Top Prospect

by Paul Volponi

Travis Gardner lives to play quarterback. He's a standout QB by the middle school, and he's prepared to put everything he has into the game. Then Gainesville University's head coach makes Travis a promise: Travis will have a place on the team, and a scholarship to go with it. He just has to get through high school first.



As Travis starts ninth grade, he'll have to earn his teammates' trust and dodge opponents aiming to sack the star quarterback. But his biggest challenge might be staying focused in the face of sudden fame. Because now the pressure is on, and Travis has to prove himself with every pass.

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Football, Fiction, Family

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2016

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb

I really liked the book. It tells the story of a football prodigy and a the temptations of that roll.

Top Prospect was inspired by several real-life cases in which football players received high-profile scholarship offers from major college programs before entering high school.

Recommend

[Noah Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a good book it started off as a football book then it turned into a mystery book.

[Caden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books I have ever read. And I never wanted to put it down. I would give it a 10/10.

It was a story about a 9th grade boy named Travis whos brother just got a full ride scholarship to play football at Gainsvill. Travis was a quarter back just going into high school and wanted to go to the same school as his brother. But one day he got a phone call. It was from the head coach of gainsvill. He told Travis the he would give him a full ride scholarship. Being in only 9th grade he was dumb struck. He had no idea what to say.

I dont think the author could have made a better book, it was over all a entertaining read. It was very powerful like when Travis's teammate died from steroids I felt sad. I think the strength where making it seem like it really could happen. But one of the things that was wrong with it was the settings. The whole book was on a football field pretty much and I think I would have enjoyed a little bit more change of place. You would not expect what happens in the end but I think it was a good ending. This book was a well written plot and made you fell like you were evolved in every thing that was happening. Over all I recommend this book to any one that likes sports or reading about sports.

[Michael Williams]

The name of the book I read is top prospect. Top prospect is a fictional story about a teenager going into high school gets a scholarship to his favorite college football team and he gets the scholarship partly because of his brother who had gotten a scholarship before Travis. Travis was watching the gators practice and he could see his brother and he saw a loose ball come by the bleachers and he jumped out of his seat and when he got it he threw it to his brother carter right on the money. After that the coach had him throw a few more to the other players. That night when he and his mom got home they got a call from the head coach his name is coach Goddard. Coach asked Travis if he would like to play for the gators and Travis happily accepted.

This was one of the best books i've ever read because it was so entertaining and I couldn’t put it down. The reason that I found it so interesting was because the author kept me hooked so well and I just couldn’t stop reading.However I didn’t like the ending to the book because everything broke down and it was just left that way and to me that's not a very good ending but that is just my opinion.

This book was one of the best books i've ever read and i would recommend it to anyone that likes football and it's just a good book to read even if you don’t understand football.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick little sports story with some mixed-media (newspaper articles, phone transcripts) thrown in. While the football action is realistic and relatable--the good guys don't always win--the characters just aren't that likable, other than older-brother Carter. I feel like the story (little brother gets a scholarship offer as an 8th grader) would have been much more interesting from HIS point of view.

The other issue I have is with some of the college football information. I love that Volponi goes after some of the negative issues in college football today (PEDs, payers getting "paid to play", NFL pressures), but it bothered me that Volponi constantly wrote about players celebrating their touchdowns (one player spins the ball and pretends it's on fire)--a huge no-no in college football that results in penalties, which are never mentioned. It just irked me for some reason--maybe because the football stuff is so detailed.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top Prospect
By: Paul Volponi
🏈
This was a required Summer Reading selection for my middle schooler. For the last few summers, I have read at least one of each of my boys' summer reading books.
🏈
I started this one late last night & finished it early this morning. It is a sweet book about two brothers who play football. Both boys receive offers to play @ the university near them.
🏈
The boys' parents are divorced, & their relationships w both parents are explored. Their friendships w classmates & teammates are also explored, as they navigate their worlds of academics & athletics.
🏈
As a single mother of two boys who love their sports, this was an entertaining read for me. I am not sure it would interest everyone, but I so enjoy discussing such books with my boys after we have all read them.
🏈🏈🏈🏈

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just a middle school sports book. Lots of layers that provide opportunities for deep thought and discussion.

[Ben Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book Top Prospect by Paul Volponi. The setting was a town in Florida. The main character is Travis Gardner. He has a older brother named Carter Gardner. Travis is telling the story about how he got a scholarship to University of Gainesville for football. At the start of the story, Carter accepts a scholarship to Gainesville for football. Coach Goddard, the coach of the Gators went to recruit Carter to the team and gained a relationship with Travis. Coach Goddard ask Travis to send him tapes of his games playing football. Then in 8th grade Travis gets a scholarship to play for the Gators. Travis accepts it and has pressure on him through the whole community and on television to prove that he deserves to play for a division one team.

These are some of the topics that happened in the book. Travis starts 9th grade and got asked to start at quarterback back even though it was his first practice. Travis won most of the games for there team and he got a lot of credit for it because of the scholarship. His best friend Damon, has been playing with Travis for a long time. He is a offensive linemen so he has to guard Travis the quarterback. They get in a fight because Travis hasn't been hanging out with him a lot. Damon quits the team because he wants to focus on body building and he does not want to pressure Travis. The whole story is about him going through high school with all the attention.

I loved the book a lot because I like sports and I liked how he showed a lot of details in the story. I think the author wanted to get people more into football. It was entertaining because the football games felt like you were their. The strength was how he described the games and the weakness was how he wrote about him being in school when the book is focused on football.

I liked the book a lot because it was well described and interesting how Travis got a scholarship when he was in 8th grade and he wrote all through high school about his games. I would like to recommend this to people who like sports and like a long detailed book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volponi does what Volponi does best yet again. This one focuses on the phenomenon of plucking the very young talents in sports and promising them scholarships and riches to play for their teams years before they're mature enough and hold a diploma!

The story focuses on two brothers. One who has accepted a full ride to play for the Gators, yet the coach's attention is grabbed by Carter's younger brother and he is promised (as an eighth grader) a spot as a quarterback on the Gators' college team when he graduates. This catapults the boys into fame, but specifically Travis as he gets a bit big for his britches, with his immaturity showing, especially as it also relates to how his older brother feels (his "Carter Takes" chapters give us this perspective). There's also quite a bit that focuses on the deception and allure involved in sports including doping, playing through pain that will ultimately cause more injuries, and dollar signs).

Yet, one of my favorite elements of the story is the boys' relationship with their absent father. He moved away after divorcing their mother to live with his new wife and her teenage son, carting him everywhere but never making time for his real sons. The humanity of this part of the story really stuck with me.

Again, Volponi makes an accessible sports read that showcases this behind the scenes look.

[Sarai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I read Paul Volponi's book The Final Four, and I don't think I liked this one quite as much as that one, but this one was still very good. It highlights the relationship between Travis, the younger brother, and Carter, the older brother, as Travis gets offered a scholarship when he's still in middle school and Carter has his own goals playing college ball. Very real characters and emotions. It was a little light on the sports action, but dealt well with the idea of sports as a fun activity versus sports as a job. Appropriate for school visits. Does mention drugs in sports.


Book description:
Travis Gardner lives to play quarterback. He's a standout QB by the middle school, and he's prepared to put everything he has into the game. Then Gainesville University's head coach makes Travis a promise: Travis will have a place on the team, and a scholarship to go with it. He just has to get through high school first.

As Travis starts ninth grade, he'll have to earn his teammates' trust and dodge opponents aiming to sack the star quarterback. But his biggest challenge might be staying focused in the face of sudden fame. Because now the pressure is on, and Travis has to prove himself with every pass.

[Jordan Alcala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins with two brothers who both shared love for the game and sport. The sport allows them to compete against each other but also shows almost a jealous side to the brotherly love. The game itself gives them both uprising and exciting news but like everything good things come to an end and in this football revolved story it always seem as one rises the other rises and when one falls they both fall. These brothers react based on each other and others think of them.

[Kade · Rating 5 out of 5]

in the book top prospect the main character is travis he has a brother carter travis is in middle school and carter is in collage travis is a QB and carter is a TE so they play together all the time carter got a scholarship to Gainesville and travis is one of the best QB's in his middle school so carter takes travis with him all the time to work on football

[25_GAGE BLAUWET · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top Prospect written by Paul Volponi is one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. The main character Travis Gardner is a high school quarterback with integrity and hard work. During the story, he goes through many hardships, and with the help of his family and friends, he chooses the right things and finds his way through the story. The amount of tension and suspense that is used throughout the book makes you want to keep reading. He also creates very mature and relatable characters to help build the story. I think Top Prospect is one of his best books because of these interesting characters and suspenseful organization.
The organization of Top Prospect makes a reader want to keep reading. Throughout the story, he creates multiple problems that keep it very interesting. With surprising deaths and the truth coming out, it makes a reader think about what is going to happen next. “You ready to go up to the casket and pay your respects?” This is a quote that shows one of the problems and creates tension in the story. He also leaves you on a cliffhanger with what is going to happen next. When a problem is about to be solved he stretches it out and forces you to read more and keeps it very interesting.
The main character of this story, Trevor, is a very unique and intriguing person. He is a star athlete in high school and his dream school just offered him a scholarship but some things turn up and now he has to make a decision. He talks with his family and coaches and takes in everybody’s thoughts because he doesn’t think he is mature enough for these problems. He also has some problems at high school that cause him to mature and tell the truth to grow as a person throughout the story. I think he is very interesting because he is trying to do the right thing and doesn’t want to hurt anyone's feelings while choosing the right thing.
That’s why the suspenseful organization and interesting characters make this a very good book. Travis Gardner is one of my favorite characters to read about and that’s what makes this a very good book. Paul Volponi is one of my favorite authors and I think everyone would like this book.

[Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top Prospect by Paul Volponi
When Travis Gardner meets the head coach of the Florida Gators his whole entire life is turned upside down twice in a matter of months. This also isn’t even counting his father not living with him and ignoring a big part of his life. Read the book to find out what turned his life around.

One thing I liked about this book was the way it described the characters all the way through. One example of this was when it described Carter, Travis’s brother, explaining his brothers situation of college’s and his past. The way it described it that I liked was the specific details of his past childhood memories, his college situation and getting offered a full ride scholarship to the Florida Gators, and finally how he deals with the many challenges and situations that College football brings along. Not only this character was described all the way through this was just one character not including the many others that were also described thoroughly.

Another thing that I believe Volponi did great was explaining the situation that all of the characters are in. One example of this is this boy named Alex, Carters football roomate. In this book Alex is faced with many challenges including getting hurt causing his leg to be hurt and miss the remainder of the season. As Alex takes steroids a big headline breaks loose about somebody dying that was on the Florida Gators. Will it be Alex or an unimportant character. You’ll have to read book to find out more about that.

In conclusion I feel that Volponi did many great things in this book and should continue to write more sports book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sports book or just a great book with a storyline.

[Mason Carrier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travis Gardner, a young seventh grade Pop Warner quarterback is hit with a life changing college scholarship. However, this doesn't mean that his life will be free of obstacles. Take away football from Travis and he’s just another seventh grade boy that likes to hang out with his friends and play video games. Travis hopes to follow in his older brother Carter’s footsteps as he begins his first season playing for the Gainesville Gators football team and Travis had just got his unguaranteed scholarship. Travis is immediately flooded by newfound popularity and the media for becoming one of the youngest people ever to receive this kind of promise by a college level team. Along with publicity arises problems that could ruin Travis’ career and the whole Gators football program. Paul Volponi was successful in developing the story throughout the whole book by including many real life issues and situations. The book can be, at times, slow or empty because there isn’t much dialogue included in some chapters making the book disinteresting and a bit boring in some parts of the book. When situations hit Travis was when I was most interested in the story itself and was able to understand the plot much better. The book also could’ve been a bit longer because the ending chapters almost felt a bit rushed progressing too quickly. A theme that I observed repeat itself in the book was to trust your gut. Many times in the story Travis has thoughts in his mind that he knows he should follow but he only does what he thinks the people and media would want him to. The constant back and forth of thoughts was a really well developed part of the book and helped continue the plot.

[Stephon]

The name of the book that I read was “top prospect” by paul volponi. it's a realistic fiction book that has happened in the real world to other top prospects. The settings of the book's top prospects are based in a town in Florida. There's one main character in the book and his name is Travis. Travis has an older brother named carter. Later on, in the book carter will help Travis get a football scholarship. All throughout the book Travis is telling the story on how his football career is going. Travis has a lot of ups and downs throughout the book. 105. At the beginning of the book, Travis talks a little about how he struggles in school and how his father is mentally abusive. He also tells how he went to one of his older brother carter football workouts where was throwing a football and the head coach saw him. The head coach noticed that Travis had a lot of potentials so he offered him a scholarship to gainesville. One of Travis's first challenges was winning the varsity quarterback spot He ended up winning the spot but the QB that he beat and up transferring schools. While I was reading I had a thought in my mind that this would happen because this happens in my life all that time on the football team. The quarterback that ended up transferring to their rival school ended up beating Travis and his team. Travis had a lot of challenges with a shoulder injury. So finally at the end of the book, the college coach that offered Travis the scholarship got a better job for an NFL team which meant the Travis would lose his offer. Once he lost his offer he became a normal high school football player with no hype.

[Francesca De · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Volponi, acclaimed award winning author of Black and White and Riker’s High has done it again with his newest realistic fiction, young adult novel, Top Prospect. Eighth grader, Travis Gardener, a standout quarterback, is verbally offered a potential scholarship to Gainesville University, days after his brother Carter is given a scholarship to play football at Gainesville. Football is Travis’ passion, and he is willing to work as hard as he can and prove his worth, to the renowned coach Goddard. Volponi writes in a way that will have the reader in Travis’ corner cheering him on. The book follows Travis through his freshman year in highschool as he is selected to play quarterback on the Varsity team. Alternating chapters allow Carter to share his perspective; he is unsure of how he feels about the spotlight on his brother and struggles to find his own success with the Gainesville Gators. As Travis experiences his new found fame he must learn to adapt to all the pressures and demands that go along with being a top prospect as he simultaneously maneuvers through life as an adolescent. “Everything that glitters isn’t gold;” this is a central theme in the novel as Travis learns that not everyone thinks he is worthy of the scholarship or his new found fame, and everyone isn’t as genuine as they seem. Travis finds that everything he ever wanted comes with a price. Will he be willing to pay it?

[Sean H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because seemed interesting and I like sports books. The reviews were positive on goodreads. I read the description and it seemed like a great book. I liked it because the main story is interesting, but there are multiple conflicts and smaller stories such as the rivalry between brothers, their relationship with their father, PEDs, and how Travis has to deal with the fame. There are different detailed perspectives of each character. The story has layers that affect one another. One of my favorite parts was a big event in the book. It was when Carter’s roommate, Alex, overdosed on performance enhancing drugs. It was a very sad part of the book. It foreshadowed some later events and affected the events taking place at that time. It was interesting seeing the how characters the characters dealt with the situation. It was not a happy part, but it was an important and emotional event in the story. Yes I enjoyed this book and I think others would to. Most sports fans would like this book, but anybody can enjoy this book. At times it is detailed about football, but for the rest anybody can read and connect with it. I would rate this book 5 stars.
My next independent reading project will be the book “Ungifted” by Gordon Korman. It is about a boy who gets in trouble and mistakenly gets sent to a gifted school. The reviews were positive and I think that I have seen some people read it. I believe I will like this book because it already seems interesting and other people have enjoyed this book

[Dakota Trowbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you enjoy football? Well then this is the book for you. It's super relatable as a teen who enjoys to watch and read about football. It follows the story of Travis Gardner who, after his brother accepts a scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville, he gets a scholarship of his own. But as he grows up and starts high school he realizes, there's a lot more to life than just football.

A feature i liked was how he was able to compare a lot of the things happening to him in his life to football. He was able to do it while he was at school or while he was lifting or anywhere else. Travis is a quarterback, which is one of the most important positions in football, so having a good football IQ and being able to bring football into any situation is a good trait.

Another feature that I liked were the newspaper articles scattered throughout the boo that illustrated the media's point of view of Travis. The articles were pretty intriguing and kind of spiced up the book here and then. Travis is a scholarship athlete, so seeing the medias perspective of him was interesting.

After finishing this book I kind of felt as if the author just hurried up and made an ending very fast. The conclusion is very fast paced and abrupt. But, overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to other teens who enjoy reading about football.

[Nina O'Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story begs the discussion of how much pressure is put on athletes and at what ages. Two brothers, one headed to college on a football scholarship and the other an eighth grader who has a verbal scholarship from the head coach to the same college where his brother will be playing. Carter, the older of the two, has worked hard his whole life to get to this point and knows in college the pressure will be amplified. Travis, a career quarterback (lefty) has been riding high playing up until now. Entering ninth grade, with immense pressure he's unprepared for, he secures the starting quarterback job and begins to learn to understand the politics of the game as much as the game itself. He trains with his brother and his roommate, Alex, at the college and works at the car dealership of the very friendly and helpful college booster. You know, the booster who gives college athletes a little too good of a deal on cars. That guy. When the unthinkable happens to Alex, Carter and Travis start to question their roles in football and just how far they will go to be the best. Good topic but with characters I had a hard time connecting with to enjoy the story; nonetheless, this will be an easy sell.

[Adrian Maslanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travis Gardner is handed the opportunity to be the starting varsity quarterback for the Gainesville Gators football team. A teammate of Tarvis’s dies from an overdose of PEDs and one of the coaches is to blame. Travis’s elbow gets injured and his grades began to fall, which leads Travis into making bad decisions. Carter (tTravis’s brother) is then in danger of getting arrested for assaulting one of the coaches. Travis hits an all time low with his football and outside life. Once his elbow is healed and he gets back on track, Travis’s grades go up and gets better at football. The theme of the book is that you shouldn't let things get into your way and keep moving forward. If Travis kept on making making decisions, he would never get to the point of getting better at football and having his life put back in place. This is a great book to read because events like this can happen and have happened in the past. Many athletes have been caught using PEDs and they've always ended up getting in trouble and their career would be ruined. This book also gives a little lesson on why you shouldn't use PEDs because they won't lead to any success.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are like most 8th graders, you're likely going to be "normal" and worry about normal middle school stuff. For instance, you might be worried about moving up in to high school. But what if you had the stress of a scholarship on your back. The fact that one mistake, could ruin your future, and you could lose it all. That is what Travis Gardner is having to go though in Top Prospect. As an 8th grade quarterback, he has to make sure that he is on his game every day. His older brother Carter Gardner, just graduated high school and is going to play for the Gainesville Gators as a tight-end. This book is every realistic and descriptive, whether it's about Travis getting hit or how he feels about his grades. In certain parts of the book, you might be a little confused on what Travis is feeling, but for the most part the book does a good job at helping you to step into Travis's shoes. I recommend this book to 7th-10th grade students that like the sport of football. This was a nice easy read that I enjoyed.

[Brady Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very entertaining. The main character Travis is a middle school student with big dreams of playing college football. Travis' older brother Carter gets awarded a scholarship to Gainesville university. This really fuels Trais drive to play football. At practice a stray ball comes to the stand. Travis grabbed it and jumped onto the field and threw a couple passes catching the eye of the head coach. Some time goes by and the coach takes some interest in the young freshman offering him a scholarship.

The book swings heavily around the use of PEDs and other steroids in the college football scene. With Carters roommate and best friend dying it really wraps the story all together.

Why did I rate it 4 stars? The only thing I didn't like about the book was Travis' attitude at some points in the book. Since the book is based on a younger kid I found some of the text rather cringy and wasn't a huge fan of how the text was worded in some parts.

[Nathan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

February, Top Prospect by Paul Volponi
Top Prospect is a great book. There is a boy named Travis that first played for Pop Warner tackle football. He ended up getting a full football scholarship for the Gainsville Gators. He then graduated middle school the went to high school. He went to Buecamp high school and played quarterback on the Beucamp Bobcats. Travis's brother, Carter was a Gator student who had a room mate named Alex. They both played wide receiver for the Gators. Alex tore his ACL one game a couple weeks later Alex died.
There is an important main idea to this book. The main idea is to never give up and to beleive in others. At one point when Alex tore his ACL he kept working in practice and played the next game. Also when Travis hurt his arm he played the game he may have lost but he didn't give up.

[Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top Prospect by Paul Volponi tells us a story about a boy on his way to college football. I am reading the book right now and i am really liking it. Personally i hate reading i am a teenage boy so why would i like to read. I do have to say though this book is keeping me intrigued and wanting to read more and i have only read like 3 books all time like this. Overall though it was definitely a top 3 book I've ever read. If there was a second book to this i would definitely this. The best thing about this book is the characters and how they use them. I like how they have the brothers on here so maybe people can relate to it and things like that. This author is very creative. I have also recommended this book to many people because it is so good.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travis is a top ranked QB right out of middle school, he prepared to throw everything on the line for the game and a chance to play D1 ball.
Travis's older brother, Carter, has already been offered the chance to play for one of the best football programs in the country, The University of Florida. When he gets this opportunity Travis gets introduced to Coach Elvis Goddard, the head coach of The Florida Gators. Coach Goddard promises
Travis that he will too one day have a spot on the team fueled by a scholarship.
This boosts Travis's ego a lot. He's starting the ninth grade and he's going to need help from family and his friends to stay healthy and not lose relationships along the way. The pressure is on Travis. Everyone knows who this kid is and where he's going in life. Anything he does could mess up his whole future, he's got to be careful.
My favorite part of the book is all of the points where Travis is playing a game

[DarrionD]

During this quarter I read two books: Ready player One and Top prospect. While I was reading the book Top prospect i began to connect with this book more than I ever had while reading a book. Me being a future college athlete this book was fun to read. Right off the bat I saw how easy this book was to read and I liked it more this book is an easy read but not like pre-k easy but difficult enough. Another reason I liked this book was because Paul Volponi used multiple kids who are pre D-1 athletes, which means they had scholarships waiting for them when they got to high school because of the skills they showed in 8th grade. Also Paul didn’t try and leave out anything he tells it like it is, so if you like an Author that is going to let the whole story then this is the book for you.

[Christopher Weinmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top Prospect is motivation for young athletes, Young quarterback Travis Gardner loves the game of football. He shows a ton of interest at his brothers college practice and he stands out. And is highly rewarded when Coach G sees him. Travis lives for the fame, and is highly liked throughout his hometown. Through struggles and happiness this is the book that is close to student athletes daily lives. I really enjoyed this book, as a student athlete myself I feel as this book is close to daily life. And it really goes into detail of the kinds of struggles that can happen as an athlete. Not only is this book close to real life, it is a really good book the author really knows what happens in sports.

[Rachel Rooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 2018-2019 Missouri Truman Readers Award preliminary nominee (grades 6-8).

Travis Gardner loves football. He is the quarterback of his Pop Warner football team. When his brother Carter joins the Gainesville University football team, Travis gets his own offer: a place on the team in 5 years and a scholarship. He just has to finish middle school and high school first.

This was surprisingly good for a sports book. I found it compelling, and I didn't feel hammered by its messaging. It was my second book recently where a promising young athlete dies suddenly, possibly from the use of PEDs, and I liked the way it was handled.

3.5 stars.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book is Top Prospect by Paul Volponi and it is about a kid that is in middle school football and his older brother is being drafted to the Florida Gators and his brother is a star tight end. His name is Alex and his older brother is Carter. After carter got drafted by coach Dan Mullen Dan had see alex and he had like what alex had been doing in football the only problem is alex is a left handed quarterback but that does not change Dan’s point of view on him. So later he goes to play with the Gators and his older brother gets drafted to the Seattle Seahawks and alexa has a great time in florida and ends up getting drafted to the NFl to.