Barker's weight room training was regularly excused by notes from the Environmental Chemistry Lab. But In Griff's office, "Big Dog", as the men called him, had suggested running around the campus in the early morning with his new girlfriend ("Voluntary Athletically Related Activities" were permissible for Division3 players). For his part, Griff had, for the purposes of this coach-player discussion, accepted that the Environmental Chemistry Lab was more important than football, and that since the Mormon Health Code only included a small amount of meat, he could not advise Big Dog to eat double bacon cheeseburgers. Big Dog was a damn good Center despite the fact that he was 6' 4" but only weighed 180 pounds.
In the coach’s cottage, Griff took a shower, dressed, waited for the telephone to ring. By now Caydance would have discovered that he had left his overnight bag on her bed.
The telephone rang.
"It is less than an hour to San Francisco," he said. "And on the way there is pizza with many toppings, or Carnitas tacos with guacamole, or enormous cheeseburgers with French Fries. I could be at your studio with dinner very soon."
At least on paper, the game plan for Saturday was shaping up. Tuesday's on-field practice was completed. D3 limits on practice time were surprising. Griff was not yet completely used to the odd idea that at a D3 school, academics were more important than football. However, the meeting with Center Wyatt Gideon Barker from Salt Lake City had been mildly successful.