"Ring Ring," the sound of an alarm clock was heard throughout the room causing the person who was lying in bed to shake while his hand unconsciously sought to press the button that put an end to the strident sound.
"Ugh," moaning while he rose slightly from the bed and stretched his arms completely, shaking off the laziness with them while he took the blankets off himself and stood up to begin with his every-morning routine.
"Here we go," he murmured picking up the mat that was in a corner of the room to unfold it and begin with his yoga stretches which were an important part of his day-to-day.
Some years ago he had read an article in which they talked about the daily benefits of doing yoga every day, emphasizing especially points like flexibility, muscular strength, and balance. While, on the mental level, it significantly reduces stress and anxiety, promoting better sleep and greater serenity.
For an athlete like Wyatt, sleep quality and flexibility are two very important factors for optimal performance on the field of play, especially flexibility since a more flexible body means a lower risk of injuries.
The product of that was that in his 4 high school seasons, Wyatt had practically never missed a game except for rests or minor injuries like muscular strains or minor ankle sprains.
Finishing with his last stretches Wyatt immediately opened the door of the shared bathroom to go straight to the shower, but not before locking the door that led to the other student room.
That habit he had learned during the first week of classes when he had entered the shower without having secured the door.
Flashback
It was Wyatt's first morning in the new university dormitory and once having completed his yoga routine he immediately headed toward the bathroom shower to take a quick shower.
Coming out of it, Wyatt immediately noticed how there was someone else in the bathroom who was found sitting on the toilet with a magazine with a blank face as if it didn't matter to him that there was someone else using the bathroom.
"Uh, excuse me," Wyatt said while the guy simply raised his sight slightly upward to then return to concentrating on the content of his magazine "You are?" was the next phrase Wyatt said expecting the person in question to give a response.
"I'm from the room next door," responded the subject without even raising his sight from his magazine "And you are here because..." Wyatt continued while the subject changed the page to read the next one "I needed to use the bathroom," he told him without shame.
"But I was using the bathroom," Wyatt said seriously while the subject simply chuckled at that "Well for the next time don't forget to lock the door, rookie," he told him without caring that Wyatt was throwing daggers with his gaze in his direction.
"Are you going to stay there standing or are you going to keep watching the show?" was the question he threw at Wyatt who, clenching his fists with force, felt that it wasn't worth it so he simply adjusted the towel over his waist and slammed the bathroom door that went in the direction of his room.
End of Flashback
Coming out of the shower and returning to his room Wyatt set out to put on his training clothes quickly knowing that today would be a very important day since spring training had officially begun.
Between March and April the players of the team began the training sessions, culminating finally with an exhibition game in Memorial Stadium in front of all the students of the student community.
Leaving through the room door with his keys he began to walk directly toward the sports center ready for the morning training before having to go to his classes to then finish with the afternoon training session.
At the dormitory doors Wyatt began to head there with a light jog to be able to warm up before the day's training sets and then go to have breakfast in the dining hall right there.
Entering through the sports center doors Wyatt immediately began to hear voices and the sound of weights and sports equipment in use while heading directly toward the gym.
Once he passed through those doors the gazes of several pairs of eyes fixed on him while he immediately headed toward the lockers that were in one of the corners and stored his things preparing to train.
"It's him, isn't it?" said one of the boys who was using one of the many functional trainers while giving a sidelong glance at Wyatt and talking with his partner who was at his side.
"Do you see anyone else new around here?" his friend joked while continuing to count the repetitions of the weightlifting his partner was doing "And it seems someone stopped training during this time," he said with a laugh seeing that he was lifting less weight than required.
"Shut up," he growled at him in a clear sign of frustration while continuing to concentrate on not dropping the weight he was lifting.
"And tell me Tajh, have you talked to him yet?" asked an African-American boy who was behind Tajh who, instead of responding to his question, was more concentrated on finishing his bench press repetitions.
Reaching his last repetition he was immediately helped by the person in question to place the bar in its place while Tajh sat up and took his towel to dry the sweat from his face.
"I talked to him briefly a few days ago," he responded to his training partner who simply stayed in silence waiting for him to continue talking "What is it you want to know, Sammy?" he asked this time without much beating around the bush.
The person Tajh was referring to was Sammy Watkins, the star receiver of Clemson University who was entering his third year and preparing to declare himself eligible for the draft after this season along with Tajh.
"Does he have any chance of replacing you as the starter?" Sammy asked him directly, wanting to know the opinions his friend and trusted partner had for this season "So far I haven't seen him play but I did see his All-American game," he responded to him.
"That 20-yard pass was crazy," Sammy praised clearly remembering the game, especially that pass in the third quarter that ended in a touchdown completely sealing the result of the game.
"Besides, what is it that worries you?" Tajh asked him "I simply don't want to have to adapt to a new quarterback and have my numbers drop as a consequence," Sammy told him frankly.
While both discussed, Wyatt had approached both of them without either having noticed, holding two dumbbells in his hands, and he placed himself on a multi-function bench and adjusted it ready to begin his routine of the day.
Already in position Wyatt took his dumbbells and little by little began to open and close his arms in a controlled manner in a clean and wide arc while he felt a few pairs of eyes on him, but he concentrated first on finishing the exercise he was performing.
"Is something wrong?" he asked them once he finished the first set, seeing Tajh and Sammy who were at his side "I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Sammy," he told him kindly while extending his fist toward him which Wyatt did not hesitate to bump "And I imagine you already know Tajh," he said pointing to his side.
"What's up, Wyatt," Tajh told him with a smile while Wyatt nodded in his direction.
"So what do you think of the university so far?" Sammy asked him, taking advantage of resting as much as they could "Well I must admit that Clemson is not so bad," Wyatt responded to him.
Though of course he hadn't had much time to get to know the surroundings since between adapting to the new classes and the trainings of the last months he barely had a few free moments which he had to use to do homework and study plays.
"And that's because you haven't seen anything yet," Sammy responded to him knowing perfectly how the first weeks were for a university athlete trying to combine all their responsibilities.
"Do you want to train with us?" Tajh proposed trying to include Wyatt more in the group knowing how important that was for the team chemistry "Of course," Wyatt responded joining Tajh and Sammy's group, supporting each other while they finished their exercise routines and headed straight to the dining hall.
Entering quickly and picking up some trays in a corner they immediately began to fill them with the necessary food they needed after the morning session.
The dining hall there was for the exclusive use of the athletes since the food they served was according to the needs of the players and the nutritional plan given to them by the nutritionist in charge of the team, always seeking to vary the options.
With their trays served and everything ready the three soon set out to search for a table that was free, finding it in the right corner of the dining hall where they proceeded to sit down to begin eating as soon as possible before having to go to classes.
"So Wyatt, what encouraged you to choose Clemson?" Tajh asked now, curious to know the answer to that question and generate more conversation among the three.
"I must admit that my first option had been the Longhorns," that answer did not surprise either of the two people since it was the option that many players there preferred, to play for their team "But the news that Coach Brown would retire this season made me rethink everything," he continued explaining.
After that he explained to them that his main reason was the stability that the Clemson environment provided under Dabo Swinney's technical direction and also the tactical philosophy of the same for the team and other factors like the roster and the career plan that Dabo and Zac proposed to him when he had his official visit last year.
"Well then I hope you don't mind the bench, after all my friend here is the indisputable starter," Sammy added quickly while giving light pats to Tajh who simply gave an awkward smile to Wyatt.
"I hope there are no hard feelings if you end up on the bench then," Wyatt suddenly told Tajh, making him stay for a moment with his mind blank without knowing if what Wyatt was saying was true or not.
That a student who has only been with the team for a few months tells that to someone who has been playing for 3 years in the team and with more experience was something that Tajh had never seen and he did not know if it was arrogance or confidence what drove Wyatt to say those words.
"Well I hope to see that," Tajh responded to him with a half-awkward smile letting the environment become a bit uncomfortable after Wyatt's declaration, with the three briefly stopping talking, concentrating more on finishing their plates.
"I must go," Wyatt said being the first of the three to finish and picking up his tray along with his backpack giving them a smile as a sign of goodbye while heading quickly to the exit to go to his first class of the day.
Watching as Wyatt left, Sammy could not help but say what Tajh had thought "I don't know if he is very arrogant or confident," while he said that Tajh was reflecting deeply about it "Who knows, maybe he'll achieve it," Tajh said more to himself than to anyone else.
"But aren't you worried?" his partner inquired with curiosity "On the contrary, that makes it more exciting and gives me more motivation," was the simple response Tajh gave him while finishing his food and thinking about the next exhibition game there would be in a few weeks.
"We have to go too before we are late for class," he told him to stand up with his tray and Sammy quickly finished the food that remained in his to follow him in the direction toward the exit just like several of the other team members.
In that environment, the first joint training of the team came to an end along with a rivalry that was beginning over who would keep the starting Quarterback spot this season.
Authors thought's
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