I spent most of Wednesday looking for a story. As do most reporters I waited till deadline to actually look for a story.
However, there was some news floating around about Bryan Randolph, the soon to be starting quarterback for the Bearkats.
I decided to investigate. So I went down to Bowers Stadium to watch the 7-on-7 football game. No coaches are allowed to oversee the practice – it’s against NCAA rules-so the teammates do it for conditioning purposes and bragging rights.
Amidst the smack talking and taunting, there was some good football going on.
Randolph looked crisp picking apart the defense. He threw some interceptions, but on overall performance he did a great job.
After practice I spoke with Randolph. He talked about the big story on campus.
Some of the wide receivers had missed strength and conditioning exercises and as punishment they had to run – at 6:15 in the morning.
To their astonishment, who showed up? None other than Randolph himself.
“To me it’s a big deal,” said Randolph. “You have to build team unity, and that was a good way to do it.”
It wasn’t just coaches who were shocked to see him there. His fellow teammates took it as quite a shock as well.
“He goes out and runs with offense and defense,” receiver John Dobbs said. “He has really impressed a lot of us.”
While Randolph admits he has big shoes to fill next season, it’s something he looks forward to doing, and the best way to achieve that goal is to start getting your teammates’ trust now.