I found myself in East Lansing, Michigan for the first time on a fall Saturday. And yet, walking out of practice on Friday, I’d never felt more at home.
To my left was Aaron Pflugrad, whose games I used to call back in the day when he was making plays as a wideout at Arizona State. To my right, Brian Lindgren, a coach I’ve seen call plays at multiple schools over the past decade. Post practice I spent time with Jim Michalczik, one of the most respected offensive line coaches in the game, and a good friend. And prior to heading into the facility I learned about the path of Keith Bhonapha, a future head coach and leader of men I deeply admire, as his story will inspire any coach.
And to end Friday’s preparation for the game Guy Haberman, Rhett Lewis and our crew were able to spend time with head coach Jonathan Smith. Jonathan and I go back to our early 20s, both just finished playing, both just getting into coaching. It was crystal clear then that he would find great success. He was driven, wise beyond his years and had a moxie only QBs can have.
Flying home today my mind is drifting to the reality that the game of football has a way of weaving lives together, of connecting you in ways you can never predict and impacts all of us in ways that can truly be meaningful.
It mirrors the actual games.