9781422283066

T he B ig D ay

In Bessemer, Alabama, Jameis Winston sat with his mother and father, grandmother and girlfriend, reporters and cameramen, and as many other friends and relatives that could cram into a medium- sized living room. They all waited for Winston’s cell phone to ring with the news of where the former Florida State quarterback would be playing in the NFL in his rookie season in 2015. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, Hawaii, another quarterback, the Uni- versity of Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, sat in the alumni center of his former high school. He was at a table surrounded by family and friends, waiting for his phone to ring, too. Like Winston, Mariota was sure to be one of the top picks in the 2015 NFL Draft, going either

Words To Understand alumni men and women who have graduated from a particular school general managers members of a sports team’s front office in charge of building that club’s roster

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