There were only a few dozen fans in the stands in Dodge City, Kansas, and with a small group looking on and 7:44 left in the second quarter, Colin Jeter caught his first collegiate pass—an 11-yard grab—for Kilgore College.
Fast forward two years, and on third-and-goal, the 6-foot-7, 244-pound junior tight end was in the south end zone of Tiger Stadium in front of 102,321 screaming fans, catching his first career touchdown for LSU, a school he never dreamed he would attend until a long, winding road took Jeter to Baton Rouge.
Two weeks prior to Jeter’s graduation from Longview (Texas) High School, he could tell his mother, Wendy, was on the edge and something wasn’t quite right as they were trying to figure out directions to a wedding.