After a full day of training, the coaches' work was far from over. They needed to study tactics, analyze opponents, and evaluate their own substitute lineup.
Back in his office, Rick Neuheisel sat down behind his desk and motioned for his colleagues to take a seat. The first thing he said was, "What do you guys think of Lu?"
After the scrimmage, they needed to analyze the gains, losses, and performances. In a short 15-minute game, Lu Ke was a player they couldn't ignore, so Rick naturally brought him up.
"I think he performed exceptionally well," Anthony said, volunteering to speak. "Most of the credit for the practice squad's victory belongs to him. His accurate judgments, correct choices, and precise long passes—but most importantly, his big heart in a clutch moment—were truly impressive. What's more, we've all seen his dedication and focus. He's been consistently practicing his quarterback skills outside of regular training. I think he's a player with endless possibilities."
"But his short-pass technique is really bad," Norm Chow, the offensive coach, stated, as he had the most authority on the subject. "His accuracy, power, and judgment were all difficult to watch. As an Asian, his physical disadvantages were all exposed in today's scrimmage."
Norm was an American-born Korean, but unlike Lu Ke, he was born and had lived in the United States for over 40 years, making him a true American. He didn't have a strong sense of belonging to Asia. Of course, he was happy to see an Asian face on the field, but as a coach, his judgment had to be objective.
"Besides his poor fundamental passing skills, he also performed poorly in physical confrontations," Norm said matter-of-factly. "His footwork in the pocket, his ability to throw on the run, his evasion of tackles... Honestly, his weaknesses are too numerous to count."
"But his tactical awareness is so outstanding," Anthony said, his opinion shifting without his realizing it. "In those 15 minutes, his ability to judge the overall situation, read the opponent, and analyze his own strengths and weaknesses was all on display. This is the most valuable quality for a quarterback. He has a smart brain!"
"I'm not denying that," Norm said, agreeing. "But the truth is, aside from the opening long pass, his other abilities just aren't good enough." Seeing Anthony about to get worked up again, Norm raised a hand to stop him. "I know he trains incredibly hard. I've seen his growth over the past year. He's more focused and dedicated than anyone else on the team. If our starters were as hardworking as him, we'd be dominating the NCAA."
A statement like that is usually followed by a "but."
"But!" Sure enough, "football is not a sport you can change just with effort. Hard work is important. Ninety-nine percent of hard work is a crucial condition for success. But the one percent of inspiration is the source. Without that one percent, the other ninety-nine percent doesn't matter. Do you remember? Why is Lu on the practice squad and not a substitute? And why did he only become a practice player in his junior year?"
Norm's words silenced Anthony.
"Norm, so what do you suggest? He's still not qualified?" Rick didn't join the argument but got straight to the point.
Norm paused for a moment. "To become a substitute?" Rick nodded. Norm didn't answer immediately but pondered for a moment. "Let's see over the next two days." Deep down, his sense of connection to his Asian heritage gave him a slight bias. "In training, we can let him participate in the quarterback drills. We'll make a decision based on his performance."
"Okay, that's settled then," Rick said directly. It was only a tryout for a practice player, so there was no need to discuss it for too long. They weren't debating the choice of their starting quarterback.
The UCLA Bruins were, in fact, facing a critical point: the new season hadn't even started, and the team was already plagued by injuries. One of the injured players was the team's number two quarterback.
Generally, college teams, like professional teams, have a limited number of players on their roster, so they usually have three quarterbacks to handle the long season and avoid being caught off guard by injuries. Only a few teams have four quarterbacks, and they might put their number four quarterback on special teams as a kicker, just in case.
The Bruins had four quarterbacks. After the number two quarterback's injury, they still had three quarterbacks for the upcoming season.
However, of those three, Darius Bell was a freshman. He hadn't shown any amazing talent that would put him in the starting lineup in his first year. He hadn't had enough time to fully adapt to the plays or the team's dynamics. If a situation arose, it was unknown whether Darius would even be able to play. And if he did, it was another question whether he could adapt to the pace of a college game.
Kevin Prince could be considered the team's number two quarterback now. But Kevin was a senior and had never started a game. More accurately, he had only played in one game and attempted 17 passes in his entire college career.
In other words, they had three quarterbacks, which sounds like a lot, but all their hopes were pinned on the other Kevin—the starting quarterback, Kevin Craft. Last year, under Craft's leadership, the team had its best record in five years and was highly favored this year.
If Craft were to get injured, or if he needed to be rested, or if he got a minor injury and had to leave the field temporarily, what would the team do? Darius Bell and Kevin Prince would be their only choices. This forced the coaching staff to consider more possibilities.
Judging by the 15-minute scrimmage, Kevin Prince was not the perfect choice. It wasn't just about losing the game; more importantly, his abilities didn't completely surpass Lu Ke's. So, giving Lu Ke a tryout was a choice—a reluctant choice, but a necessary one.
On the second day of training, Lu Ke joined the quarterbacks for drills. He was no longer a practice player but was now in regular quarterback training. This was the first time since high school, three years ago, that Lu Ke was training under a coach. But for Lu Ke, it wasn't as exciting as he had imagined—because he had been doing this training tirelessly on his own, with the system in his mind as his coach.
Whether for the system's daily training missions or the coach's real-life assignments, Lu Ke was meticulous. The biggest benefit was that he no longer had to do extra training secretly. Now he could openly train as a quarterback, giving him time to ask the coaches practical questions and get feedback on his recent training.
This was crucial for Lu Ke.
Training camp ended quickly, with every day packed with training missions. On the second day, the first and second-string teams had a 15-minute scrimmage, and the starters thrashed their opponents 21-0. On the third day, the first-string team and the practice squad combined, and the second- and third-string teams combined for another scrimmage. The former barely won with a score of 17-14.
With that, the training camp officially ended.
Before they left for Los Angeles, the coaching staff gathered all the players to announce some personnel changes: the players from the freshman team and the practice squad who had earned a spot as a substitute.
"John Ward." Anthony, who was announcing the list, said the first name. No one was surprised. John's performance was obvious to everyone, and they all congratulated him. "Derek Bryant, Wade Yandell..."
Anthony stopped there and put the list away, as if that was all. Everyone looked at Anthony and then at Lu Ke, their faces filled with undisguised regret and surprise.
Lu Ke also realized he was the center of attention. Was he disappointed? Of course. He wouldn't deny it, and he couldn't. He was even a little annoyed and angry. But deep down, he knew that to become a good quarterback, he still had a lot of work to do. The cold, hard numbers from the system were a constant reminder of that fact.
"Lu Ke." After what seemed like an eternity, Anthony's voice suddenly broke the silence. Lu Ke instinctively looked up, his eyes filled with confusion. Anthony chuckled. "Yes, you'll be joining them as well."
"Bambi!" John was the first to rush over, hugging Lu Ke tightly. "You made it! You made it!" John was shouting and yelling, seemingly happier than he was when he made the team. John knew he couldn't have improved so much without Lu Ke.
Lu Ke was ecstatic. He could feel an immense joy surging through him. But before he could celebrate, John's crazy celebration made him laugh out loud. It was more funny than exciting. He just kept giggling.
Then came Derek, Wade, Tevin, and the other practice squad members. They all rushed over to congratulate Lu Ke.
A substitute. He had finally made the official roster. Three years into college, at the start of his senior year, he had finally become a member of the team! Now, he had one last year to see if he could declare for the draft and aim for the NFL.
Wait, to be more precise, he only had six months until the NFL rookie training camp. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Time was running out.
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