The only guarantee is that your journey will not go as you imagine.
That’s the first line I tell Elite 11 quarterbacks every summer.
This past weekend, our NBC crew stood at the 50 as Michigan State hosted Northwestern in a Big Ten clash full of drama, talent and growing programs.
The headline was Spartans head coach Pat Fitzgerald facing his former team, now led by David Braun, the man he once hired as the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator.
The subtitle was Aidan Chiles returning to East Lansing, where he was a two-time captain.
The game went back and forth. With 65 seconds remaining, Chiles had the ball, 80 yards from the end zone. After my partner, Paul Burmeister, and I called the game-winning drive, that line hit me once again.
The only guarantee is that your journey will not go as you imagine.
Chiles began his career at Oregon State, followed Jonathan Smith to Michigan State, and is now learning Chip Kelly’s system while leading a ranked Northwestern team. I asked him this week if he ever could have imagined that. As you’d guess, he told me, “no chance.”
Flying home on a Saturday night for the first time this fall, I’m watching games and seeing that line play out again and again.
From Ann Arbor to Austin. Bloomington to Knoxville. Pasadena to Eugene.
It’s simply a fact.
What intrigues me most is how Bryce Underwood and Arch Manning respond, how Julian Sayin recovers and how Dante Moore supports.