Barack Obama's "change" message, delivered to central Pennsylvania last spring at a campaign rally, was a subject Penn State senior cornerback Lydell Sargeant knew well.
As the son of a career military man, Sargeant changed a lot -- mostly addresses.
The summer before Lydell's sophomore year in high school, Drew Sargeant was transferred from Pittsburgh to Lompoc, north of Santa Barbara.
But on dispatch day, with the family car running and ready to go, Rhonda couldn't find her son.
"He and some friends ran away," she said. "We had to find him. It took three hours to get him in the car."
Lydell was discovered hiding in the woods, near a local football field.
Rhonda can't forget that day because she cried through most of it.
Change was hard, but it was how Lydell came to California and ultimately came to love it.
Change helped him to thrive in football at Cabrillo High, earn a scholarship to play for Joe Paterno and turn a 4-7 Penn State program into Big Ten Conference champion.
Change tripped the dominoes that put Sargeant on center stage as he helped get a candidate to the White House.
And change also triggered a return trip "home" to the Rose Bowl as the only Southern Californian listed on Penn State's roster.
Good thing he got in that car.
"He definitely became a man in four years at Penn State," Lydell's mother says.
Rhonda wanted her son to attend Stanford -- or anywhere but Penn State. She's a University of Pittsburgh grad.
"He was not only 3,000 miles away, he was at the wrong school," she joked in a telephone interview.
But everyone is happy now.
Sargeant developed into an accomplished cornerback on the nation's fifth-ranked defense. His four interceptions lead a unit that has given up only six touchdown passes this season.
Sargeant spent only three years in California, and Lompoc is nowhere near Hollywood and Vine, yet he's the player teammates have turned to for a map of the stars.
"I'm the designated tour guide," Sargeant said.
Getting here was quite a trip.
Drew Sargeant has been in the United States Air Force for 21 years. Lydell was born in New Jersey but has lived in Germany, Arizona, Pennsylvania and California.
Leaving suburban Pittsburgh after six years was the toughest transition. Sargeant had formed friendships and bonds. He went from a winning high school football team to a losing one.
