re: ESPN The Mag (Where are they Now) #1 recruits the past 25 years(long)

quote:

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"People followed me around like I was famous. But my very first practice at Memphis was traumatic. My teammates hit me out of bounds, trying to hurt me. They scratched up my car, leaving notes that said, "We don't need you here." They trashed my dorm room, lit the door on fire. My coach, Charlie Bailey, had a team meeting and basically told the guys that if they had a problem with me, they would have a problem with him. On campus, being the No. 1 recruit was exhilarating. I was having dinner with the president of the university and the governor of Tennessee. But pretty soon I realized my circle consisted of nothing but football fans and rich, prestigious people. No one cared about me as a person; all they cared about was what they could get out of me. I had thousands of fans but no friends, and that's an awful way for a kid to feel. I still have dreams about hearing 80,000 fans screaming my name, though. Then I wake up in jail."

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