Andrew was picked up from the airport in an official black SUV from the Tigers football program and driven to the hotel reserved by the university.
The destination was The Tiger Hotel. The name was no coincidence: it was a classic, historic property. Missouri typically reserved it exclusively for important recruits and high-profile visits.
Steve and his mother arrived in a separate vehicle and stayed at the same hotel.
The accommodations were clearly premium.
Mitch and Cam also had a spacious, comfortable room paid for by the university, arranged for them and Lily. As for Andrew, the program could easily have assigned him a private room. Still, he and Steve chose to share. Two separate beds, of course, but the idea of experiencing the weekend together made everything far more entertaining.
"This room is huge," Steve exclaimed as he stepped out of the bathroom, overflowing with energy despite how early it was. "The bathroom feels like another room! It even has a jacuzzi!"
Andrew smiled as he placed his suitcase on the bed. He hadn't brought much, after all, it would only be two days.
"Yeah… you can definitely tell it's four stars," Andrew said, nodding.
They had about an hour of free time to settle in, shower, and rest after the flight before meeting the staff again.
Andrew knew exactly what came next.
The itinerary was clear: pre-game activities, then the game itself, Missouri was playing at home that afternoon, the kickoff with the stadium atmosphere at its peak. Later, the post-game, a private dinner after the game, and with that, Saturday would be practically wrapped up.
It was going to be a long day, and it was still early.
"Plus, we're the only recruits this weekend…" Steve said with a wide, slightly exaggerated, almost arrogant smile. "We really are important."
Missouri was treating the visit as ultra-selective.
Only the two of them would be on campus that weekend. The entire focus of the program, staff, recruiting operations, logistics, revolved exclusively around Andrew and Steve. No other recruits were invited. No divided attention. It was absolute VIP treatment.
Andrew nodded without adding much. For him, that level of attention wasn't new. At both UCLA and Georgia, his official visits had followed a similar pattern. It was expected when you were the recruit everyone wanted.
"Do you think the Tigers can beat the Bears?" Steve asked, leaning back with his arms behind his head.
The Missouri Tigers were facing the Baylor Bears that night.
Andrew took a second before answering. "Missouri's playing at home, that's always an advantage," he said. "But Baylor is coming in stronger. They're 5–3."
Steve nodded slightly as he listened.
"I think it'll be a very close game," Andrew continued. "But if I had to bet, I'd say the Bears take it. Especially with Robert Griffin."
Baylor came in on a stronger run. Missouri, meanwhile, entered with a 4–4 record, an inconsistent season so far. Still, they hadn't suffered any humiliating losses, most had been close games decided by just a few points.
Steve nodded in agreement. "Griffin's on fire."
Andrew nodded again. Robert Griffin III was Baylor's quarterback, and his name was already gaining serious traction in the Heisman Trophy conversation. In fact, Andrew knew he was going to win it.
He came from the future. And he had always been obsessed with football. He knew the Heisman winners.
Of course, he didn't remember Griffin's exact final stats, nor Baylor's precise record.
And obviously, he couldn't tell Steve that as part of his reasoning for thinking the Bears would win.
At the start of the 2011 season, few people expected much from Baylor. In the Big 12 preseason poll, they had been picked sixth, theoretically a middle-of-the-pack team.
But Griffin changed everything.
In the season opener, they faced a nationally ranked top-15 team. On paper, they were in trouble. On the field, not so much. Griffin threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns, leading Baylor to an unexpected victory.
That proved that five touchdowns were not impossible, not even at the highest level of college football. There were games, very few, special circumstances, in which a quarterback could throw even more.
But what was truly difficult was consistency.
From what Andrew remembered, not the exact numbers, but the general picture clearly, Robert Griffin III would finish that season with somewhere between 35 and 40 touchdowns. In college football, a team has 12 guaranteed regular-season games. If you qualify for a bowl game or the BCS National Championship, the total can rise to 13 games.
Only conferences that feature a conference championship game, such as the Pac-12 today, make it possible to reach 14 games. The Big 12, on the other hand, did not have one at that time. So for a team like Baylor, the real ceiling was 13 games.
Scoring 40 touchdowns in 13 games meant an average of 3.07 per game.
An elite number. Absolutely dominant.
And even so, that calculation made something clear: throwing five touchdowns in every game was practically impossible, even for a Heisman-level quarterback.
Even looking into the future, Andrew remembered the case of Joe Burrow — LSU (2019).
Burrow would finish that season with 65 total touchdowns, 60 passing and 5 rushing, over 15 games. That came out to an average close to 4.3 per game, an absurd figure even by historical standards.
Andrew, meanwhile, was averaging more than five touchdowns per game that season with Mater Dei. But that was high school.
He didn't know if he could maintain such an average in college. And even less so considering the kind of path he wanted to choose: not a ready-made superpower, but a competitive program with potential, one where you had to build, not simply execute.
Although when Andrew reached college, Burrow would not yet exist as a reference point; at the moment, he was just a younger kid.
Around 10:30 in the morning, Andrew and Steve went back down to the hotel lobby. Gradually, their families joined them, and there they reunited with the Tigers' recruiting staff.
From there, they headed to what in college football is known as a tailgate, a pregame tradition in which fans, former players, and members of the program gather to eat, socialize, and soak in the game-day atmosphere.
In this case, it wasn't one open to the public, but a private tailgate, with an area reserved exclusively for them.
David and Andy weren't with them the entire time. That was logical, the game was less than two hours away, and they were key pieces in the team's strategy and needed to refocus on the matchup. Still, the time they dedicated to them showed how important they were.
Even the head coach stopped by for about five minutes to say hello: Gary Pinkel.
At 11:30 a.m., it was time to head to the stadium: Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium, home of the Missouri Tigers football team. With a capacity close to 57,000, it wasn't the largest stadium in college football, but its closed, vertical architecture concentrated the noise, making the atmosphere feel intense and immersive.
For Andrew and Steve, it was their first time stepping into the Tigers' stadium. They entered through internal access points and were escorted to their premium recruiting seats, located in a privileged section with a clear view of the field and close to the areas where players and staff moved.
As kickoff approached, the stadium began filling rapidly. Thirty minutes before kickoff, around noon, the scheduled start time, more than 52,000 tickets had already been sold, a very solid attendance for a noon game. By the time of the opening kick, the stadium was nearly full.
The stands were painted in black and gold.
In one of the stadium booths sat the ESPN broadcast team.
[We're five minutes away from kickoff!] the play-by-play announcer declared, his voice charged with the typical energy of a college game day. [Faurot Field is filling up fast, the atmosphere is electric for this matchup between Missouri and Baylor.]
The analyst beside him nodded and smiled slightly. [And there's something else that's generating buzz,] he added. [It's not directly related to either the Tigers or the Bears, but it's the hot topic across all of college football.]
The play-by-play announcer didn't take long to realize what his partner was referring to.
[That's right. In the stands today is the quarterback from Mater Dei High School, the number one recruit in the country, and for many, the greatest high school prospect of all time: Andrew Pritchett-Tucker!]
Instantly, the cameras searched for the recruiting section.
The broadcast feed switched angles, and the image also appeared on the stadium's giant video board.
Andrew came into focus, seated next to Steve. A graphic appeared on screen:
#1 Overall Recruit – QB – 5★
The murmur was immediate. Not a deafening ovation, but something impossible to ignore: scattered applause, a few shouts, and fingers pointing toward the screen.
"Who's that kid?" a Missouri fan asked, frowning as he looked up. "A recruit? I've never seen them show recruits on the big screen."
The friend beside him widened his eyes in disbelief. "What do you mean who is that? Have you been living under a rock?" he replied. "That's Andrew Pritchett-Tucker. The quarterback. The number one YouTuber. He's tearing it up in high school. I'm telling you right now, he's going to win the Heisman when he's a junior or senior."
His friend looked doubtful. "I don't really follow the high school scene much. I don't know… Heisman talk sounds like way too much hype. The last time I bought into something like that was with Clausen, and that ended up being a disappointment."
"Isn't he the guy whose highlights are always popping up on Twitter?" another fan chimed in from a different section of the stands.
"Yeah, that's him," the guy next to him replied, taking a long sip from his beer. "Five-star. They say he's the best prospect ever."
A few rows higher up, a group reacted late when the image appeared on the giant screen.
"What?! Andrew's here?! In Missouri?!" a guy shouted, putting his hands on his head.
"Who?" his girlfriend asked from the seat beside him. She followed football mostly because of him, and because of everything that came with university life.
He didn't take offense. He grinned, flexed his arms dramatically, and struck an exaggerated pose. "Because of him I've got these babies," he said, showing off his biceps. "And you should thank him too, my cardio improved so much that, collateral benefit, I last longer in bed now."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, resigned.
Many in the stadium recognized him instantly. He was the number one YouTuber, with over five million subscribers. His recruitment was being followed nationwide like few others in history. But what no one knew, at least until that moment, was that he had accepted an official visit to Missouri.
In another section, a guy stared at the screen wide-eyed. "No way… could he actually be our quarterback?"
His friend swallowed. "I never thought he'd even consider Missouri," he admitted. "What the hell?!"
Five-star recruits usually chose powerhouse programs. And even less imaginable was that someone from California would decide to take an official visit there.
Logically, you pictured him choosing between the Pac-12 or the SEC, not the Big 12.
Yes, the news that Missouri would move to the SEC was already official. But even so, the Tigers were still seen as a competitive, mid-tier program. No one expected a prospect of that caliber to even consider them.
And yet, there he was. At Faurot Field.
The murmur continued to grow, fueled by cross-talk, raised phones, and glances shifting from the screen to the field.
Andrew raised his arm in a casual wave, his expression calm and composed.
"Look at how they're welcoming him!" Cam said a few rows back, a smile impossible to hide as he saw his son on the giant screen.
"Yeah…" Mitch murmured, less enthusiastic. "It's not always good to carry that much expectation so early."
It wasn't the first time it had happened. At UCLA and Georgia, the scenes had been very similar.
Merle, on the other hand, didn't seem worried in the slightest. He nodded proudly while looking at the screen and then at the field.
"It's Missouri," Merle said with conviction. "Here, football runs through our veins. If you come here, you're going to be a true idol."
He gave Andrew a firm pat on the back as he sat in front of him.
Andrew slightly turned his torso to look at him, a restrained smile on his face. "An idol?" he repeated. "Sounds good."
Merle let out a laugh and gave him another pat, even more enthusiastic.
"That's it! That's how you talk!"
Mitch watched the scene and couldn't avoid a small internal grimace. He knew Merle. He knew he was speaking from pride and passion.
'Wasn't this exactly what I was supposed to avoid?' Mitch thought, remembering Claire and Jay's requests.
His mission was proving unsuccessful.
Although, from Andrew's response, he knew it was mostly to keep the old man happy. His son rarely got carried away by that kind of fantasy.
Up in the booth, the analyst picked up where his partner had left off.
[A decision no one saw coming. This is his third official visit, and the options are narrowing. With only a couple of universities still in the race, the pressure is starting to build. The ones still on the list know they have to push harder than ever.]
The play-by-play announcer raised an eyebrow. [Although I wouldn't exactly say Andrew has been making 'logical' decisions,] he added. [Georgia and UCLA didn't seem like obvious picks for a player of his caliber either, and yet, he visited both.]
The analyst nodded. [That's what makes this recruitment so fascinating. His choices don't follow the traditional script.]
From the broadcast, they also mentioned Steve. He was introduced as a four-star recruit, one of the highest-rated players in the country at his position, and they highlighted the chemistry he had developed with Andrew over the years playing together.
The crowd's reaction was more moderate than it had been for Andrew, but there was still applause when his graphic appeared on screen. Fans understood what that could mean: it wasn't just an elite quarterback on an official visit, it was the possibility of a proven offensive duo. For the Tigers, landing both would completely transform the projection of their offense.
Minutes later, the game began.
And it was exactly what you would expect from a Big 12 Conference matchup: wide-open offenses, high tempo, generous scoring, and constant exchanges of blows.
But it wasn't a one-sided shootout. It was a true thriller, tight, intense, with lead changes and constant tension. Neither team managed to pull away by a significant margin.
The final score reflected that battle:
Missouri 39 — Baylor 42.
The standout performer was Robert Griffin III. He delivered an MVP-caliber performance:
-3 touchdown passes
-1 rushing touchdown
-A total of 697 offensive yards accumulated by his team, a monumental figure
In the context of the Big 12, numbers like that were more common than in other conferences. Offensive systems there favored the passing game. For many critics, especially from the SEC or the Big Ten, such statistics were influenced by less physical defenses compared to the dominant lines and more conservative styles of those leagues.
Even so, Griffin's performance was worthy of a Heisman candidate.
Missouri competed until the fourth quarter. They responded in key moments and never collapsed. But in the decisive stretch, they failed to slow down Baylor's offensive production.
With the loss, the Tigers recorded their fifth defeat of the season.
Andrew and company returned to the hotel. Then, around seven in the evening, they had dinner at a private restaurant with David and Andy, now freed up after the game.
The conversation was deeper and more technical, but nothing overwhelming. The truly important part would come tomorrow, Sunday.
And so, by around eight, Andrew and Steve were in their room, ready to sleep, since they had woken up very early to catch their flight.
With only the bedside lamps dimly lighting the room, Steve lay in his bed, barely covered by a sheet. He stared at the ceiling with his hands behind his head, thoughtful.
"What do you think about Missouri so far?" he finally asked, unable to hide his doubt. "Does it convince you? Do you really think they can adjust to the SEC in the years we'd be there?"
He would accept whatever Andrew chose. That much he had already decided. But the Tigers raised questions for him.
They were already struggling in the Big 12. And the SEC was a different world, more physical and brutal. If the program was thinking long-term, maybe that didn't align with the ideal timing for their own careers.
Andrew, who had just finished replying to a message from Jade, locked his phone and set it on the nightstand.
"It's logical to have doubts," he answered calmly. "But tomorrow we'll have the serious meeting. That's when we'll really know their plan, and how it would change if we commit here."
How they planned to compete in the SEC, on what timeline, and all the important details. What level of ambition they truly had.
Steve nodded.
A few seconds of silence passed before he shifted back to his usual, more relaxed tone. "Anyway, I'll go wherever you go. By the way, have you decided on your next visit?" he asked curiously.
Andrew nodded. "Yeah. Stanford."
Steve turned his head from his position, trying to get a better look at him. "Stanford, huh?" he said, letting out a soft whistle. "Great program. Right now more stable than Missouri. And closer to home, though not by that much."
Then he made a face. "That said… they say everyone there's a genius. That it's brutally demanding academically. Almost Ivy League. Harvard and all those places."
The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference in the northeastern United States composed of eight historic institutions, including Harvard University, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia, globally recognized for academic excellence and extremely selective admissions standards.
Athletically, they do not compete at the same level as major college football powerhouses; they play one division below. But in academic prestige, they represent the pinnacle.
Stanford does not formally belong to the Ivy League, but its academic reputation is comparable, in many fields, even superior. Its admissions standards, academic rigor, and intellectual competitiveness place Stanford University firmly at that same elite level.
For an average student, it is already a challenge.
For a high-performance athlete, with double practices, constant travel, and media pressure, it could become an additional test.
Andrew knew that. Competing at the highest level on the field already demanded absolute discipline. If the academic environment offered no real concessions, the margin for error would shrink.
It could be an advantage for someone who saw sports as secondary to academics and long-term professional formation.
But that wasn't Andrew's case.
Nor Steve's.
Their goal was clear: reach the NFL.
In that context, an extremely demanding academic environment could turn into an added burden.
A college degree was valuable, no doubt. But if they managed to become professionals, their job would be to play. In that scenario, the diploma, however prestigious, wouldn't serve them much.
Andrew looked at Steve with an amused smile.
"What happened?" he teased. "Now you're doubting whether to follow me wherever I go?"
Steve immediately shook his head. "Not a chance. If it's Stanford and it convinces you, I'm going. I'll have to kill myself studying, but I'll do it."
"Though I'm warning you, if I start failing exams, I'm blaming you. I didn't have genius girlfriends to help raise my IQ," he added.
Andrew let out a low laugh but pretended to be offended. "Hey, I didn't get smart just because of Pippa and Nancy. Give me some credit."
Steve burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, you did something too… I guess. But you can't deny they helped."
Andrew snorted and didn't add anything else.
They fell into silence until Steve spoke again. "And speaking of girls, how did things go with Jade and your family?" he asked curiously.
Andrew stayed quiet for a few moments, remembering. An involuntary smile formed on his face as he recalled the "conversations", if they could even be called that, that Jade had with Claire, Jay, and his parents.
He told Steve everything.
Steve couldn't help but laugh. "Goth girls never disappoint! She even handled your aunt."
Then his tone shifted slightly, more serious. "Still, you should be careful. They can get pretty territorial."
Andrew knew what he meant. He had told him about the two fans who approached him for photos, and how Jade, without saying anything explicit, had stiffened, quieter, more intense.
Later, things had softened. He had driven her home. They had said goodbye with a kiss. A kiss that started normal and ended up far more intense than expected. Jade had even bitten his lip before pulling away.
Before Andrew could respond, Steve spoke again, now more curious than cautionary.
"Now that I think about it… it's weird your family invited her to eat pizza the first time they met her. Especially your aunt and Haley."
Andrew nodded slightly.
It seemed like the first time they were actually willing to try to get along with a girl he was starting to date, and they hadn't been as paranoid or interrogative as other times.
Steve narrowed his eyes, as if he had just connected the dots. "It must be because she's the daughter of UCLA's recruiter."
The comment hung in the air. It wasn't a direct accusation. But it wasn't a crazy idea either.
Andrew didn't respond immediately. He stared at the ceiling and finally spoke. "Yeah, probably."
His closest family, his parents and the Pritchett-Dunphys, didn't openly tell him what he should choose. They didn't pressure him or manipulate him. He had noticed that. But it was obvious they preferred a university close to home.
If he stayed in California, they could watch him play, like they always had. If he left, they would lose that closeness, those traditions. They would miss him.
Even so, Andrew had noticed they were handling it with maturity. And he appreciated that.
They weren't like the Tuckers, who spoke from pride and the romantic idea of seeing him succeed at home.
For example, his dad Mitch and his aunt Claire had already presented the idea of visiting Stanford. In a very professional way, he had to admit. Not as an emotional wish, but as a rational option, with pros and cons.
Andrew appreciated that. And of course, he would miss them too.
The Tuckers were family, and he got along well with them. But his bond with them wasn't as deep as the one he had with his closest core. With them, there was daily life, routines, and constant presence.
He knew they didn't want him making his decision based on sentimentality. And they were making an effort not to push him in that direction.
But Andrew wasn't as cold as he appeared.
Even if he didn't show it, even if he projected confidence and absolute focus on football, he was taking the distance into account.
After that conversation, the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with them. The room fell silent, and both of them drifted off to sleep.
Sunday arrived.
And with it, the truly important day of the visit.
They had breakfast with the staff in an atmosphere very different from Saturday's, more sober and structured. The tone was far more professional now.
Then the campus tour began.
They walked through the academic facilities, the libraries, the academic support centers for athletes, and the student residences.
But the moment that sparked the most excitement in Andrew and Steve came afterward: the athletic facilities.
The main weight room was impressive. Rows of squat racks, Olympic platforms, recovery machines, speed and power zones.
Then they visited the film room.
A key space in the development of any quarterback or wide receiver.
That was where they analyzed their own games and opponents, studied defensive coverages, and more. There were giant screens with advanced playback systems and software that allowed them to break down every play frame by frame.
After that came the most important moment. The key meeting.
In an office, they sat down with Gary Pinkel, David, Andy, and even the university's athletic director.
They presented a three- to four-year plan.
How they envisioned the full transition to the SEC. What physical and structural adjustments they were implementing to compete in a tougher conference. How Andrew's specific development as a quarterback would be shaped on the path to the NFL.
The same went for Steve.
It wasn't an emotional speech. It was a proposal.
And, as Andrew expected, they weren't conservative or timid. They weren't talking about a ten-year plan to someday become a power in the SEC. They were talking about immediate adjustments. Early impact.
That, inevitably, increased Missouri's chances in Andrew's mind.
He had chosen to include the Tigers among his official visits for one very specific reason he remembered from his past life.
He remembered the jump to the SEC in 2012. The first year had been, logically, a difficult transition. A weak record. No bowl. A tough adjustment to a more physical and deeper conference. Nothing surprising.
But what he remembered most clearly was the second year.
In 2013, with the same coaching staff, Missouri made a leap no one expected. They finished 12–2, won the SEC East after defeating Georgia in the decisive divisional matchup, lost the SEC Championship Game, and still closed the season ranked inside the national top five.
That precedent was the real reason Andrew was there.
He knew the potential existed. He knew the program had already proven it could adapt quickly and compete seriously. It wasn't a fantasy.
And then the question became inevitable.
If, in his past life, Missouri had exploded in its second year in the SEC, what would happen if he and Steve arrived in the very first?
Could they accelerate the process?
Could they move everything up by a year?
Then the ceiling could change. They might even win that SEC Championship Game in the second year.
Andrew returned home Sunday afternoon. The week resumed its usual rhythm: classes, recovery sessions, and lighter practices, as his contusion continued improving as expected.
And then Friday arrived, the semifinal.
The opponent would be Centennial High School, one of the strongest programs in the state. A respected and feared team, a consistent producer of FBS talent. On the level of Bosco, Servite, and the rest.
Even so, Mater Dei was the favorite.
As had become customary at this stage, the CIF Southern Section moved the semifinal to a neutral stadium with a capacity of over 20,000 spectators.
More than twenty thousand people filled the stands, with national television coverage once again.
Around Centennial's camp, there was noticeable extra confidence due to Andrew's recent injury. Some analysts hinted that he might not be at one hundred percent. Others speculated he could play with limitations, or not even play all four quarters.
Even so, Andrew made it clear that his recovery was complete. He played all four quarters.
It wasn't an explosive performance like on other nights. He didn't reach his usual average of more than five touchdowns, but he threw four touchdowns, more than enough to win the game and once again be named MVP.
More controlled than usual, but just as decisive.
The Monarchs were headed to the Southern Section final for the second consecutive year. A fact that two seasons earlier would have seemed unthinkable: they had gone years without reaching that stage, and now they were doing it twice in a row.
And fate had a sense of drama.
Their opponent in the final would be Notre Dame High School.
Steve's school.
Notre Dame had defeated Long Beach Poly High School in a thrilling semifinal, avenging the previous year's elimination. For Steve, it was personal. A sporting revenge.
Now the stage was set.
Andrew versus Steve.
Best friend against best friend.
Quarterback versus receiver, this time on opposite sides.
However, before that showdown, there was another important stop.
Andrew and Steve traveled together to Stanford University for their fourth official visit.
Stanford offered a clear contrast to Missouri.
The campus was impeccable, almost cinematic, with perfectly maintained gardens, and a strong academic focus from the very beginning.
Stanford was transparent.
They had no intention of making special exceptions. They were Stanford, and their identity did not revolve solely around football.
Andrew respected that.
He understood that an institution built on academic prestige could not dilute its standards for any athlete, no matter how talented.
But in his particular case, it also represented a disadvantage.
He wasn't asking for exaggerated favors or unreasonable indulgences. His concern was the lack of flexibility in a context that, while officially amateur, functioned like an elite professional environment.
A starting quarterback in a Power Five program was not an average student. He had constant flights for away games, intense preparation weeks, and permanent media pressure.
The university generated millions of dollars annually from its football program, and the quarterback was, in many ways, the visible face of that product, especially in Andrew's case, arriving as the best prospect in the country.
In that balance, Andrew expected a reasonable margin. Not absolute privileges, but structural understanding of the real workload that came with leading a high-level team.
But the school made it clear they were inflexible. Andrew saw that rigidity as a disadvantage to consider.
After that official visit, Andrew got together with his friends at Howard's house on Sunday evening.
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