Neely Crenshaw, the main character of the novel, is a former conceited all-american quarterback that comes later to realize that he is just a faded memory to the town he had won a state championship for. In high school he took advantage of his All-American status; not doing his school work and yet making A’s in every class and dating his choice of girls at his school would be prime examples of how he did this. His high school career led him to playing Division I college football at “Tech,” taking improper benefits of $50,000 to play there. His career there started off good but was short lived, as in one of the first games of his sophomore season he took a late hit to his knee from an A&M player that would keep him from ever playing football again. The aftermath of this hit was terrible; at first the town of Messina was in a practical depression that one of their best former players had been limited in his career. Later the town seemed to forget, only vaguely remembering him as one of the best quarterbacks they had ever had, but nobody remembering him on a personal level, giving him the feeling that his high school days were “another life” and that there was no point in ever talking or thinking about it. Neely was a talented athlete who was brash and naive in what he did in high school, but later came to be a calm, humble man who came to understand the way a former “hero” of his town is treated, as shown through him and other players and what happens with Coach Rake. Neely may have made his mistakes that cost him but he learns from them and finds a different of life that makes him a better person.