Book was getting turnovers every game at the start of the season. He got burnt a few times so he's playing more team ball now and almost had a pick against Texas Tech
The Big House on the Prairie Chapter Seven :: Nomad, Part Three
I tried to convince myself that our game against Houston during my freshman year at Oklahoma State was just another matchup. Any hope of that illusion was quickly erased by our win the previous week over Texas Tech, a top-ten team at the time.
It had been a turbulent season for us, starting with two straight victories before dropping three in a row, including a rough game against Kansas where I gave up a long touchdown. Outside of that, my year had been solid. I was emerging as one of our more reliable players, beginning to rebuild my confidence after some early mistakes.
The Texas Tech game was when the defense—especially the secondary—finally clicked. We intercepted the quarterback four times and sacked him seven times. Up to that point, I had kept my distance from everyone, going about my business, uninterested in forging the lifetime bonds you often hear players talk about when reminiscing on their college days. For me, Oklahoma State felt more like a prison sentence, a place to serve my time and pay for my mistakes. Even when I played well, there was rarely joy, only obligation.
But that night against Texas Tech, football was fun again. I celebrated each interception with the defense, joined in on the sideline hype after every stop, and watched us hold an offense averaging thirty-three points per game to just fourteen—one of those coming late in garbage time.
With a winning record, bowl eligibility was back on the table. Six wins was the threshold, meaning we had to split the rest of our schedule and probably steal one of our three straight road games: at Houston, Kansas State, and West Virginia. Houston looked like the best shot since they were one of the weaker teams in the conference.
Despite my efforts to stay detached, it was no secret this game was a homecoming for me and a few other guys. Our defensive backs coach, Coach Graham, made sure to remind me of that in every meeting leading up to kickoff.
“Don’t get burned in front of your old bitches, man,” he’d tease as we watched film. “That’d be going out sad, Gurley.”
To make matters worse, my assignment that week was a six-foot-three receiver out of Louisiana who had torched Colorado the week before for seven catches and 150 yards. Graham had no shortage of clips to replay at my expense.
As if the on-field challenge wasn’t enough, the off-field pressure of my return home grew heavier. My family and friends still hadn’t seen me play in college, but the Instagram DMs and text messages flooded in as the game approached. Ticket requests I couldn’t fulfill, old coaches and teammates promising they’d be in the stands, friends I hadn’t spoken to in years asking about postgame plans—oblivious to the fact I’d be on a plane just hours after it ended.
One of those messages was from my grandfather. He didn’t ask for tickets or mention coming to the game. He simply wanted to know how I was doing, how college life was treating me, and if I needed anything. My reply was polite but brief: I was fine, I appreciated him reaching out, and I wished him a belated happy birthday.
My father didn’t text until the morning of the game. He told me he, my siblings, and my grandfather would be in the stands. We had flown in the night before, and waking up to that message only heightened the anxiety already churning inside me. My emotions were split—anger at him for adding to the weight of the day, but also a childlike excitement at the thought of performing in front of my family.
I didn’t hear from Keiyana until just minutes before warm-ups, my gear already on. She wished me good luck—our first real exchange in months. She had liked a few of my recent pictures, but nothing more. That small message felt like the most intimate moment we’d shared in a long time. I ran onto the field scanning the crowd for her, but she wasn’t there. Instead, I spotted some of my former teammates and coaches, a few old friends, and eventually, my family. I gave them a nod and a wave.
WR Micah Tease: 3 Rec, 44 Yds (Probation)
WR Donavyn Chandler: 0 Rec (Death Penalty)
WR Jaren Hamilton: 2 Rec, 18 Yds (25 to Life)
WR Jason Cook: 3 Rec, 106 Yds, TD (Jailbreak)
WR Xavier Townsend: 3 Rec, 58 Yds, TD (Community Service)
WR Marlion Jackson: 2 Rec, 31 Yds (Fifteen Years)
WR Coy Eakin: 4 Rec, 36 Yds (Ten Years)
