Bluegrass State of Mind(14)

When they finished dinner, they got up from the booth, and Kenna noticed Will leaving a twenty on the table even though dinner had been on the house. He placed his hand at the small of her back and navigated her out of the cafe as people waved and said they'd see her later. She had never felt so close to a group of people before.

"How about we walk up to Miss Lily's? It's such a nice night out," he said, helping her slide on a light jacket.

"That would be great.” As they crossed Main Street and headed up to Miss Lily's, she turned to Will. His face was in profile as the moonlight shone down to show a slight scar on the bridge of his sharp nose. "How did you get that scar?" Kenna asked, gently running her finger over it.

"I got it during a game. We were playing an away game in Green Bay during December. It was freezing outside. Snow was covering the field and this strong wind was blowing. My receivers couldn't get their feet under them and that left me in the pocket longer than normal. One play, while waiting for my receiver to get open, I got hit from behind by a huge lineman. I wasn't prepared for it, so I hit the ground full force with my face leading the way. My helmet slid down a little and cut the bridge of my nose. The good thing was I had just managed to get the ball off, and we ended up winning the game with that touchdown. The other good thing was that it was so cold that I didn't feel much of it. When the doc looked at me after the game, the blood had frozen and there was very little mess."

"I know you played in the NFL in D.C. for a couple of years, but that's all. Did you always intend to go pro?"

"No, I went to the University of Kentucky on a football scholarship. I was red-shirted my first year though. They had a great QB and a junior backup so I wasn't really needed. Also, I was still pretty scrawny. I didn't really bulk up until the end of my freshman year. I grew taller, and the strength coach kicked my butt daily. I filled out, and by the time the QB in front of me graduated, I was ready to play. Anyway, I went on to start my junior and senior year. We had this great Air Raid offense that really padded my stats, too. Because of my red shirt, I had five years of college. So while it was technically my senior year of football, I had already graduated and was enrolled in the MBA program."

"You got your MBA while playing football? That must've been tough."

"Actually, I only got one of the two years completed then. I had a pretty good senior year and started to get scouted by some pro teams. I thought I'd give it a try since there was some interest, so I entered my name in the draft. I ended up being drafted late in the second round to D.C. Halfway through my first year, I was content riding the bench and watching one of the best NFL QB's picking apart team after team. But late in October we were playing the Falcons. It was a battle of the top teams. They were first in the NFC and we were second. We were neck and neck through the first half. But then in the third quarter, they started pulling away. They were ten points ahead when our QB got rolled by one of our lineman and went down."

"What does 'rolled' mean and why did your lineman do it?” she asked.

"The offensive line is made up of the big men that have the job of protecting the QB. Well, one of the defensive players on the Falcons knocked over one of the linemen. When you knock down a 320-pound man, the momentum sends him into the QB's leg. In this case he rolled onto the QB's foot, trapping it. When he hit the leg, it resulted in almost snapping the bone. It tore a whole bunch of ligaments and tendons though. Put him out for the rest of the season."

"So, with Number One out, you got your big chance." She smiled and jumped in front of him, pretending to pass a football down the street. "I bet you won the game by throwing the winning touchdown," she laughed.

"Actually, far from it. I caused us to lose. I threw the losing interception. I got cussed out by the coach and slammed by the talking heads. I was totally unprepared to be the starter. I hadn't played a single down before that game but was suddenly expected to lead the team. Lucky for me, Doron, the injured QB, helped me out a lot. He would come in early for practice and spend an hour with me teaching me the system and what to look for."

"So, how long did you stay in the NFL? Were you fired?"

"No, I wasn't fired," Will laughed as they stopped on the front porch of Miss Lily's bed and breakfast. He turned and faced her. "Although I kinda sucked for the next month and we fell in the ranking, we managed to get into the playoffs and by that time the extra practice with the coaches and Doron really paid off. I started throwing more touchdowns and fewer interceptions. We ended up the runner-up in our division that year, which was a big accomplishment for a rookie like me."