Covering Kutztown University football for the past quarter century has led to some unique experiences.  Travelling through the commonwealth of Pennsylvania on any given fall weekend offers its own excitement and adventure.  On the few occasions where Golden Bear football hits the national spotlight, I would argue that the experiences are as rich as any in the sports world.
 
This week, KU offensive lineman Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest) is one of three NCAA Division II football players participating in the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.  The following are some of the highlights that Bryan Salvadore, our sports information director, and I have experienced on the week-long trip:
 
-Should a football fan put the Senior Bowl on their bucket list?  Absolutely.  Having attended the NFL Draft with John Mobley in 1996 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions in 2014 when KU's Andre Reed was enshrined, I can say that the Senior Bowl offers very different opportunities for a football fan.   First and foremost, access for fans is better than either of the aforementioned events.   A parade of who's who in the football world converge on Mobile for all or part of the week, and walk through the credential gate and throughout the grandstands.  We observed fans waiting for autographs and photos throughout the practices, and in most cases, had their requests fulfilled.  Some of the football celebrities we encountered:
-Nick Saban, Alabama head coach
-Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach
-Doug Pederson, Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles
-Dan Marino, Pro Football Hall of Famer
-Mike Singletary, Pro Football Hall of Famer
-Brian Dawkins, Hall of Fame finalist
-Drew Rosenhaus, agent
-Ron Rivera, head coach of the Carolina Panthers
-Jay Gruden, head coach of the Washington Redskins
-Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints
-Tom Moore, long-time NFL assistant coach


 
-The North is coached by John Fox and his staff from the Chicago Bears, while the South is coached by Hue Jackson and his staff from the Cleveland Browns.  The coaches were accessible to the media throughout the week and were very friendly and cooperative.  The NFL Network and ESPN have been providing coverage all week.  We were able to pitch Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest)'s small-college football story to NFL sideline reporter Alex Flanagan, who was incredibly nice and appreciative for a big-time media person.  Players from other teams have also been friendly, and fans have the opportunity to interact with them after practice and in locations throughout town. 


 
-Speaking of media, NFL and college beat writers, bloggers, and television outlets from all over the country cover the practices.  Les Bowen and Zach Berman, Eagles beat writers from the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer, respectively, attended the practices and media night.  Both writers spent time with Jordan, who is a Philadelphia native.  Les Bowen also spoke with Jordan's parents.  Les's story appeared in Friday's papers and is definitely worth the read (LINK).


 
-Mobile is a beautiful place.  It is much more than we expected.   It has been 40 years since my last trip to the area, when I visited family as a kid.  What we found was a mix of modern construction and the Old South, a beautiful downtown harbor, and plenty of southern hospitality.  The minor league baseball park is named after hall of famer and hometown hero Hank Aaron.  Aaron's childhood home has been relocated to the stadium complex, which includes a museum. There are many other attractions, including the USS Alabama and the GulfQuest National Maritime Museum.  The temperature at practice on Wednesday was 75 degrees.  While it has dropped a bit leading up to game time, going outside is not unpleasant.  They have great restaurants in Mobile, especially if you like barbeque or seafood.   We picked up Rennie Sacco, KU's director of sports medicine (who flew down for the game), at the airport on Friday afternoon and took him directly to The Brick Pit.  The Pit looked like an old shack from a scary movie on the outside, but inside, the smokers were putting out some of the best ribs, pulled pork and chicken in the south.   The beach is about 40 minutes away at the mouth of the Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.   Most importantly, they have different names for their four seasons: Mardi Gras, Shrimp, Hurricane and Football.  Three of them are pretty tempting.


 
-So, what is the best way to get to Mobile?  If you like to fly, you can catch a plane from Philly and get a connection in the South, then fly to the Mobile Airport.  Bryan and I decided to drive.  I have been known for taking the old U.S. highways on our trips across Pennsylvania, and am not too fond of being stuck in a plane, way up in the sky, where I can't see anything.  We left the Kutztown area at 7 a.m. on Monday, and 17.5 hours later, arrived at a hotel about 25 minutes north of Montgomery, Alabama.  Our day-one drive covered seven states and included two hour-long stops.  One stop was in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Bryan is a big NASCAR fan, and it was the site where Tennessee and Virginia Tech played football in front of a record crowd on September 10.  It was a pretty neat experience to have the place to ourselves for a bit.  Tuesday morning, we had about 2.5 hours of driving left to reach Mobile, which is in the southwest corner of Alabama.  About 30 minutes out, we saw we were five miles from the far western panhandle of Florida, so we detoured there for a shot of caffeine.   Other than the heavy rain we travelled through into central Tennessee, I would still take the drive.  We plan on taking the eastern route home, which will add the Carolinas and Delaware to our route.  I also made the short ride to Mississippi to visit my uncle after practice on Thursday.  By the end of the trip, we will have covered 12 states.


 
-Attending the final college football game of the 2016-17 season in late January is a totally new experience. Having covered college football for 30-plus seasons, the latest I have actually worked a game was Thanksgiving weekend.  That happened in 2010, and my all-time favorite season of 2011, when the Golden Bears played in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.   I remember commenting to my color analyst at the time, Coach Steve Hahn, how much fun it was to still be playing football in late November.   The Senior Bowl is a bit different, as we are covering Jordan in an all-star game against some of the best players in the nation.  John Mobley played in the Blue-Gray Game on Christmas Day 1995, and the Senior Bowl the following month. I didn't make either of those trips. The opportunity to witness a Golden Bear in one of these games certainly doesn't come along very often.  One of the big takeaways from this week comes from the three practices.  The size and speed of the players at this level is unlike anything I have witnessed in person.  During 11-on-11 drills, the running plays sound like a thundering herd of horses, and the collisions make your jaw in awe.  What we actually witness during the game from close-up on Saturday should be interesting.


 
-I want to wrap-up with some thoughts on the man in the spotlight, Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest).  I can't say enough good things about him.  Having worked with countless student-athletes and even some professional athletes through the years, I can honestly say it will be hard find a nicer, humbler, down-to-earth star athlete than Jordan.  He has been so accommodating to all of the requests that have come his way from the media and our sports information office.  His coaches and his North teammates have gone out of their way to compliment Jordan, the person.   The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.   We spent considerable time with his parents at Thursday's practice, and thoroughly enjoyed talking with them.  You can tell how much their parenting meant to Jordan's development as a player and a person, as well as his pursuit and completion of his bachelor's degree last month.  My favorite moments were watching Jordan interact with the kids.  He would stop to give a "low-five" to a little guy sticking his hand through the fence at practice or would stop to sign an autograph.  My favorite photo of the week was one we took at the Senior Bowl Experience Friday night.   The event is held at the Mobile Convention Center and is packed with activities and autograph sessions for the thousands of fans in attendance.  There are several autograph stations in place, with each have lines extending halfway through the auditorium.  With perhaps the biggest game of his life less than 24-hours away, and after a week of non-stop media interviews, meeting with coaches and scouts, mid-season-like practices, and meeting new coaches and teammates, Jordan sat at the autograph session at the FCS/SEC West table and took time for each fan that came through.  We tweeted a photo of Jordan signing an item for a little girl, and the look on her face is priceless.  It is clear her short time with him made a positive impression.  The moral of the story is this: wherever Jordan ends up, or no matter how far he goes in the sport of football, his character is certain to take him far in life.  Go Jordan and go Golden Bears!