Cretin-Derham Hall's receiver completes his route

Where's he going?

School doesn't start for a couple more hours, yet there's Michael Floyd hopping on a city bus on St. Paul's east side at 6 a.m. Changing buses downtown, he makes it across town to Cretin-Derham Hall High School in time to start his work study program by 6:45.

He's off each morning with the blessings of his mother, a woman of deep faith who will be forever thankful for her son's fateful journey. Theresa Romero had cried after attending Cretin's summer open house four years ago, knowing as a single parent of five there was no way she could afford to send her son to the private school.

"It was a mom's dream," Romero said. "There is no way a kid can't make it there unless he absolutely doesn't want to."

Floyd assured his mom that, together, they could make it work. Their success story is about to resume in earnest as Floyd returns to the classroom for his senior year and to the national spotlight as a gifted wide receiver.

Floyd, 6-3, 205 pounds, a fluid sprinter with exceptional hands, can name the college he would like to play for next season, but has yet to do so. Notre Dame offered him a scholarship after his sophomore season, which is unprecedented in Cretin's storied athletic history.

Doors are continuing to open up for the kid who has had little more than a roof over his head.

Romero, "too poor" to buy the latest basketball shoes her son fell in love with while in Las Vegas last month for an AAU basketball tournament, gathered herself after yet more tears had fallen and apologized to her son for not taking advantage of her own educational opportunities. If the youngest of Romero's children -- and her only son -- is paying the price, he appears to have avoided the added expense that comes with bitterness.

"That's the position I'm in," Floyd said. "You just get over the humps. I've been doing it so far."

Floyd's job in Cretin's fitness center helps pay some of the tuition, and his mom works at the concession stands at the Metrodome and Xcel Energy Center. Romero knows the people at Cretin have played their part, too, just as her heart had told her they would four years ago.

"I didn't even know Cretin was known for sports," Romero said.

Floyd certainly did. Football has always been his game, and he identified Cretin as the place that could help him maximize his skills. His father, Michael Floyd Sr., who has never lived with the family but has remained a part of his son's life, always has stressed that doing the right thing applies both on and off the field.

So, for the most part, Floyd has said goodbye to his rough-and-tumble neighborhood and accepted a new way of life.

"I don't know if I would have ever done well in school if I didn't go to Cretin," said Floyd, who carries a B average in college prep courses. "They are really high on academics, and I try my hardest. You want to be a good athlete, but you don't want to be looked at as a dummy."

Floyd said his father is always telling him he doesn't want him outside when he's home, knowing that only bad things can come of it. Floyd has come to spend most of his free time in and around Cretin.

"The guys I used to hang out with before I went to Cretin are always getting into trouble," Floyd said. "I'd probably be doing the same."

Instead, he's out of the house at daybreak for a full day that won't end until 7 that night. He goes to bed anxious to get up the next morning and do it all again.

"There would have been easier paths for Michael to take," Cretin coach Mike Scanlan said, "but I think he chose not to because he understood what this school had to offer him. As much as he has been a gift to us, I'm sure he knows this has been a good place for him."

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Where's he going?

The July 26 flight that brought Floyd home from Las Vegas had him in bed by 2 a.m. He was up before 7, which he hoped would give him enough time to catch the bus to Cretin in time for offseason football training. When he missed the bus, he jumped on his bike and was on the field in time for stretching.

"That's Michael Floyd," Cretin assistant coach Andy Bischoff said. "He could have missed a day and no one would have said a word about it. But he wanted to be there."

That's it, Floyd said. It's fun. Football is his passion, and everyone around him knows it. Cretin basketball coach Jerry Kline Jr. feels fortunate Floyd still plays basketball at Cretin because he is the type of athlete who makes those around him better. Floyd won't pick up a basketball until the season starts, Kline said, but he still will show the type of talent that makes him a Division I-caliber player.

On the football field he simply dominates. Floyd had 63 catches last season, many of the acrobatic variety.

"The ball gets near him, he catches it," Scanlan said.

His performance already has made him a legend among the regulars at The Nook, a cozy bar/restaurant across the street from Cretin. There, the likes of Matt Birk, Joe Mauer and Steve Walsh, Cretin grads all, have been honored by having a sandwich named after them.

Floyd, a Nook devotee, would love to order a Michael Floyd burger one day.

"It's a brave statement, but I'd put him in the category of [Paul] Molitor, [Chris] Weinke, Walsh, guys who have gone on to Hall of Fame careers, Heisman Trophy winners, national championship winners," Scanlan said. "In terms of what they have been able to do and what he's able to do, he's in very elite company."

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Where's he going?

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, Florida's Urban Meyer and the Gophers' Tim Brewster are among those anxious to know.

Floyd and his mom accepted an invitation from Bischoff this summer to visit a handful a schools in the Midwest. Bischoff, also the dean of students at Cretin, volunteered to drive knowing Romero, who does not drive, did not have the means to make it happen.

After making an unofficial visit to Minnesota, Floyd traveled to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame in a week's time. They stayed in Motel 6s to keep the cost down; Michael and his mom in one room, Bischoff in another.

They went through bags of sunflower seeds, and with Floyd taking the opportunity to catch up on his sleep in the back of the car, Romero and Bischoff spoke at length about where Floyd has come from and what likely lies ahead.

"With each place we visited there was a little bit better feeling for Michael," Bischoff said.

Floyd recently narrowed his choices to Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida and the Gophers. Dozens of schools offered him full scholarships after seeing tape of his junior season. The one exception was USC, which wanted Floyd to attend one of its camps before making a decision. Floyd declined.

"Maybe he'll end up playing them, and then we'll see, because I've got to think Michael will remember that," Scanlan said. "He's not black Irish like I am, where you hang on to things for a long time, but I think Michael remembers."

Floyd will make his official visit to Notre Dame the weekend of Oct. 20, when the Irish play USC.

"You have to look at it as how you fit," Floyd said when asked what the deciding factor on picking a school will be. "Being comfortable is very important, and the people around you is a big thing. Without good people it's probably not going to be fun."

The goal has always been about making the most of one's opportunities.

"I knew God had a plan for my son," Romero said. "I just didn't know it was such a big plan."

Dean Spiros • dspiros@startribune.com