It’s the fear that Calvin Howell remembers.

Friday night meant one thing for the 280 pounder— football.

Except, for the first time, he wasn’t preparing for a game under the Friday night lights. Instead, the possible Freshman-All American was preparing for his first game as a Texas Longhorn.
“I remember I was so nervous,” Howell said.

In just 24 hours, the defensive tackle would run out on the field and meet his first opponent, Louisiana Monroe-State.

He needed someone to talk to; someone to calm him down. But not just anyone. As he reached for his phone, he didn’t even have to look to dial the number of his best friend and former high school teammate, NIU wide receiver Martel Moore.

But there was a problem.

“He was like, I’m so nervous too,” Howell said.

That’s when it all began for Moore.

The NIU freshman didn’t know how to cope with the pressure. Here he was, a true freshman, starting at Camp Randall. Forget Louisiana Monroe-State, Moore had all the right to be the nervous one.

Usually the wide receiver and Howell would run around and goof off with each other before a high school game. It was something they did to forget about the stress. But without Howell, Moore reverted back to what he used to do when his nerves got the best of him.

“Usually when I’m nervous I eat cereal,” the San Antonio native said. “So I ate the cereal and I was ready for the game.”

But the 6-foot-2 receiver didn’t just eat a bowl of cereal. No, he ate an entire box of Cheerios, without milk.

With his stomach full, and his cholesterol lower, Moore hit the field with confidence. Although he didn’t have a breakout game like wideout Nathan Palmer did against Minnesota last season, Moore was still crucial to NIU’s game plan.

During the second quarter the freshman was the recipient of a pass interference call that gave the Huskies a first down on a third-and-12. And then, as NIU tried to make a comeback on its final drive, Moore caught his first college pass for 13 yards.

With that result, the wide receiver knew what he had to do.

You could call it a pre-game ritual. But everyone who sits in the hotel room the night before a game thinks Moore’s cereal binge is a bit more than that.

“They call me Cerealman,” Moore said. “They just ask me why I always eat cereal.”

And while everyone in DeKalb questions why Moore eats cereal, his best friend could only laugh at the idea. What else could he do when Moore told him of his new pre-game ritual?

The nervousness has left the Friday night conversations between Howell and Moore. But that doesn’t mean that both players don’t have any fears.

Howell’s fears that he’ll have to face Moore after one of those ritual cereal feasts.

Moore’s heart was set on playing football at Texas Tech. That would have set the two to battle each year. But the Red Raiders and other Big 12 programs passed by Moore.

“In my eyes he should have been one of the top recruits in Texas,” Howell said. “He was frustrated.”

Now a Huskie, Moore has decided to take his frustration out on the field, showing others what they missed.

And while it’s unlikely the best friends will ever meet, Moore already knows what box of cereal he’ll be eating before that game.

“Frosted Flakes because it got on [Howell’s] nerves,” Moore said. “Because I used to make noises when I ate them and he doesn’t like them.”

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.