Tyler Jamison, May 11 (Part Two of Three)

I haven't gotten a chance to inform Patch on what's been going on lately ... and I feel bad.

So to make up for it, here's what's been going on with me as of late.

So, the weekend before last, my dad came home for Easter and we went off-roading and what not. But that Sunday night (on Easter) a letter for me came in from the Army. I opened it and I had been awarded a scholarship that I had applied for six months ago and had essentially forgotten about. It was for three years of full tuition to The Citadel.

When I first opened it I thought, "Oh, a little too late and I didn't consider it because my dad's G.I. bill pays fully for , and  I have been planning on going there for two months now." Soon, my dad convinced me to consider the option of going to a prestigious military school that would be great for my career. So, the next day I sent my highlight tape to their head coach, who called me and said he was very interested and would like to get me out there on a visit.

I was very happy to hear that a D1-AA school was interested in me.

So this last weekend I flew out to South Carolina. I arrived a day before my visit, so my dad picked me up in his little plane and we flew out to North Carolina for the day. I got to fly and cut through the clouds, something I haven't been able to do for years. When we got there, my grandpa and I went out to the lake in the backyard and caught about 12 fish for dinner. The next morning my dad and I woke up at 5:30 a.m., to get in the hunting stand and hunt some turkey. Unfortunately, three hours later we didn't see anything and had to hit the road back down to South Carolina for my visit.

When we got there, we met the head coach and sat down and talked to him for over an hour about football and the school. They run a triple option offense and would like to convert me to a running quarterback and put about twenty pounds on me this year, all while increasing my 40 time from a 4.75 to a 4.5, so I could eventually take over their offense. After leaving his office we checked out the football building, which consisted of the weight room. computer lab, lounges and a meeting room. The weight room was very impressive, containing about 25 racks and a diverse set of weights with a chocolate milk machine on the wall.

The rest of the school was beautiful, with a castle theme all around and old military equipment such as tanks, helicopters, jets and artillery spread around the campus. But the most amazing thing about the school was their football stadium, which looked like an NFL-style, Castle-type stadium.

I found out a lot about the everyday life of the cadets, who have to wake up at 5:30 a.m., every morning, do PT, eat breakfast, then go to school. Then I would have to lift, then practice. Rarely are they let off campus and everyone is prohibited to leave Monday through Thursday, and when they do leave they must keep their white dress uniforms on wherever they go. This strict military lifestyle would perfectly prepare me for my career. I would come out a second-leuitenant Army officer. 

So now, I have another decision on my hands, and I will re-evaluate both schools and decide shortly.