August 20, 2013
"Man, I'm dead," was the pitiful cry that Laquon let out while still on the ground after the morning gym session. "I told you that you were going to like it," was the response given by Wyatt, who had already gotten slightly used to the team's training load.
"You didn't warn me that it was going to be so hard," Laquon replied, turning his head slightly in Wyatt's direction while giving him a look of total resentment.
"Come on, get up," Wyatt said, extending his hand toward him, and Laquon did not hesitate to take it and get up from the mat while the whistle of one of the coaches sounded inside the gym, calling the players' attention.
"Field practices," was the simple sentence he said while leaving the gym, as the players went out with him toward one of the university's training fields.
"Finally," said Laquon, who in these last weeks had begun to wish he could get out of the gym.
Once they went outside, one of the team's equipment managers had ready the helmets and colored vests which separated the starters from the substitutes.
Since it was a field practice and between teammates, contact was prohibited, which is why the use of pads was not necessary.
Taking his white vest, Wyatt adjusted his helmet while putting himself in position along with the rest of the team, waiting for instructions from Dabo, who was at the front with a clipboard in hand and dark sunglasses that made it almost impossible to know where he was looking.
"Attention," said Dabo. "First of all, a round of applause for all the new players who have just joined," Dabo said, starting to clap along with the rest of his coaching staff, followed immediately by the rest of the team.
Along with Laquon, this year Clemson had signed 21 other new players who had joined the Tigers.
Along with Laquon, the best wide receiver of this class, another 5-star recruit arrived: Mackensie Alexander, who is in the top 4 of cornerbacks in this class and 22nd place nationally. If we add Wyatt, Clemson secured 5 three-star recruits this year.
That by itself made it so that, in the last ranking of recruiting classes, Clemson positioned itself in 7th place over powerhouses like Georgia. Of course, that was not enough to enter the top 3, which was firmly dominated by the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama, who signed 5 five-star recruits, including the Florida running back Derrick Henry.
But if we take only the division by conferences, Clemson is number 1 in the entire conference, ahead of Florida State.
So Dabo's reaction was not unfounded, but even so, that also put him under greater pressure, since expectations for the team had become greater after winning the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season, and this year he had the mission to win even more taking advantage of the new format.
Dabo's aspirations for this season were to be able to compete and win the BCS National Championship Game—maybe not immediately, but if possible, his plan was to train these players and be able to achieve it in the next 2-3 years, since at that moment the team will enter its full prime.
"Alright, now everyone break ranks," Dabo clapped, ending the brief welcome of the new players, causing all the players to divide into different sections of the field.
Field practices were divided according to position on the field, having a specialized coach for each position and depending on whether you are a member of the offense or defense.
For example, Wyatt along with Tajh met with Chad Morris, who besides being the team's quarterbacks coach is the offensive coordinator. On the other hand, Laquon and Sammy were taken to another area where Jeff Scott was, who was in charge of training the wide receivers.
All that occurred under the close watch of Dabo, who paced from side to side around the field, watching closely the performance of each of the players, paying special attention to the new recruits.
"Very well, guys," Chad said suddenly, calling the attention of the 4 players who were around him, who were all the quarterbacks the team had.
Two were already in the team from before: Tajh Boyd, who was the starter, and Cole Stoudt, who was in his third year and had a look of slight resentment toward the whole situation he was living.
Originally, he thought that Tajh would have left after his great last season, but instead, he had opted to play his fourth year, thus eliminating Cole's chance to be the starting quarterback. And as if that were not enough, two new quarterbacks had arrived in this recruitment, one of them specifically being the number one QB of his class.
Cole placed his sight on the player in question, who had his gaze fixed and listened intently to the instructions that Chad gave him while nodding occasionally in confirmation of whatever was being said.
"Cole!!" Chad's voice became louder, causing Cole to snap out of his thoughts and fix his gaze back on his coach, who was giving him a not-very-friendly look. "Did you hear what I said?" Chad asked him, slightly arching his eyebrow in his direction, and Cole nodded quickly, more out of inertia than anything else.
"Then be the first," Chad told him while throwing the ball toward Cole, who caught it and stayed briefly blank, without knowing what it was he had to do at that moment.
A few seconds passed until Chad had enough and, with a sigh, told Cole to return to the line and passed the ball to Tajh to perform the exercise the coach had explained to them.
Without wasting time, Tajh began to run around the cones, concentrating completely on his footwork while moving, then finished by throwing a deep pass under the gaze of Chad, who nodded in response before taking the timer in his hand. "45 seconds, not bad," he said, noting the time on his clipboard before directing his gaze toward Wyatt and Chad. "Who's next?" he asked the two young men.
Chad at first wanted to volunteer, but before he could say a word, he saw how Wyatt took a step forward, received the ball that Chad passed to him, and put himself in position, ready for the exercise.
"Ready?" Chad asked, and then blew the whistle in his mouth, starting the exercise.
The exercise they were performing was a pocket mobility drill—a basic but key exercise that teaches quarterbacks to move around the protection pocket, with the cones simulating the edges of the pocket placed at a distance of 5-7 yards.
Upon receiving the ball, Wyatt immediately dropped back as if a center had snapped him the ball and began to move laterally around the cones before finishing by throwing a pass just like Tajh.
"51 seconds," Chad responded, seeing the time on his timer, and noted it down. "Not bad," Chad told him before passing it to the last two, who repeated the exercise and finished by being noted.
"Good, let's move on to the next one," Chad told them, setting aside the clipboard briefly, since that data was later entered into the team's database so the coaches could see improvements in performance, as well as strengths and other data, added to the height and weight measurements taken during their first days at the university.
For the next exercise, Chad asked for the help of some assistants, who approached carrying padded mats to simulate situations in which the pocket collapses and they must throw a precise pass under pressure.
On this occasion, Wyatt had to be faster and pay more attention to his surroundings while seeing how the assistants went straight toward him.
Moving his feet quickly, Wyatt avoided with precision all the mats directed in his direction, simulating a real situation in a football game, until he finished by coming out of danger with the ball firmly secured between his arms.
With that part finished, an exercise followed together with the receivers, in which the coaches sought to build chemistry and understanding between quarterbacks and receivers so they could adapt more easily to the playbook.
"Very well, we are going to play some pass situations from the playbook." At that comment, Tajh and Cole nodded in recognition along with the rest of the veteran receivers like Sammy, who knew the playbook and how each of the quarterbacks played.
In contrast, on the side of the new players, looks of panic crossed their faces, since they still had not had enough time to read the complete playbook, much less remember the plays accurately.
Wyatt, on the other hand, had a look of calm on his face because, although he had not yet played a season with the team except for the spring game, unlike his classmates, he had already spent more than 6 months preparing and memorizing the playbook.
Besides that, thanks to the help of Tajh and Sammy, he was able to practice and better understand the plays, thanks to the explanations of the veteran quarterback and one of the team's star receivers, who also helped him practice in his free time.
"Shit," Wyatt heard Chad mutter, who apparently had not completely memorized the plays nor reached the middle of the playbook.
"Now we will practice the Orange 32 play," Jeff Scott, the wide receiver coach, began to say to his players. But seeing that most of the new players did not understand or remember the play, Jeff began to explain it patiently.
"Understood?" Jeff asked once his explanation finished, hoping that each and every one had understood, to which everyone nodded in confirmation. "Very well." Clapping, he broke the formation to start the drill.
Laquon immediately approached Wyatt's side to practice the play. "You and me, partner," he said with a smile toward Wyatt, who simply nodded in response to his friend, getting into position to take the snap.
The Orange 32 play consisted of a long-distance play in which the receiver runs deep, taking the safety with him, to then cut in the other direction, taking the safety by surprise and catching the ball thrown his way.
As it was a practice, contact was prohibited, and some assistants played the role of opposing players to prevent the receiver from catching the ball comfortably.
Immediately, Laquon set out to run under harassment from the assistants, while Wyatt prepared his arm and adjusted the launch angle so the ball would land in the best possible spot.
Gathering strength in his arm, Wyatt threw the ball, tracing a clean parabola to the exact point where Laquon was heading. Seeing the ball going there, Laquon carried out the play, leaving the assistant behind while catching the ball with both hands and giving a light jog as if heading to the end zone.
"Well done!!" Wyatt said, giving a thumbs up to Laquon, while seeing how both coaches noted data on their respective clipboards and signaled the next pair to perform the play.
That was how they spent the last hour, practicing manual plays and letting the players gradually adapt to the team's style of play until the whistle blew, indicating the end of the training session.
"I need a shower," Laquon said while he and Wyatt, along with the rest of the team, went straight toward the locker room to clean up.
"Do it fast, or you'll be late for class," Wyatt reminded him, causing an expression of pain to appear on Laquon's face. "I forgot we are still students," Laquon said with slumped shoulders, finally remembering he had other commitments with the university.
Seeing the deplorable state of his friend, Wyatt said nothing, knowing this was a necessary sacrifice if he wanted to fulfill his goals. Therefore, he showered and changed quickly and went straight to the first class of the day.
Authors thought's
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