Friday, October 4, 2013
Football Complex
Inside the Clemson University sports complex, most of the Tigers team were sitting in the video room, waiting for Dabo along with the rest of the coaching staff to arrive.
"This is the most boring part of all this," Laquon said, sprawling out in his seat, dying of boredom in the room just like some of the team members who were not fans of spending an afternoon watching replays of various plays either.
While the yawn of one of the defensive tackles sitting at the very back of the room could be heard, the door swung open, with Dabo along with the rest of the coaching staff entering through the door.
The moment they walked in, most of the players stopped slacking in their seats, with some straightening up, waiting for the coach to begin the video session.
"Gentlemen!!" was all Dabo said as the projector turned on to show the logo of the team's next opponent.
In the middle of the screen, a large capital 'S' in orange was displayed, this being the logo that represented Syracuse University.
"The Syracuse Orange," Chad Morris said, taking the floor as they moved to the next slide, which showed a video.
This was from the last game they had played against the Tulane Green Wave of New Orleans, with the 52-17 score visible in the corner.
Of the course, the Green Wave team was not a well-known team or a powerhouse, since they were in the C-USA conference, which was a conference below the ACC and other major conferences like the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12.
Despite that, managing to slaughter the other team by more than 35 points showed that if they grew careless in the slightest, they could end up paying dearly for it.
"The Syracuse team moved this season to the ACC from the Big East, so this will be the first game we play against them since 1996," Chad continued narrating, giving some details about the team.
"The one in command of the team is Scott Shafer, who was previously the defensive coordinator of the team, and this is his first season at the helm," Chad finished saying, so that afterwards Dabo cleared his throat, drawing the attention of each of the players present.
"As many can guess, the Syracuse team focuses heavily on defense, which is why the offense must concentrate on quick series and deep passes," Dabo said, giving the instructions to then begin showing some of the most important moments from the previous game.
In that play, one could see how the defensive tackles of the Syracuse team managed to contain Tulane's entire offensive line, causing the pocket to begin to collapse.
Panning into a panic, the sophomore quarterback Devin Powell forced a quick pass, avoiding being sacked with the ball, which was why the ball traced an irregular arc toward one of the corners of the field, where the receiver was looking for the correct way to catch the ball.
Being so focused on the direction in which the ball was heading, he did not notice out of the corner of his eye how the rookie cornerback Julian Whigham was heading in the same direction as him.
Before he could realize it, Julian jumped before the receiver could even react, to then begin running in the opposite direction from where the Tulane team was heading.
Finally being brought down after a 4-yard return, putting an end to the footage that was being seen in the broadcast room.
"As you can see, the Syracuse defense is very complete, and if you lose focus for even a split second, what happened to Tulane can happen," Dabo finished saying, while his gaze rested directly on Wyatt, who to his satisfaction was completely focused on the recording shown on the projector.
"As for the offense," he said to then change the subject, and another recording was shown, this time displaying one of the offensive series of the Syracuse team on the screen.
On this occasion, on 1st down, the offensive line forcefully contained Tulane's defensive line, allowing running back Tyson Gulley to cross the line of scrimmage without any problem until he was finally brought down by the Tulane team's safety, but not before having gained 8 yards, leading to a 2nd and 2.
Fast-forwarding the footage to the moment of the play, the same scene was seen repeating in which Syracuse controlled the defense and quarterback Terrell Hunt ran and dove straight into the strike zone, gaining the final two yards needed for a new 1st and 10.
"As you can observe, their game is mostly based on the ground game with short-distance passes of barely 5 yards," Dabo said, to then show the profile of Syracuse's starting quarterback with his statistics from the last game.
Terrell HuntPassing: 16/21 completionsPassing yards: 181
Dabo, with his laser pointer, pointed out the most important detail in question. "Despite being short passes, he only attempted 21 passes with 16 completions to throw for a mere 181 yards through the air," Dabo finished saying, to then step aside and give the floor to Brent Venables, the defensive coordinator of Clemson University.
"So as you can see, we must focus on countering their ground game once we land in Syracuse," Brent said, while the profile of one of the players who should be taken into account in the upcoming game was displayed on the screen.
"Tyson Gulley, the senior running back for Syracuse and the main offensive weapon of the Orange team," Brent began to explain, while the statistics he achieved in the game were displayed next.
Tyson Gulley (RB)Carries: 11Yards: 51
"As you can see, the biggest yard gainer and the one who gets them out of trouble when the offense stalls in the game is him, so if we block him and prevent him from running and gaining yards, we will have the victory almost guaranteed."
He then began to explain the plays he had prepared for tomorrow's game and also the reasons why they had practiced specific drills to be able to face Syracuse.
At the mention of the specific drills, Wyatt could not help but think of the kind of training he had been subjected to in recent weeks.
Flashback
"Alright guys," Chad said, looking at the two boys in front of him who already had their helmets and shoulder pads on and were paying full attention to the indications Chad was giving them for today's training.
"This time, we will see how you do in situations where the pocket collapses and you must throw a pass before being intercepted," Chad explained while pointing in the direction of the assistants, who held pads in their hands with the sole objective of bringing them down the moment they had the ball in their hands.
"Your target is the person in the yellow vest," he said, to then point to one of the receivers from the reserve team, who was standing a few yards away and raised his hand with a friendly smile on his face.
"The ultimate goal is to avoid being brought down and throw the pass in the direction of the receiver, who must catch the ball without problems," Chad finished explaining. "So, who goes first?" he said with a smile, looking toward the boys in front of him.
Noticing that neither of them took a step forward, Chad simply pointed toward the player in the middle. "Sterling, you go first," was the last thing he said before bringing the whistle to his mouth, and Wyatt adjusted his helmet straps and prepared to practice the play in question.
"Set Hut!" Wyatt shouted, to then receive the ball from Chad's hands and see how in front of him the assistants began to charge in his direction with the sole objective of bringing him down.
In those few seconds before the assistants could get close to him, he immediately saw how the receiver simulated what could occur in a game, cutting from the sideline to the center of the field.
Before Wyatt could even cock his arm to prepare the pass, one of the assistants threw himself upon him, so cocking his arm and securing the ball against his chest, he spun on his heels, narrowly evading the assistant in question.
Analyzing the situation quickly and seeing that staying still would not be the best option, he began to run toward the opposite corner of the field, being followed by the remaining two assistants.
Seeing how the distance between him and the assistants widened, he immediately pulled back his arm and threw a precise pass in the direction of the corner where the receiver was heading.
But perhaps it was due to the receiver's lack of experience or the improvisation of the play, the receiver could not reach the ball in time and could only extend his hands forward, attempting to catch the ball.
"My bad," the receiver said, raising his hands with an apologetic smile in his voice upon seeing how the pass had been incomplete because of him.
Looking at the complete play, Chad took some notes on his clipboard while murmuring something. "His way of improvising in high-pressure moments is surprising," he murmured in a low voice before finishing taking notes and blowing his whistle again.
"Stoudt, your turn," Chad said while pointing toward the second quarterback, who simply nodded with a serious expression while readjusting the helmet on his head and getting into position, ready to execute the play.
"Set Hut!" he shouted, to then also receive the ball from Chad and see how the assistants charged once more in the direction of their new target.
Cole initially attempted to drop back further than Wyatt, seeking to generate as much distance as possible between himself and the assistants to have time to adjust his throwing angle and execute a pass that the receiver could catch without any problem.
But seeing how the assistants ran toward him quickly, he attempted the same spin as Wyatt, but unlike him, his center of gravity was not prepared for such a sudden movement, which was why as soon as he spun, he began to wobble slightly, trying to regain his balance.
In his eagerness to stabilize himself, he could not avoid how one of the assistants brought him down with the pad he carried in front of him, ending with Cole sprawled on the ground.
With Chad's whistle resonating, he brought the play to an end, and finally, Cole emerged from under the player who had brought him down. "More attention next time, Stoudt. If you can't handle the pressure, an incomplete pass can also be a good option," he advised him while taking some notes on his clipboard.
Watching everything from the side, Wyatt did not notice how a person approached him and placed an ice-cold drink against his neck. "Holy shit!" Wyatt yelled, feeling the change in temperature, only to turn around and see the amused smile Tajh was giving in his direction.
"That scared the crap out of me, asshole," Wyatt could not help but say before grabbing the bottle Tajh passed him and taking a deep gulp. "Looks like you guys are putting in the work," Tajh said, not caring about the bad face Wyatt was making in his direction and seeing how the team's practices were going.
"You can say that again," Wyatt told him, who also looked around the field. "Do you feel confident against Syracuse this Saturday?" Tajh asked Wyatt.
"Don't doubt for a second that we will bring back the win," Wyatt told him, finishing all the liquid in the bottle to return to the game.
End of Flashback
And Wyatt kept thinking the same thing, since he trusted the adjustments and special training they had done over the last few days.
Once the video session ended, all the players gradually withdrew, ready to pack their bags for tomorrow, where they would play as the visiting team.
Authors thought's
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