American Football: King of the Bay Area

The day’s training was over, but the coaches’ work was far from finished. They needed to study tactics, their opponents, and their own backup roster.

Back in the office, Rick Neuheisel settled in behind his desk and gestured for his colleagues to take their seats. His first words were, ”What do you all think of Lu?”

After the scrimmage, they naturally needed to analyze everyone’s performance. In that short fifteen-minute game, Lu Ke was a player who couldn’t be ignored, so it was only natural that Rick brought him up.

”I think he was outstanding,” Anthony was the first to reply. ”The practice squad’s victory was largely thanks to him. Accurate reads, correct decisions, precise long throws, and most importantly, his composure under pressure was a real eye-opener. On top of that, we’ve all seen Lu Ke’s dedication and focus. He’s been consistently putting in extra work on his quarterback mechanics outside of regular practice. I think he’s a player with limitless potential.”

”But his short-passing game is just awful,” said Norm Chow. As the offensive coordinator, he was the most qualified to speak on the matter. ”Accuracy, velocity, decision-making—his mechanics are just painful to watch. And being from Asia, his physical shortcomings were on full display during today’s scrimmage.”

Norm was Korean-American, but unlike Lu Ke, he was born in the United States and had lived there for over forty years; he was an American through and through. He didn’t feel a strong connection to Asia. Of course, he was still happy to see an Asian face on the field now and then, but as a coach, his assessment had to be objective.

”Besides his subpar passing fundamentals, he’s also poor at handling physical contact,” Norm said factually. ”His pocket footwork, his ability to throw on the move, his elusiveness against tacklers… *phew*, honestly, you could go on and on about his weaknesses.”

”But his Tactical Awareness is just so outstanding.” Anthony found himself defending him. ”In that fifteen-minute game, his grasp of the entire situation, his reads on the defense, and his analysis of his own strengths and weaknesses were all on full display. That’s the most valuable quality a quarterback can have. His mind—he has a brilliant football mind!”

”I’m not denying that.” Norm nodded in acknowledgment. ”But the fact remains, aside from that opening long ball, his other skills just aren’t there.” Seeing Anthony getting worked up again, Norm held up a hand to stop him. ”I know he trains incredibly hard. I’ve watched him grow over this past year. He’s more focused and dedicated than anyone else on the entire team. If our starters worked as hard as he does, we’d have been dominating the NCAA.”

Words like that were always followed by a ”but.”

”But!” Sure enough. ”Football isn’t a sport where effort alone is enough. Sweat is important. Ninety-nine percent perspiration is a crucial part of success. But it’s that one percent inspiration that’s the foundation. Without that one percent, the other ninety-nine is meaningless. Remember? Why is Lu on the practice squad instead of the backup roster? And why did it take him until his junior year to even make the practice squad?”

Norm’s words silenced Anthony.

”So, Norm, what are you saying? That he’s still not good enough?” Rick didn’t join the debate, instead cutting right to the chase.

Norm paused. ”To make the backup roster?” Rick nodded. Norm didn’t answer right away, mulling it over for a moment. ”Let’s see how he does over the next two days.” Deep down, a sense of kinship due to their shared Asian heritage gained a slight edge. ”We can have him practice with the quarterbacks and make a decision based on his performance.”

”Alright, that’s settled then,” Rick said decisively. It was just a tryout for a practice squad player; there was no need to debate it for too long. It wasn’t like they were deciding on the starting quarterback.

The UCLA Brown Bear Team was truly at a critical juncture. The new season hadn’t even begun, and the team was already plagued by injuries. One of the injured players was the team’s second-string quarterback.

Generally, college teams, much like those in the Alliance, have roster size limits. Therefore, they typically carry three quarterbacks to get through a long season and guard against injuries. Only a few teams keep four quarterbacks, sometimes stashing the fourth on special teams as a kicker or something similar, just in case.

The Brown Bear Team had a total of four quarterbacks. With their second-string quarterback injured, they still had three available for the upcoming season.

However, of these three quarterbacks, Darius Bell was a freshman. He hadn’t displayed the kind of jaw-dropping talent that would let him become a starter in his first year. His study of the playbook and his chemistry with the team were still underdeveloped due to a lack of time. If a situation arose, it was uncertain whether Darius could even play. And if he did, whether he could adapt to the pace of a college game was another question entirely.

Kevin Price could now be considered the team’s second-string quarterback. However, Kevin was already a senior but had never once started a game. To be more precise, he had only played in a single game, attempting seventeen passes. That was the summary of his entire college football career.

In other words, while three quarterbacks sounded like a lot, all their hopes were actually pinned on the other Kevin—starting quarterback Kevin Clifton. Last year, under Clifford’s leadership, the team achieved its best record in five years and had high expectations for this year as well.

If Clifford got injured, if Clifford needed a substitute, or if Clifford sustained a minor injury and had to come off the field for treatment, what would the team do? Darius Bell and Kevin Price were their only options. This forced the coaching staff to consider other possibilities.

Judging from the fifteen-minute scrimmage, Kevin wasn’t the perfect option. It wasn’t just about losing the game; more importantly, the skills he displayed weren’t definitively superior to Lu Ke’s. Therefore, giving Lu Ke a tryout was a choice born of necessity, but a necessary one all the same.

On the second day of practice, Lu Ke joined the team’s other quarterbacks. He was no longer a practice squad player but was participating in official quarterback drills. This was the first time in the three years since high school that Lu Ke had trained under the guidance of a coach. For Lu Ke, however, it wasn’t as exciting as he might have imagined—because he had already been relentlessly performing these same drills for some time now, with the system in his mind acting as his coach.

Whether it was to complete the system’s daily training missions or the tasks assigned by the real-world coaches, Lu Ke was meticulous. The biggest benefit was that he no longer needed to do extra sessions; Lu Ke could now train as a quarterback out in the open. So, beyond his daily training missions, Lu Ke now had time to ask the coaches about practical application and to sort through the insights he had gained from his training over the past year.

This was crucial for Lu Ke.

The training camp ended quickly, with each day packed full of drills, and time flew by. At the end of the second day’s practice, the first and second teams held a fifteen-minute scrimmage, where the first-team starters thrashed their opponents 21-0. At the end of the third day, the first team combined with the practice squad, and the second team combined with the third team for another scrimmage. The former narrowly won with a score of 17-14.

With that, the Training camp was officially over.

Before the return trip to Los Angeles, the coaching staff gathered all the players together one more time to announce some roster changes: which players from the freshman and practice squads would be moving up to the main roster.

”John Ward.” Anthony was the one announcing the names. When he called the first one, nobody was surprised. John’s performance over the past few days had been obvious to everyone, and the players all congratulated him. ”Derek Bryant, Wade Yonder...”

At that point, Anthony paused and folded the list in his hand, as if that was everyone. The players all looked bewildered, staring at Anthony and then at Lu Ke in disbelief, the pity and surprise in their eyes barely concealed.

Lu Ke realized he had become the center of attention. ’Disappointed? Of course.’ He wouldn’t deny it; he couldn’t. There was even a bit of frustration and anger. But deep down, he understood that if he wanted to become a proper quarterback, he still had to keep working—the system’s scores had already served as a cruel and cold reminder of that fact.

”Lu Ke.” After what felt like an eternity, Anthony’s voice suddenly rang out. Lu Ke’s head snapped up reflexively, his eyes full of confusion. Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Yes, you’ll be reporting with them too.”

”Bambi!” John was the first to rush over, pulling Lu Ke into a powerful hug. ”You made it! You made it!” John started shouting, seeming even happier than when his own name had been called. He knew perfectly well that he never would have improved so much without Lu Ke.

Lu Ke was ecstatic. He could feel an endless joy bubbling up inside him, but before he could even celebrate, John’s wild reaction made him burst out laughing. More than elation, he felt amusement, and he just started chuckling.

Then came Derek, then Wade, then Tevin, followed by the rest of their practice squad teammates, all rushing over to congratulate Lu Ke.

’A backup.’ He had finally made the official roster. After three years of college, at the start of his senior year, he was finally on the team! Now, he only had one year left. ’One year to see if I have a shot at declaring for the draft and taking aim at the NFL Professional Alliance!’

’No, wait. Strictly speaking, the NFL Rookie Training Camp is only six months away. Tick, tock. The clock is ticking.’