Sixteen years ago this week, Mississippi State was preparing to open the season with a trip to play the Oregon Ducks. Oregon was coming off a top-5 finish and had just expanded their stadium. We were trying to bounce back from a 3-8 season.
We went through our normal practice that Thursday. I was a Freshman backup QB, but I ended up taking all the first-team snaps that day. I honestly didn't know why. Our Offensive Coordinator, Sparky Woods, just told me that Kevin (the starter) had some issues to clear up.
The plan was to finish practice and then get on the plane so we could arrive in Eugene a day early. So the whole team gathered in our meeting room before boarding the bus to the Golden Triangle Airport. That's when Coach Sherrill got up and announced, "Guys, Kevin's not coming."
There was a long pause. Total silence. I was processing what all this meant but it wasn't really registering. Then Coach Sherrill said, "We have another quarterback, and he'll be ready." That's when heads started turning to look at me. I was white as a sheet. I couldn't swallow.
"What this means..." Coach turned and scribbled something on the whiteboard and circled it. It was the number 15. "Is that everyone will just have to play 15 percent harder." That number turned out to be too low.
Several guys patted me on the back, but not a whole lot of confidence. It was a solemn moment. From the charter bus, I called my parents and left a message. I told them what was going on, but apparently the message was garbled and they couldn't make it out.
They didn't find out what was going on until they landed in Oregon. The news was spreading. Once on the airplane, I couldn't sit still. I must have walked from my seat to the restroom a dozen times.
Sparky Woods gave a speech to the offense on Friday, all about how I was the Houston area offensive player of the year in high school, and how Houston has more people than the whole state of Mississippi. I'm not sure anyone was buying it.
Then Mario Haggan, our star linebacker, pulled me aside and said, "You're the bus driver! We're just riding the bus. You're driving it." I wanted to ask him to drive instead.
Friday night, our head trainer, Paul Mock, knocked on my door and asked, "You need help sleeping?" He held out a small pill in his hand. I didn't even ask what it was. I just took it. And honestly, I slept better than I thought I would.
The next morning, @CollegeGameDay mentioned our game, including a blurb about me. They mentioned MY name on College Gameday. I couldn't believe it. Never mind the fact that they said, "Kyle York's going to need a lot of luck going into Autzen Stadium."
On the bus to the stadium, Craig Stump sat with me. He was our WR coach, but had played QB under Coach Sherrill at Texas A&M. He told me that in his first ever college game, he threw a TD pass on the first play. In that moment, I thought I could do it, too.
Stepping off the bus, Carroll McCray (our OL Coach) pulled me aside. "I believe in you," he said. "Not just for what you can do on the football field. But I believe in who you are." Still the best pep talk I've ever received.
Oregon had just expanded their stadium, which was already considered the loudest on the West Coast. The game was to be nationally televised on Fox Sports. I stood on the sidelines as we kicked off, and I felt like my knees would buckle at any moment.
Our first play call was a roll out pass. I rolled right and threw one of the best passes of my whole career. It hit the WR in perfect stride...and he dropped it. To make matters worse, we got an offensive pass interference call and it backed us up inside our own 5 yard line.
We were outmatched, and ended up losing 36-13. I completed 18 of 37 passes, with two interceptions and a touchdown. I honestly played my heart out. In the locker room after the game, I cried; not from sadness, but from exhaustion.
It's easy for me to forget that feeling, and forget just how much these young men pour out for the sake of a game. They do the best they can with the talent God gave them. Sometimes it's good enough. Sometimes it's not.
The next day, the Clarion Ledger headline read: "Dogs can't blame this one on York." It was the most favorable headline ever written about me. I had an unremarkable career, but the game and my friendships shaped me in so many ways. I'm so glad I got to be a Bulldog.
