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[2:00 PM – Watterman Field]
A burning midday sun hung over the UCLA campus as Jace and his teammates filtered onto Watterman Field for the highly anticipated afternoon scrimmage. This would be the first time the new players would get a chance to go up against the seniors and show the coaches what they were made of. Thus, despite the glare on the turf, the energy on the field crackled as 120 players looked for their chance to impress.
Coaches marched along the sidelines, radios crackling orders between them, while assistant trainers shuffled equipment and water coolers to ready each station. Notably in attendance was Coach Baker who stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed dressed up in Bruins tracksuits. He was locked in conversation with his offensive coordinator Harris and Corey Parker the defensive coordinator.
Since the end of the 10:00 AM drills, Jace's schedule had churned on like a well-oiled machine. A quick lunch at 11:30 AM—an athlete's medley of lean protein, complex carbs, and fruit—kept him fuelled for the grind. Since the school provided him with the meal, he didn't mind following their dietary plan despite having to endure Isaiah and Jason's complaints about the bland options.
By 12:30, he was in yet another team meeting with Coach Harris, who, hammered home new offensive wrinkles designed to exploit zone coverages and blitz defensive schemes. For a man to man defence the answer would be to aim for a running play or for the QB to scramble out of the pocket and either gain some yards or force a defensive play freeing some receivers.
A concise chalk-talk session followed with Coach Johnson, where Jace pored over route trees and blitz reads alongside the other QB's. He could tell they were being evaluated yet again but that seemed to be the new normal. Now, at 2:00 sharp, it was time to put all that theory into action and show why they belong in this team.
Jace tugged at the collar of his practice jersey, letting out a steadying breath as he surveyed the field. The sweltering California sun beat down on his head intensified by his afro prompting him to lay it flat towards the back using a bandana. Standing at the 35-yard line with the second-string offence, Jace wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove and zeroed in on Coach Johnson, who raised a whistle to his lips.
A shrill blast signalled the official start of the scrimmage. The first-string offence, helmed by Austin, trotted to the line of scrimmage at the 25-yard line. Isaiah and a tall boy called Tyson were the starting wide receivers for the 1st string team in this exercise as the coaches used the best squad of what remained from last year. The B team for the day would be helmed by last year's second-string QB Cole with Jace and Blake playing as his backups.
Dereck the last QB played as Austin's back-up but judging by the latter's fired-up expression as he barked instructions at his O-line he wouldn't willingly go off the field. What surprised Jace though was the fact that the first-string defence was part of the B Team and now stood in front of Austins Offence. Darnell Jones the team's captain and starting Safety now could be seen commanding his defence making minute adjustments as to the offence's slightest movement.
"I hate facing players like him," Jace subconsciously said as he eyed Darnell making changes on the fly as if it was normal.
"Huh why, is it because he is good?" Blake who hadn't left his side since he decided to learn from him asked in a curious tone. Looking at his expression that reminded him of a certain boy detective almost caused him to chuckle.
"Naw, players who read the game on instinct are the worst, they react before you can even fully form an idea of what you want to do." Jace responded with a neutral expression, "Worse yet they are harder to figure out than most players as they do things you least expect like him."
Blake looked over to Darnell whom Jace was pointing at but couldn't quite tell what he was talking about. "Look despite being in a Cover 2 Zone Defensive Formation he adjusted his positioning to centrally in anticipation of a throw to the middle." Sure enough, the moment Austin snapped the ball chaos ensued at the O-line and he floated back to his left.
Tyson the wideout on the right side exploded forward beating the cornerback with a nimble sequence of footwork and feints. On the thirty-five-yard line, he sharply cut toward the middle beating his trailing marker and Austin took aim sending a tight-spiralled throw his way. Tyson did everything right scan the area in front of him and turned his upper body back towards the line of scrimmage as he reached his hand out to make the catch.
Just as the ball arrived a gloved hand from behind appeared and slapped the ball away sending the pigskin tumbling incomplete across the turf. The wideout, Tyson, stumbled forward, momentarily disoriented. Behind him stood none other than Darnell Jones, smiling broadly, "Boy you better respect my hustle with that weak shit," He shouted at both Austin and Tyson proceeding to flex his Bicep.
Tyson let out a frustrated groan, slapping his hands together in disbelief at how quickly Darnell had closed the gap. Austin, for his part, simply rolled his shoulders as if shaking off the incompletion. The pressure was definitely on him now to earn his stripes again this year especially new prospects looking to take his spot.
"Man," Blake muttered under his breath, still standing beside Jace, "that was a textbook read—and Darnell still blew it up. This guy's a beast."
"No doubt," Jace agreed. "But you see how he was already drifting? It's like he knew the route before the snap. He batted them with his central positioning and the drop left to sell it, Tyson must have felt as if the bogeyman popped up from behind him."
They didn't have long to dwell on Darnell's highlight, though. A whistle signalled the next sequence of plays. The first-string offence quickly re-formed at the line, evidently determined to redeem themselves. Austin clasped his hands under the centre, scanning the defence with a calculated calm. Even from the sideline, Jace could see the gears spinning behind Austin's eyes, taking mental notes on Darnell's positioning.
On the snap, Austin sold a quick handoff to the running back, then pulled back for a play-action pass. This time, the wide receiver on the left Isaiah Windfield streaked downfield, forcing the defence to shift coverage deep. The corner trailed step-for-step, but the free safety hesitated, drawn in by the possibility of another intermediate route. Austin tossed a tight spiral to the outside shoulder, hitting his man just before he crossed the 50-yard line.
Isaiah was brought down on the B team's forty-five-yard line by the safety who had hustled back to make the stop. Still, the A team celebrated the chunk of yardage they managed to chew out from their opponents. "What the fuck are you lot doing, that's 15 whole seconds he had to pick out his man. This ain't a game you hear me? If that QB ain't eating dirt in 5 seconds following the snap, you all are running a lap around the complex." Coach Correy the Defensive coordinator a huge black man with short messy dreads barked at the defensive team as he stormed onto the field.
He wasn't the only one as coach Harris the offensive coordinator also hobbled onto the field with his crutches much to his assistant's dismay. "What the heck was that I will tell you what that was a highlight reel straight to the bench, Dereck and Jason congrats you just earned your shot," He commanded now looking much more serious than his laid-back demeanour during the film meeting earlier.
Austin and Isaiah wanted to protest but Harris raised a hand to stop them. "I don't want to hear it, I asked you to make money plays, and you all threw that out of the window. You have all been briefed on this year's offensive scheme, choosing to ignore it is your mistake."
He looked into their eyes through the helmets noticing their disgruntled expression seemingly not willing to accept the verdict. "What you all though Coach Baker was Joking when he said everyone here is back to the same starting line. Well, it's time to wake up and adapt to the new world order or you might find yourself on the sidelines with me and I ain't as approachable on Game days."
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To Be Continued...