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Driving home from Mobile
In December 2007, six months before going off to college, Upshaw played and Klages coached in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
"We were coming back, and I just thought there was an opportunity to have a little talk with him without trying to be too heavy with it," Klages said.
They were driving down a rural road when they passed a ranch-style farmhouse shaded by trees.
"Real cozy looking," Klages said, "and I knew where he lived. He lived in public housing."
Klages asked if Upshaw would like to live in such a house someday. Upshaw said yes.
"'That right there is within your reach," Klages told Upshaw. "'If you will stick with it, don't come home, you're going to get your degree. And you might not be able to buy that house right off the bat, but that's something you can have.' And he looked at me like he had never thought about that."
Klages was talking about education, not riches coming from a pro football career, yet nearly four years later, Upshaw's NFL stock is sky high.
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