BleedGopher
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Great read from Chad:
A couple days before the Gophers hosted Penn State in the program’s most important game in decades, Rashod Bateman called his mom. They’ve been close his whole life and it can occasionally be tough with her so far away, living in his hometown of Tifton, Ga., so they talk often.
LaShonda Cromer asked her son how he felt about the looming contest. For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. Then Bateman started talking about his dreams.
He told her how he always wanted to play in games like this one, a nationally-televised affair between top-20 teams. The spotlight was on, and Bateman told his mom that brought the best out of him. It’s part of why he grew up in Georgia dreaming of playing under the lights in the SEC. He thought playing at The Swamp in Florida would be awesome.
Those thoughts had subsided in recent years, though, now a sophomore at Minnesota. But, this, he told his mom, was his first chance to play in that kind of atmosphere.
Cromer came to Minnesota for the game. She’s only missed one of Bateman’s college games and that was because of a hurricane in Georgia last year. From her seat at TCF Bank Stadium that beautiful November day, she watched her son haul in seven catches for 203 yards and a touchdown, only the second Gopher ever to put up at least 200 receiving yards. She watched fans storm the field to celebrate a win over Penn State. And she read two weeks later about Bateman’s spot as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s best wide receiver, left in those moments reflecting on her phone call with Bateman before the Penn State contest.
“That was the type of game,” Cromer said, “that he’s always wanted to play in.”
Go Gophers!!
A couple days before the Gophers hosted Penn State in the program’s most important game in decades, Rashod Bateman called his mom. They’ve been close his whole life and it can occasionally be tough with her so far away, living in his hometown of Tifton, Ga., so they talk often.
LaShonda Cromer asked her son how he felt about the looming contest. For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. Then Bateman started talking about his dreams.
He told her how he always wanted to play in games like this one, a nationally-televised affair between top-20 teams. The spotlight was on, and Bateman told his mom that brought the best out of him. It’s part of why he grew up in Georgia dreaming of playing under the lights in the SEC. He thought playing at The Swamp in Florida would be awesome.
Those thoughts had subsided in recent years, though, now a sophomore at Minnesota. But, this, he told his mom, was his first chance to play in that kind of atmosphere.
Cromer came to Minnesota for the game. She’s only missed one of Bateman’s college games and that was because of a hurricane in Georgia last year. From her seat at TCF Bank Stadium that beautiful November day, she watched her son haul in seven catches for 203 yards and a touchdown, only the second Gopher ever to put up at least 200 receiving yards. She watched fans storm the field to celebrate a win over Penn State. And she read two weeks later about Bateman’s spot as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s best wide receiver, left in those moments reflecting on her phone call with Bateman before the Penn State contest.
“That was the type of game,” Cromer said, “that he’s always wanted to play in.”
How Rashod Bateman found the Gophers — and why he stuck with them
Even as his home-state Georgia picked up recruiting, the wide receiver stayed true to his commitment to P.J. Fleck and the Gophers.
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!