INDIANAPOLIS — Three years ago, Adrian McPherson relished walking out of his Florida home to hit the town with friends.
He had plenty back then, when he was best known for being the first athlete to win Florida's Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football awards.
Now, after a gambling and stolen check scandal forced him to leave Florida State, the quarterback is trying to revive his career with the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League.
"When I was in high school, I had guys that were 21, 22 just around me all the time. If I wanted shoes and stuff, they would buy them and I thought they were my friends," McPherson said. "My dad always told me, 'They're not really your friends, they just feel like they can get something from you in the future.'
"I didn't want to hear it. I was just caught up in everybody being my friend."
After graduating from Southeast High, McPherson played for the Seminoles. He passed for 1,125 yards and 14 touchdowns with just one interception in 18 games.
Then came trouble.
He was dismissed from the team and pleaded no contest last July to gambling and theft charges and was sentenced to community service, 90 days on a county work detail and probation.
"The first month or two I didn't even go outside," McPherson said. "I was tired of just reading stuff and just saying to myself 'I'm not like that.' (The media reports) were making it seem like I'm a terrible person so everybody you come in contact with, they're always going to have that impression of you because that's what they painted."
He still doesn't talk specifically about the charges.
"No matter what I say, everybody's going to have their own opinion," he says with a shrug.
And what happened to all those friends he had?
"Gone," he said. "Two of my really good friends stayed by my side no matter what. Now I just associate with them and my family."
McPherson briefly enrolled in Murray State and Tennessee State before former Firebirds coach and longtime NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg convinced McPherson he could learn more under him in the Arena League.
So he found a new home in chilly Indianapolis, a far cry from the tropical Gulf Coast of Florida.
"I like it a little better recently, it's warming up," McPherson said. "When I first got here, I hated it, coming into the real cold weather. But it's a nice, clean city and I'm enjoying myself."
McPherson lost his first two career starts and DeBerg was fired when the Firebirds lost their first five games of the season. Since defensive coordinator Mike Wilpolt replaced DeBerg six weeks ago, however, McPherson has been spectacular.
McPherson threw for 1,385 yards, 25 touchdowns and no interceptions in a franchise-record six consecutive wins, a streak that was snapped by Arizona on Sunday.
"Initially he struggled because it was new to him," Wilpolt said. "But every week now, he just keeps getting better and better. Right now he's in the top half of Arena League quarterbacks, which, as a 20-year-old rookie that's saying something."
For the year, he's completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,302 yards and 41 touchdowns. He's also second in the AFL with 15 TDs rushing.
Even more impressive than his numbers, Wilpolt said, is the maturity and poise the soon-to-be 21-year old has shown.
"We were excited to have an athlete of his caliber," Wilpolt said. "But we just weren't sure the whole rounded package we were going to get.
"For being 20 years old, he seems like a 30-year-old," Wilpolt said. "He had to go through a lot and it wasn't easy for him. He had to learn the hard way unfortunately, but the good thing about it is he did learn."
Nine-year veteran Leroy Thompson was ready to look out for the rookie.
"I told him I would be one of the older guys on the team that would look out for him," Thompson said. "I don't have to look out for him. He's surprised me. He's mature way beyond his age."
It's been a welcome sight for McPherson's father.
"He's learned how quickly that stardom can be taken away and now he really cherishes the position he's in," Floyd McPherson said. "He's learning how to be a professional and how to handle what goes along with that."
Now, several NFL teams have contacted his agent, but so far he's staying true to the team that gave him a second chance.
"They made that commitment and gave me that chance. Until this season is over, I'm not even thinking about the NFL at all," he said. "I'm focused on taking this team to the playoffs."