Clemson, South Carolina
The flight from St. Petersburg to Clemson was a flight of less than 2 hours and without complications in which Wyatt took advantage of the time to be able to listen to music and clear his mind of everything that had happened in those days in Florida.
Exiting through the domestic flights exit Wyatt immediately began to search with his gaze for the Clemson personnel who would come to pick him up and take him directly to the campus and for all the medical tests to be done.
Strolling his gaze around all the people who were there waiting for family and friends Wyatt focused on a person who was wearing an orange t-shirt with the Clemson logo while holding a whiteboard in front of him where it said "Wyatt Sterling."
Approaching with his suitcases the person in question did not take long to notice Wyatt who was approaching in his direction "Wyatt a pleasure," he said extending his hand in direction toward him which Wyatt did not take long to shake as well.
"My name is Zac Alley and I am a student assistant for the team," he said presenting himself while helping Wyatt with one of his suitcases and guiding him in the direction toward the exit of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
Once in the parking lot Zac directed Wyatt toward a Toyota sedan and placing the suitcases in the trunk they left the airport heading toward the University of Clemson which was 50 minutes away.
Looking through the car window Wyatt saw how little by little they were entering further into the city passing by buildings and city streets "You're going to like it here," Zac said with his sight forward while moving through the quiet streets.
Seeing how little by little they were arriving at Clemson the first thing Wyatt saw was the enormous Memorial Stadium, the place where the Tigers played as locals known popularly as "Death Valley" with a capacity for 81,000 spectators. Wyatt could not help but imagine himself in the middle of that stadium under the roars of the crowd on a game day.
"Everyone has the same reaction when they see the stadium for the first time," Zac said this time moving slower allowing Wyatt to be able to appreciate the stadium even more until it was lost from sight and they stopped in front of one of the university's student residences.
"Follow me please," Zac told Wyatt while they took the backpacks out of the trunk and went into the residence to the administrative area while he helped him manage all the processes to receive the key to his dormitory.
"Because you entered in January for the moment you will have the room for yourself I imagine you won't have a problem with that right?" with a smile Zac explained to Wyatt while both carried the suitcases in the direction toward the elevator in the direction toward the floor where Wyatt's room would be found.
"Not at all," Wyatt said slightly relieved to know that in the following 6 months he could have relative privacy without having to share a room with anyone else for the moment.
Arriving at the respective door Wyatt inserted the key into the slot and with a click the door opened letting see a simple room.
The room consisted of two beds in both corners of the room followed by two desks and a door that led toward the bathroom which was shared by the room that was next to Wyatt's.
Placing his suitcases on one of the beds Wyatt gave a slight look at the whole place "You can arrange it to your liking just remember that afterward you must go visit your academic advisor to finalize details regarding game schedules and studies," Zac told him who was leaning against the door frame.
"Also take this," he said handing him a card in which Zac's data such as email and phone number were with the Clemson logo on it "Any doubt or query don't hesitate to call or write," was the last thing he said to him before retreating giving Wyatt his space.
Lying back on the bed Wyatt took a minute to take a breath while still processing everything that was happening until his phone began to vibrate in his pocket so taking it out and seeing who it was about he immediately accepted the call.
"Hello mom," Wyatt said looking at the screen toward the woman who returned his gaze from her kitchen "Hello sweetheart," Elena said with a smile finally seeing her son after not having spoken with him in a good while "How did you get settled?" Elena asked curious while Wyatt simply changed the camera to show her the whole room.
"That dormitory brings me so many memories," Elena sighed with nostalgia clearly remembering her days as a university student living on campus.
"Your grandparents and us saw your game yesterday," was the next comment from Elena while she told him how the transmission had gone and the comments they made about him in his plays "That 20-yard pass was spectacular they didn't stop talking about it on the TV."
"Yes Laquon did a good job catching that pass," Wyatt said clearly remembering the situation in which the pocket was about to collapse and in the last seconds he threw a deep pass in the direction toward Laquon who caught it and the rest is history.
Remembering Laquon he could not help but think that this season he would arrive at Clemson, something with which Wyatt was more than excited to have one of the best wide receivers of his class for the next season.
The most important thing of all was that with Laquon there was a good chemistry and he knew exactly how to get open and receive the passes, something for which Wyatt was more than grateful since every good Quarterback needs a reliable wide receiver to throw the ball to in important situations.
"Someone else wants to say hello," changing the phone screen Elena pointed toward Max who was sitting in front of her while wagging his tail upon hearing the voice that came from her phone.
"How are you champion," Wyatt said from the cellphone causing Max to bark in response upon recognizing the voice "Since you left he has been restless," Elena responded to him while Max simply continued wagging his tail frantically.
"I miss you too Max," Wyatt said toward his energetic canine friend while he simply continued just as hyperactive "And how is Clemson?" returning the camera to her face Elena continued asking him about how the flight had gone, if he had been eating, if he had not stayed awake until very late.
Wyatt responded patiently to each of the questions from his mother knowing that she simply wanted to know how he was doing and that both she and his father continued to be worried about him and how he would adapt to being in another state completely alone.
After a moment of continuing to talk Wyatt decided to end the call to at least leave the bed ready for when he returned from all the procedures that awaited him once he left the office.
With that ready Wyatt set out to leave his room in the direction toward the admissions office where he would meet with his advisor who would give him the schedules and help him combine his studies with the team activities.
The person to whom he was assigned was an elderly lady who seemed to have much experience and patience when it came to helping Wyatt explaining with a kind smile his schedule, classes, and precautions that he should have as a student-athlete at the university.
Knowing that a football career can last very little and he must have a Plan B, Wyatt had opted to choose the Sport Communication major with the goal that if he can no longer play for any reason he can still be related to the sport as a commentator or sports journalist.
Once finishing finalizing details with the advisor Wyatt headed directly to the place he was most anxious to see, the university's sports center of Clemson where he would meet with Dabo Swinney and the rest of the technical staff that corresponded to the university.
Walking through the university city Wyatt could observe everything around him with the buildings and the students passing by there in the direction of their classes at the start of the new semester of the university.
Arriving at the building in question Wyatt saw that at the door two people were already waiting for him who were wearing the Clemson technical staff gear and as soon as they noticed Wyatt they immediately approached toward him.
"Wyatt how good to see you again," said the man who was on the right who was none other than Chad Morris, the offensive coordinator and Quarterbacks coach of the team and who was in charge of the guided visit in which Wyatt and his father went last year.
"Chad," Wyatt said giving him a squeeze to bring the man toward him and giving him some pats on the back which he returned in the same way once they finished with their greeting Wyatt's attention fixed on the man who was next to Chad.
William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney, the man who took Clemson from being an inconsistent team to a strong national contender in the ACC winning the ACC championship (2011), an ACC Atlantic division title (2009), and came from winning the Chick-fil-A Bowl against LSU.
At the same time that he was awarded the Bobby Dodd prize in 2011 having a great reputation among the football coaches of Division I of the NCAA.
"Coach," Wyatt said seriously in the direction of the man who until the moment had not said even a word in his direction and only found himself looking at him as if he were evaluating him.
"Call me Dabo," was the first comment Dabo Swinney made in the direction toward him "Alright Dabo," Wyatt said causing him to simply nod in his direction "Let's not waste more time," he said turning and entering inside the sports center.
"Don't mind him," Chad said with a resigned smile upon seeing his friend's attitude "Believe it or not he was among the most excited upon finding out that you would come here," he shared in a low voice causing Wyatt to imagine a Dabo celebrating in the middle of a room along with the rest of the technical staff.
Passing through the entrance door Wyatt was immediately received by the sight of the Chick-fil-A Bowl trophy which was being exhibited in a glass case right in front of the entrance so that every person who passes by can give a look at the trophy.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Chad said putting himself at Wyatt's side also admiring the new trophy that they had recently won not long ago "We must keep going or Dabo will kill us, he hates waiting," Chad said heading toward one of the hallways that led toward the area where they would do medical tests on Wyatt.
Passing through there Wyatt saw other areas like a completely equipped gym with several sets of weights of different sizes, treadmills, and benches for bench press and a video room in which the team meets to analyze plays and upcoming rivals.
Once they arrived at the medical area what followed was a process that Wyatt could not call any other way than tedious since they had to measure his height, hand length, fat percentage, muscle mass percentage, blood tests, and a lot of more tests which Wyatt stopped counting and only concentrated on finishing them once and for all.
Finally with all the tests finished the gear test followed in which Wyatt was trying on each piece of the gear from the helmet to the shoulder pads.
"Finished," Wyatt sighed completely dead after all that grueling process to which he had been subjected "Your data we will have within a week," said the voice of Dabo who had been standing in a corner watching the whole process.
"Spring training begins in March ending with a public game," was Dabo's next comment "In these 2 months we will make sure to improve your physical form so that you are ready and with luck you can play," he finished saying while Wyatt nodded in response being in agreement with all that.
"When do we start?" Wyatt asked winning at that moment a smile from Dabo as if he were waiting for him to say those words.
"Oh believe me boy once we start with the training you will wish you had never said those words," Dabo said while he turned and returned to his office leaving Wyatt to finish getting ready and leave the training center.
Exiting through the door through which he had entered Wyatt was received by the orange sunset in which the sun gave its last rays of the sun before the night begins.
While he walked in the direction toward his dormitory Wyatt could not help but think about all that had happened that day and the only thing he desired was to arrive and flop onto the bed, but upon remembering that he had to unpack a wince appeared on his face.
"What a nuisance," was Wyatt's last thought.
Authors thought's
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