In just a few words, sparks flew between Kevin and John. Kevin turned and glared at John, and John glared back without backing down. But before the two could confront each other, Anthony's angry voice boomed again, "You guys, assemble! Did you hear me! Assemble!"
The scolding interrupted their standoff. Kevin turned away sullenly and ran toward the assembly point. Because of his conflict during the last practice, he had been demoted to the fourth-string substitute position. While technically a fourth-stringer, a quarterback in that position rarely gets to play—it's no different from being on the practice squad. He couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.
Lu Ke, looking at the fuming John, laughed. "His vision is only for college football. We're aiming for the pros. Why bother with a small-timer like that?" The jab stunned John, who couldn't believe Lu Ke's ambition was so grand. From practice squad to professional? Not even a Hollywood fairy tale would be written that way.
But after thinking about it, he couldn't argue, and John finally burst out laughing. He jogged alongside Lu Ke and joined the assembled team.
The coaching staff stood a short distance away. Rick Neuheisel wore a look of dissatisfaction, muttering in a low voice to the other two coaches. Anthony turned to look, and Rick waved him off dismissively. Anthony then turned to the assembled players and announced, "Today's practice is over for now. Next, we'll have an intrasquad scrimmage. The third-string team will play against the practice squad."
Scrimmages in a training camp are a normal occurrence. They might be for testing training effectiveness, practicing their own plays, or preparing for an opponent's tactics. Scrimmages or team drills happen every so often. The unusual part was the third-string team playing against the practice squad.
Since practice squad members don't have strict positions, their main role is to act as opponents in drills—sometimes the offense, sometimes the defense, and sometimes special teams. Other times, they are used more for specialized training. In official scrimmages, practice squad members rarely get a chance to play.
Ten days ago, the drill between Lu Ke and Kevin was a team drill specifically to practice offensive plays.
Now, the practice squad was having an official scrimmage? This meant they had to be divided into an offensive and a defensive team. Special teams could be filled by players from both sides. They also needed to choose a quarterback—the practice squad had no assigned quarterback. If one was needed, it was usually the team's third or fourth quarterback temporarily playing the role for the drill.
Anthony seemed to know what kind of bombshell he had dropped and immediately followed up, "The game will be 15 minutes long. We'll see how everyone handles the plays. It's no secret that our first and second teams are dealing with injuries. After this camp, we need to select suitable players from the third-string team, new recruits, and the practice squad to fill the substitute roster. Today is the start."
Everyone looked enlightened and began to murmur excitedly.
UCLA had a glorious history, winning the Rose Bowl 13 times, including an unprecedented eight consecutive wins, a record that still stands in the NCAA. However, since the 21st century, the team had fallen into a long slump and had been unable to recapture the glory of the 50s and 80s.
Last year, the team made significant progress, finishing the season with a 7-5 record. It was the first time in five years that the team had more wins than losses, which gave people high hopes for the Bruins this year. But before the season even began, they were plagued by injuries, and the first-string team was particularly hit hard, casting a shadow over the season's prospects.
The coaches couldn't just sit back and do nothing. They had to prepare on two fronts: waiting for the starting players to recover and increasing the team's depth. The training camp was their last chance because the season was starting next week.
A 15-minute scrimmage was essentially a longer version of a team drill, but with more defined roles. In other words, the coaches' evaluation targets were clearer.
After Anthony's announcement, the first and second teams looked on, exchanging knowing glances. The third-stringers, new recruits, and practice squad members, however, all looked excited. This was their golden opportunity. Everyone clenched their fists, eager to show what they could do.
John looked at Lu Ke in astonishment, unable to hide his excitement. He nudged Lu Ke with his shoulder. "Did you hear that? Did you hear that?" He couldn't contain his emotions, jumping up and down and pumping his fists.
Lu Ke also clenched his fists, filled with passion. Perfect. He had just received a basic skill point and could add another boost. The question was, where should he put it?
As the team buzzed with discussion, Anthony's voice rang out, "Now, I will announce the teams." The new recruits were temporarily playing their familiar positions as the coaches were still evaluating their abilities before reassigning them based on the team's needs. The practice squad was the same—they usually played different positions and rarely had a fixed one.
"Before we split up, who will be the quarterbacks for the two teams?" Anthony asked. The chatter immediately stopped, and everyone's eyes fell on Kevin, John, and Darius Bell—Darius was the freshman quarterback this year.
Currently, the third-string quarterback was Darius, and the fourth was Kevin. John, on the practice squad, was clearly the most suitable candidate for a quarterback due to his past record.
However, Darius was only the third-string substitute in name. He had only been with the team for half a month and hadn't yet adapted to the team's tactics or the intensity of college football.
So, Anthony called out, "Kevin, you'll be the quarterback for the third-string team." This came as no surprise to anyone, including Darius. The third-string players congratulated Kevin, who waved humbly but couldn't hide his proud, joyful expression. "So, what about the practice squad?"
Darius? Or John?
"Me!" someone volunteered. Everyone's eyes shot to the source and saw Lu Ke's familiar yet unexpected figure. For a moment, everyone was too stunned to react. The shock was so great that their brains seemed to freeze.
But Lu Ke wasn't flustered at all. He stood tall and confident, meeting Anthony's inquiring gaze directly. This was his opportunity, and he would not let it slip away easily.
Anthony was slightly taken aback, remembering the stunning rainbow pass from the three-on-three game. Just then, John stepped forward. Everyone thought he would also volunteer, but he said, "I recommend Lu Ke. He's a very good quarterback."
Everyone was astonished and couldn't process it, but an even bigger surprise was yet to come. Anthony nodded in approval. "Alright, Lu Ke, you'll be the quarterback for the practice squad. Do you remember the offensive plays?"
"Of course!" Lu Ke said with confidence.
A commotion erupted. Everyone looked at each other in shock, unsure how to react. Only Kevin muttered, "Clown," with a sneer and a look of contempt on his face.
Anthony ignored their stunned reactions and immediately announced the rosters, splitting the players into the third-string and practice teams. He then announced, "We'll skip the kickoff. The third-string team will be on offense first, and the practice squad will be on defense. The game will start in five minutes. Get ready."
With that, Anthony turned and walked off the field, leaving the space to the players.
In an instant, Lu Ke was surrounded by his practice squad teammates. They all looked at him with appraising eyes. "Are you sure? Can you really do it?"
The practice squad members didn't have any real conflicts of interest with each other. On the contrary, because of the exclusion and neglect from the main team players, they tended to stick together. In this team, no one treated them as a part of the team except for themselves. Although they sometimes complained about Lu Ke's demanding performance, which added to their burden, they had a good relationship with him privately—much better than with the substitutes represented by Kevin.
Lu Ke smiled. "Will I be able to? We'll find out once we get on the field, won't we? Don't worry. If my very first pass gets intercepted, the coaches won't have the heart to watch anymore." This self-deprecating joke made everyone laugh, easing the tense atmosphere.
An interception is when an opponent catches the football before it hits the ground. If this happens, regardless of whether it's the first or fourth down, the offensive team loses possession immediately, and the opponent gets to go on offense.
The practice squad's offensive team members left the field to allow the defensive team to go on first. They all cheered for their usual training partners. From practice squad to substitute? Maybe even making it onto the active roster? This was every practice player's distant but real dream.
At this moment, Lu Ke had time to summon the system again and think about where to add the basic skill point he had just received. To his surprise, the mission icon was flashing. He had already read the message about completing the daily training mission, so why was there another unread message?
Curiously, Lu Ke opened his inbox and saw a new mission had appeared: a competition mission!
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