, lobbing it right over my head and into my hands as I was tripped up at the one-yard line. The Syracuse faithful were sent into a frenzy and the West Virginia section sat there, stunned at what they were seeing. Averin took a hand-off and scored on the next play, giving us our first lead of the game with 1:34 left.

West Virginia fumbled the kick-off back to us and we booted another field goal to put the game out of reach. As the clock struck zero, the student section filed out from the stands and poured out onto the field, as we celebrated a win over our biggest rivals.

We were back.

Syracuse 16
#16 West Virginia 7

5 catches, 56 yards

 

[Woy]

Shutting Them Up

Syracuse Orange (4-2) at Pittsburgh Panthers (2-4)

I was back home.

Well, almost. Two and a half hours from Everett, I considered this game my "home-coming" for this season and was able to get all my friends and family tickets. As I laid down on the torn up turf of Heinz Field during pre-game, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to myself.<hr>"Where's Breann at? She told me she'd be wearing a number 15 home jersey."

...

"These are great seats, aren't they Dan?"

"Yeah they are hun. Can't believe you scooped these up. How did you?"

"Ethan got me tickets."

"So that's why you're wearing his jersey, right?"

"Yeah. You honestly thought he had a chance with me again?"

"Haha, I guess you're right."

...

"What the fuck!? Dan!?"

...

"I can't fucking believe it. I really can't."<hr>That vision reminded me of the horror this place gave me two years ago and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I'd never go anything like that again. When I finally did open my eyes, I saw a lot of familiar faces around me and quickly jumped up to greet them.

"You have no clue how much I want you to beat Pitt's ass tonight," J-Mac said, laughing.

"Ditto," Brett and Brock chimed in almost instantly.

"You guys should be thanking me for these pre-game field passes," I shot back with a grin. "But for real, I'm glad you could all make it. How's life treating ya?"

"Well I figure I'd might as well tell you now...I'm getting married," J-Mac revealed, not really shocking me.

"Damn, congrats man," I replied, shaking his hand. "Kinda saw it coming but it's about time you popped the question."

"Yeah, it was pretty nerve-racking," he chuckled.

"And how about you guys?" I asked, turning my head to Brett, Brock and John. "Get arrested at Ship yet?"

"Well there was this one time..." Brock started off on a bold-faced lie.

"Shut up," I interrupted, getting the entire group to laugh.

"We've been 'ight," John answered. "Us three are thinking about walking onto the football team next season possibly."

"Do it! It'd be pretty cool to come down for a game next year."

We all continued to catch up for another 15 minutes before I had to bid my friends adieu and go into the locker-room to get ready. My cheering section would be in the front row of our sidelines and would turn out to be the only orange I could see as Pitt went with the "gold-out" for tonight's contest.

...

"Ethan Woy gets in between two defenders and comes down with an incredible touchdown catch! Syracuse has extended their lead to 28-14 as we approach the end of the second quarter."

Ryan was on target the entire first half and our defense did just enough to give us some cushion going into halftime. However, that side of the ball struggled to start the second 30-minute session as Pitt would score two quick touchdowns to tie the game.

With seconds just remaining in the third quarter, we faced a second and 14 and the home team had all the momentum. Ryan called a run in the huddle, but audible to a pass play when he saw me in single coverage.

The ball was overthrown a little bit but I used all of 6'3" frame to reach out and snag it. Their safety took a horrible angle and ran into the corner, knocking them both out of the play and opening up a big gap between me and the closest defender. With 15 yards to go, I turned around and pointed at my "fan club" while back-pedaling into the end-zone. Boos rained down from all the Pitt fans, but I looked at all of them and put my finger over my lips, which only pissed them off more.

Despite being penalized for excessive celebration, that was the back-breaker and ended the game. Pitt could only get one first down after my score and we walked out of Heinz Field with our fifth win of the season and sole possession of the Big East lead.

Syracuse 35
Pittsburgh 28

6 catches, 140 yards, 2 TD

 

[Woy]

The Wrong Side

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-2) at Syracuse Orange (5-2)

Sole possession of the conference never felt so good. We were sharp in practice and Coach Marrone was singing nothing but praises in his weekly radio show. Everything was aligning for us to blow out Rutgers, but they had other thoughts.

They jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with two Tom Savage touchdown throws. However, we took all momentum with 27 unanswered points - 12 of them coming from the usual Nassib to Woy connection everyone knows about now.

With 2:30 left in the game, us holding a 27-14 lead, and facing a third and long...Ryan threw a pick that gave Rutgers a glimmer of hope. Savage threw another touchdown and cut our lead to six, but we still didn't they could come back from two scores with little time on the clock.

As soon as that thought entered our brains though, Ryan was drilled blind-side and coughed up the ball back to Rutgers. Just seconds later, Savage tossed his fourth touchdown of the game and the extra point gave the Scarlet Knights a one point advantage, leaving our crowd stunned.

The Rutgers defense then put the nail in the coffin, returning a desperation pass by Ryan for a touchdown, setting the final at 35-27. After being on the right side of an improbable comeback earlier in the year, we were on the wrong side after the Scarlet Knights scored 21 unanswered with two and a half minutes remaining.

This would definitely be a tough one to swallow.

Rutgers 35
Syracuse 27

12 catches, 183 yards, 2 TD

 

[Woy]

Fast-Forward

The nation probably thought we'd collapse and fall back to earth after blowing a 13 point lead to Rutgers, but instead Cincinnati (5-2) - a team we naturally have trouble with - came into Syracuse and left with a loss, 21-42. Ryan had a superb game, throwing five touchdowns, with three of them going to yours truly. With 77 catches and 14 scores on the season and still three regular season games remaining, I was named the overwhelming favorite to take home the Heisman Trophy in ESPN's latest poll.

Then we traveled down south to face an inconsistent Duke (3-5) team. Falling asleep for most of the game, we escaped Durham with a 28-25 victory. It wasn't much of a surprise that we didn't come out and play...I mean, who wants to play Duke this late in the season? I added another 12 catches and two touchdowns to my already impressive stats, keeping my top slot on ESPN's Heisman Watch. To add to the achievements, I was unsurprisingly named a semi-finalist for both the Maxwell and the Biletnikoff Awards, given to the nation's top player and receiver, respectively.

Continuing with the positive news, we made our first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, debuting at 20. Staying true to our ranking, we went down south again and beat a Louisville (4-4) squad who upset West Virginia the week before, 27-17. I again had a nice game, catching six passes for over 100 yards and two touchdowns, and had the Heisman pretty much in my arms according to ESPN and other various sites.

Now at 8-3, ranked 16th in the nation and second in the Big East, we had a bye week coming up before hosting eighth ranked South Florida (8-1); the squad ahead of us in the conference standings. Although not technically the Big East championship, essentially it was since the winner would receive the BCS automatic bid and a ticket to the Orange Bowl.

Brad kept true to his promise, as he was putting up superb numbers with Buffalo. There was no doubt that he was going to make All-MAC first team and there were whispers that he would forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. It would be awesome if we both got drafted to the same team, but I, myself was still wavering on declaring after the season or not.

But the pros had to be the last thing on my mind right now; I had a Big East championship and Heisman to win.

 

[Woy]

Top Recruit

"Yeah, now's the time."

Pulling out a folder and retrieving a note he jotted down a few weeks ago, he grabbed his phone and dialed the number. It rang for several seconds and as he was taking the phone from his ear to end the call, a voice came through the other line.

"Who is this?"

Silence. He didn't plan out what exactly he was going to say and now that his client actually picked up, he didn't know how to greet himself.

"Excuse me, who is this?"

"Never mind that," he whispered into the phone, before getting silence in return. He thought that his client hung up the phone but after ten more seconds of silence, the person on the other line spoke up.

"What do you want?"

"I need a favor," he said, which confused the person on the other line. "I have cash."

...

Depression was the story of her life over the last few months. She lost the one she loved, her job and most importantly, her soul. She didn't give a fuck about the world anymore...living was pointless. She never contemplated suicide; she couldn't do that to what friends she had left and her family. Her life has become a mess.

...

"Yeah sure," she replied from the other line. "What is it?"

"Well first of all, I need some information from you."

"Okay?" she asked, still confused about what the mysterious guy wanted.

"I've seen that you know Ethan Woy pretty well," he brought up.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"So what's your affiliation with Ethan?" he asked, trying to pull more information from her to make sure she was the right one for the job.

"I used to be one of his former flings..." she began, before cutting herself off. "Why do you need to know all of this anyways?"

"Never mind that," he shot back. "Has he caused you any stress in your past?"

Expecting just a 'yes' or 'no' answer, he was surprised when she started laughing on the other end. "Stress? You have no idea," she chuckled.

"Sarcasm?"

"No," she responded, cutting her laughter off. "It was just a stupid question."

"She's got spunk, I like it," he said to himself as he was browsing her Facebook profile.

"Anyways, what do you need from me?" she asked, trying to get to the point.

"Oh yeah. Would you be interested in getting revenge for me on him?"

Now a little bit scared, she thought for a second before deciding to get a little more information on the situation. "What did he do to you?"

"Let's just say he owes me some money," he revealed, before getting back on-topic. "Now, are you in or are you out? I can't wait forever."

She smiled because she wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the man that broke her heart in the past. "Tell me more."

 

[Woy]

Hello, Heisman

#8 South Florida Bulls (8-1) at #16 Syracuse Orange (8-3)

"And now for the game of the week...#8 South Florida against #16 Syracuse. Although not technically for the Big East championship, this game is essentially it; the winner will receive the conference's BCS automatic bid. The Syracuse crowd has been waiting all week for this, camping out in tents for the best seats in the house. Kirk, your prediction?"

"After falling to Rutgers, Ethan Woy and the Orange have been on a mission. This crowd is going to play a big factor in South Florida's offensive game-plan and B.J. Daniels will have to make sure his receivers and backs will hear his audibles at the line. South Florida's the better team, but I'm rolling with the hot home team."

"Yeah, yeah...we know about Woy and how he could wrap up the Heisman tonight, but you also mentioned a darn good quarterback in his own right; B.J. Daniels. Don't sleep on this guy, we've seen him in big games...remember the 17-point comeback against West Virginia earlier this year? Give me that hat! Go Bulls!"

...

Laying on the locker-room bench, I put my hand over my heart and felt my heartbeat get faster and faster. Could you tell I was nervous? Obviously. A conference championship, BCS berth and Heisman was on the line here after all. This was the biggest game in most of our careers and I don't know how I could handle falling in a situation like this.

Coach Marrone didn't have much to say when he appeared from his office. It was obvious that he was just as worried as the rest of us and why not? Although we believed we'd be in this situation at the start of the year, actually being in this situation now was surreal.

Before we got up to leave the locker-room and go onto the field, I walked to the front of the huddle and stopped my teammates. Looking into all of their eyes, I delivered a short message, but it was exactly what we needed.

"Just have fun."

...

We won the coin toss and went on defense first. Kirk was right on College Gameday when he said the crowd would be a factor, as South Florida false started on their second play and punted it back after an early three-and-out. With early momentum on our side, it only took two plays before taking control of this game.

"Nassib is back to pass...he looks to his right and will take a shot deep to Woy...it's caught! He breaks one tackle and it's going to be a footrace to the end-zone...touchdown Syracuse! What a play to take the wind out of South Florida's sails and now a flag has been thrown as Woy celebrates his touchdown."

Taking my own advice, I had a little fun after the touchdown and spiked the ball, transitioning right into an old favorite of everyone's; the Macarena. I knew I would get flagged for it, but I wanted to make a statement early to say, "we're going to win and we're going to have fun doing it."

Averin added a touchdown himself and we went into the locker-room with a 14-3 lead after South Florida added a field goal as time expired. We were confident that we had this game in our grasp, but they had other plans as their offense put up 14 unanswered and gave themselves their first lead of the game.

We kicked a field goal to tie it up, then it the game shifted to a defensive struggle. Three-and-out after three-and-out and both Ryan and B.J. traded interceptions, leaving the crowd to wonder if anyone wanted to win this game.

With just 1:35 left in the game, Torian fair-caught a punt at the 14-yard line. We had two timeouts left, 86 yards ahead of us and one goal in mind; get into field goal range.

Ryan's first pass was incomplete, then on second down he called another pass play in which the outside receivers would run slants and the inside guys would run outs...just something to get some positive yardage.

The snap was high but Ryan brought it down and avoided the incoming pass rush. Still feeling the pressure, he lofted a ball up to the middle of the field, where the linebackers were assumed to be, but they all came on a blitz. Leaving that area wide open, I caught the ball in stride and immediately turned up-field.

I swear it was like the parting of the Red Sea because all I saw in front of me was green. Using every milli-second of my 4.5 speed, I crushed South Florida's hopes and dreams by sprinting 76 yards and high-stepping the last ten. As for the reactions, I'll let you find out for yourself.

...

"The snap's high but Nassib catches it cleanly...avoids pressure and just throws it across the middle...caught my Woy and there's green out in front of him! He's to the 40, the 50, 40, 30, 20, 10...hello Heisman! Touchdown Syracuse!"

...

Striking the pose to the chanting of "Heisman," the nation had their minds thought up...it was my trophy and no one was taking it from me.

We got flagged again for excessive celebration but no one cared. Everyone knew South Florida couldn't muster up the confidence to answer. I got hugs from teammates and coaches as I came back to the sidelines, then I ran over to the Gatorade water coolers with Ryan to douse Coach Marrone.

The clock struck zero and simultaneously the crowd flooded onto the field and we dumped the cooler over Coach, celebrating our Big East championship and BCS automatic bid.

Now all that's left is to change the general public's perception of Big East football. It's time to finish the deal and bring Syracuse back to prominence again.

#16 Syracuse 24
#8 South Florida 17

10 catches, 264 yards, 2 TD

 

[Woy]

Raking in the Hardware

The high of winning the Big East championship never died down over the next few weeks. Parties and pep-rallies were held every waking moment it seemed like and I couldn't count the amount of classes that were canceled on both of my hands. Eventually and not surprisingly, I received calls that told me I was a finalist for the Maxwell and Biletnikoff Awards, as well as the Heisman Trophy.

Finishing our regular season two weeks ahead of the last week of the NCAA schedule, we got to watch the other BCS candidates position themselves into projected bowl slots. It was obvious that the national championship game would be a re-match of the historic 2002 contest between Miami and Ohio State, and the other automatic bids were going to USC, LSU and Texas, but no one knew who would get the at-large spots.

Before finding out our opponent in bowl season however, I had a ticket to New York for a weekend full of awards, accomplishments and recognition. The entire family would be up in the city for support and I hoped that I could bring a few awards back to Syracuse and Everett.

First was the College Football Awards night on Friday, which was being televised by ESPN. Basically, they gave away all the awards minus the Heisman Trophy. Radio City Music Hall was packed to capacity as Chris Fowler and company rattled off the winners of each award.

...

"Your winner of the 2011 Fred Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's best receiver, is Ethan Woy, junior receiver from Syracuse University!"

"The winner of the 2011 Maxwell Award is Syracuse receiver Ethan Woy! Congratulations!"

...

Two down, one more to go.

The next night couldn't have came any slower as I impatiently waited for the Heisman presentation to begin. Although I was the favorite like last night, it wasn't a projected runaway like Troy Smith did in 2006. With viable candidates like Matt Barkley, Kevin Newsome and Terrelle Pryor right beside me, I knew that each one of us deserved this award and had every opportunity to win it.

Right before sitting down, Kevin came up to me and shook my hand. "You know, if you would have came to Penn State like I told you to, we would playing for a national title in a few weeks."

"That could be true," I replied with a chuckle. "Oh well, maybe we'll get you guys in a BCS bowl."

"Pshhh, BCS bowls?" Terrelle Pryor laughed after overhearing our conversation. "The only game that matters is the title game. I can't wait to win that shit and win this trophy tonight."

"You sure you're winning this?" I asked Terrelle. "I'm pretty sure they have my name engraved on the trophy already."

We continued to trade some verbal jabs as we sat down, awaiting the announcement of the winner.

"And I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the 2010 Heisman Trophy is..."

Terrelle stood up as he opened up the envelope, ready to accept the award. "Thanks fellas, I'll make sure to give you a shout-out in my speech."

"...Ethan Woy of Syracuse!"

I wish ESPN got a great shot of Terrelle's expression when they announced my name instead of his. With his jaw still dropped, I shook his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you a shout-out in my speech." Matt and Kevin laughed and I walked over to shake their hands before moving onto my family, giving each of them a hug.

Finally making my way to the stage, I looked out into the crowd to see everyone applauding still and after a few more seconds I motioned them to sit down. Then my eyes focused onto the bronze trophy and I smiled...my one individual goal I set before arriving on campus was complete.

"Wow," I remarked before finally taking my eye off the piece of hardware. "This is a dream come true. I first would like to thank God; he gave me the ability to play this game and for that I am truly grateful. I would like to thank my parents for pushing me throughout school, not only in my sports, but also in my classes. I'd like to thank Coach Marrone and Boeheim for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to continue my athletic career here at Syracuse. I'd also like to thank my teammates - both past and present - in helping me grow as a player and as a person. You're a great group and I wouldn't want to play with another group of people. And finally, I'd like to thank the other finalists here. They all had great years and I knew they all deserved to win."

After making my closing statements, I grabbed the trophy and raised it over my head, officially giving Syracuse their second Heisman winner. Now all that was left on my checklist was to beat whoever we had in our bowl game, bringing Syracuse back to the elite group of football programs.

 

[Woy]

Take Two

More parties and pep-rallies occurred on campus after I was announced as the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner. In fact, the mayor of Syracuse decided to honor me with my own day of celebration a few days after winning the bronze statue.

But the main thing I was focused on was the BCS Bowl Selection special later tonight. Similar to the NCAA Tournament's "Selection Sunday," we met up as a team in the Carrier Dome with thousands of supportive fans in the stands and awaited our match-up.

...

"Welcome to the BCS Bowl Selection Show," Chris Fowler announced on the projection screen the faculty set up. "I'm your host Chris Fowler and with me is Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard. Without further adieu, let's reveal the first BCS bowl game on the schedule; the Rose Bowl. 'The Grand-daddy of Them All' will feature Pac-10 champion USC and a Big Ten at-large, Penn State. Fellas, your thoughts?"

"Well hopefully it's better than the game in 2009," Kirk joked. "But in all honestly, this should be a fun one to watch. Penn State only lost to Ohio State this season and Kevin Newsome is one of the best players in the nation, while USC were an upset loss against Washington State away from causing more BCS title game controversy. I could easily see this game being the best of the bowl season."

"Don't forget about Matt Barkley," Lee added. "He's a special quarterback as well. I agree with you on that this could be the best game of the bowl season. Both teams have been rock solid all year and their offensive styles should make for an entertaining, up and down the field match-up."

"Don't forget those defenses either," Desmond insisted. "Stephon Morris is a shut-down corner for the Nittany Lions and Devon Kenard was an All-American at defensive end for the Trojans. They'll both make a difference in this one."

"The Sugar Bowl will pit SEC champion LSU against Big 12 champion Texas. This was looking like an excellent match-up but the injury to Russell Shepard really puts a damper into this one. Thoughts?"

"Without Shepard, I don't know if LSU will be able to compete. They'll be trusting an inexperienced freshman named Joe Anderson and I wouldn't want my first career start being in a bowl game against one of the top five defenses in the nation."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Lee here. Nothing against Anderson, who I think will be a fine quarterback in a few years, but I just can't put faith in a frosh making his first start against a team this good. Garrett Gilbert should put on a show against this shaky secondary though."

"You two are making this seem like a blow-out. The Shepard loss hurts the Tigers, but Anderson can turn and hand the ball off to Dexter Pratt, who was an All-SEC selection at runningback. I also think Texas wins, but it'll be closer than you expect."

"The Fiesta Bowl will have a familiar face in one-loss Boise State, making their third trip to Arizona in five years. The Broncos' opponent will be Tennessee, which is a surprise considering that there were three teams ahead of them in the BCS rankings. Anything, guys?"

"Yeah, I'm not surprised Tennessee got into the BCS Bowl party, but I'm surprised where the committee placed them. Anyways, this should be a very good game. I'm interested to see how Bryce Brown does against a stout Broncos run defense."

"Can we just give Boise State an automatic bid into the BCS party every year? It seems like they're always in the conversation because of their mid-major conference. Not that they're not talented enough, because we've seen their past performances, but they shouldn't be on the bubble like this every single year."

"And finally in the Orange Bowl, we have the Big East representative Syracuse led by Heisman winner Ethan Woy. Their opponent will be a familiar face; the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac-10. Remember that the Beavers defeated the Orange last year in the Sun Bowl, 28-18."

"Isn't it nice to see Syracuse back in a BCS game? Coach Marrone has done a lot in resurrecting that program since he arrived in 2009. However, I can't see them beating Oregon State. The Beavers already beat them last year like we said and they return mostly everyone from that team. Ethan Woy will once again put up outstanding stats in what could be his final collegiate game, but it'll be to no avail."

"Not so fast my friend! You really think Woy's going to go out as a loser in his assumed final game? I just can't see it happening. He's going to do whatever it takes to win and I think he'll get that BCS win, setting up the perfect launching pad to NFL stardom next season."

"It'll be interesting to say the least. We'll take a commercial break and be right back with the revealing of the BCS Championship game as well as some of our favorite non-BCS match-ups of this year's bowl season."

...

The crowd erupted into a "fuck Oregon State" chant that even got the athletic director to chuckle. They remembered the Sun Bowl from last season and you better believe that was still fresh in our minds as well.

Revenge was going to be sweet.

 

[Woy]

Draft Talk

For the next few weeks, my mind was spinning in different directions. Some of it focused on the upcoming rematch against Oregon State in the Orange Bowl, but most of it was about the rumors that I would declare for the draft. Analysts said I was as good as gone and Cleveland declared that I would be the favorite to be announced by Roger Goodell as the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

I still haven't made up my mind about the future. Every day I felt different; one day I would want to go to the NFL, the next brought feelings of returning for my senior season. Hell, there was even a period of time that I considered pulling a Charlie Ward and declare for the NBA Draft, but then I woke up.

Still, I had to push all of that to the side for now because a possible ten win season was on the line in just a few days. We flew down to beautiful Miami a week before the game and got on the practice field twice a day. We were focused and wanted this game more than anything.

...

"Ethan, do you have a prediction for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, both teams will play extremely hard and it will be a great game."

"Ethan, will this be your last collegiate game?"

"No comment."

The game's media day didn't get any extra storyline from my generic answers, but I wasn't here to be quoted. I was focused on the game and nothing else. Apparently Jacquizz Rodgers guaranteed a win, but I didn't even find out about it until before our last practice.

...

"Better be on target tomorrow Ryan," I chuckled as I brought back the ball from the 10-yard out route. "We wouldn't want you sucking ass and making me come save the day at quarterback."

Ryan almost doubled over in laughter. "You? At quarterback? Please, we might as well put Justin under center and run the ball every play."

More laughter built up before I pointed downfield, signaling Ryan to go deep. He shrugged his shoulders and took off as I did my best impression of a seven-step drop.

The throw was on the money from about 60-65 yards out, but Ryan showed that he wasn't a receiver by dropping the ball. Even more laughter followed as he jogged back to where I was standing, blushing because of the embarrassing fail.

That's what the practice consisted of; goofing off, loosening up and having a good time. Coach Marrone wanted us to be relaxed for the game tomorrow night and that's exactly what we were going to be.

"Ethan, I think I'm declaring after the game," Ryan revealed as we stood on the sidelines watching the second-stringers.

"Really? Where do you think you'll be drafted?"

"Scouts are saying second or third, but I think I can jump into the late first with a good combine and pro day."

"Congrats man," I said, shaking his hand. "Maybe we'll end up on the same team."

"Maybe...you coming out too?"

"Still haven't made a decision," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. "We'll see what happens after tomorrow."

Once again I pushed the draft talk to the side, because there was a bigger fish to fry. I wanted that BCS bowl win.

 

[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."<hr>"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."<hr>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?"<hr>"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."<hr>"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!?"