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We hosted 26 area football teams for The Sun’s second
annual media days on July 29-31, and there were a lot of fun stories that came out
of it.

The loudest came when hard-working and ambitious photographer Brad McClenny had
300-pound linemen diving for footballs in our second-floor studio. This may be
a little late in coming, but to our office’s employees on the first floor, I
extend a sincere apology for the earthquakes that shook the ceiling above you.
Thank you for not calling 911.

Perhaps my favorite moment came when for the first time in my 17 years of covering
preps, a highly recruited football prospect walked over and said “I’ve
always wanted to meet you.”

After looking over my shoulder to see if Urban Meyer was standing nearby, I
realized Gainesville High’s 6-foot-6, 305-pound offensive lineman Kendall Kelly
was indeed talking to me.

Kelly went on to say he is the sports editor of the GHS school newspaper and
has a real interest in sports writing. After we spoke for a bit, something of a of a
reversal happened, as I gave the football player my number and told him to call
any time.

He said he would be in touch, but before he walked back in to the photo studio
(to be Brad’s newest ground-mover), I asked him if he wanted to make his living
in sports writing.

The young man who would commit to South Florida
a few days later smiled and gave an answer many of us in this business wish we
had the athletic talent to be able to say:

“Maybe, but not until I’m done with my football career.”