Three weeks of practice and a spring game later, Gaither rising senior QB Alex McGough finally received the news of this first college offer.
On May 30th, head football coach Jason Stokes relayed the message to McGough that Colgate had made the offer.
"I was expecting it, but it surprised at the same time," said McGough. "But boy, did I feel the pressure release."
Colgate first came to check out McGough in the first week of spring football. They met with both him and Coach Stokes and were very pleased with what the saw on the field.
"They had nothing but positive things to say about him," said coach Stokes. "But then comes the 'but' we have to go back and speak with the quarterbacks coach."
Following that conversation, things pretty much went quiet, but then again it isn't uncommon for the quarterback to be late to the "party" of college offers.
"I never felt panicked," said McGough. "I knew my time would come."
Villanova, Arkansas State, Arizona, Syracuse and FIU have also showed interest.
Patience is something that McGough is comfortable with. As a sophomore, McGough transferred to Gaither from Wesley Chapel and knew he'd have to wait his turn to play and lead the Cowboys.
But that day came sooner than expected.
Coach Stokes was approached by then quarterback/running back Shug Oyegunle (Flordia International Unversity) and he made the suggestion to shift him to running back and allow the then sophomore McGough to lead as the new quarterback for the better of the team.
"I was nearly speechless when Shug approached me with this suggestion," said coach Stokes. "Not that I didn't have confidence in both my players, it was more the maturity that they both showed."
As the transition took place, of course there were those rocky moments, but with coach Stokes at his players side, slowly McGough found his confidence.
"It is amazing to even think back to those first days as quarterback," said McGough. "Sure I was happy to have the chance, but deep down I was so nervous and so young."
One day at a time, McGough knew that there was always one person at his side; coach Stokes. And so the relationship between coach and quarterback grew.
"There is that balance of respect that you have to have," said Stokes. "Alex has never been one to not address me with an idea or a question."
McGough led the Cowboys to two straight post-season appearances with 9-3 and 8-4 records.
As for being that leader for the Cowboys his senior year, McGough wants to go above and beyond for his team his senior year. He makes it a point to text his teammates plays to keep things fresh in their minds in the off-season, arranges workouts with his teammates and even makes plans for them to meet up for a bite to eat or even catch a movie.
Hard to believe that this young, once California-locks kid, is all grown up.
McGough is driven to make football a lifetime of memories and he carries that same drive into the classroom with a 3.3 GPA.
"Football has taught me attention to detail and to take extra notes," said McGough. "It's just like in football when you keep making the small plays, they add up to the big moments."