“Trojans are tough; they always have been. Physically tough, mentally tough. When other people quit, we keep going. When other people fall down, we stand back up. Let’s go out and surprise some people. Let’s go show them what it means to be USC Trojans,” Drew said.
“I just felt a tingle go down my leg,” Knackers quipped as everyone politely clapped.
“Thanks, Drew. That was inspirational,” Coach Merritt said.
When the AD left the room, Coach Merritt turned to his men.
“First things first. We’re going to win games, and we will play the best players to win those games. And we are not assuming any of them is going to be an easy game. And we don’t think that we’ll have the opportunity to play just anybody who wants to play. Just so we’re clear: we will play anybody who’ll help us win a game. That’s what we’re going to do. So, I don’t think anybody should expect us to do anything else.
“What does that mean? It means that we don’t have a depth chart for the first week on day one. Positions will be earned, not given,” Coach Merritt said to stunned silence.
“Are we clear?!” Coach Merritt barked.
“Yes, sir!” came the thundering response.
“Okay. Now that that is out of the way, let me tell you what you can expect. The best head coach I ever had, I knew what he expected. I’ve worked at other places where that was never ever really defined. It’s amazing to me that people either work with or for someone, and it is assumed that you know what they want,” he said. As he spoke, team managers filed in with large manila envelopes bearing the USC logo.
They lined up and handed a stack to the player at the end of each row. Soon, everyone had one.
“If you define what everyone is supposed to do,” Coach Merritt continued, “and then let them do it, you’ll be successful. That doesn’t just apply to football; it applies to life. I mean, when we run a play on film, everyone can see that if they had just done what they were supposed to do, we would have been successful.”
Coach Merritt paused for effect.
“Do your job. You will hear me say that a thousand times between now and the beginning of the season. We can be a much better football team than we are now if we just do that. But we have to have the attitude that we’ll get better as a team. I want everybody to make a decision and a commitment that that is what you want to do. We need to gut it out. We need to do it. Pull together and do what we need to do. You just need to do your job.”
David found himself leaning forward in his seat because he could already tell this rookie coach got it. He had a feeling that this team would be completely different by the end of the season. They would surprise people when it all finally came together. The problem was he saw the older guys were still doubtful.
“Something I see in college ball that drives me crazy is that too often their coaches coach every player the same. If they didn’t fit the system, you just didn’t play them. When I coached in the NFL, you didn’t have that luxury. You’re given a player, and you have to figure out how to work with them because you don’t have the depth you have in college. You have to figure out how to work with all kinds.
“While this won’t be an overnight change, I plan to get the most out of each and every one of you. We’ll develop depth at every position, and when it’s your turn to step on the field, I expect you to be ready. It will be as simple as the next man up.
“With me saying that, I expect something from you as well. To be what you want as a football team, you have to show improvement each week. At USC, we are expected to be a winning football team. Those are the expectations here, from our administration, our boosters, our students, and our fans. I want you to embrace those expectations. One of the reasons I came here was to win. And if we’re not improving from one week to the next, we have no chance of accomplishing our goals of winning the Pac-12 South and then the Pac-12 Championship.
“I might even be so bold to say, a national championship,” Coach Merritt said.
That got everyone on their feet. David could only hope.
“Over the next couple of days, your position coach will meet with you and give you your individual expectations so that you are clear on what your job is. Now, before we go, Willy has something to say.”
Willy Powell was their starting center and would probably be one of the team captains.
“Tank told me that you have gotten fat and slow while you loaded up on your mama’s cooking. There’s a voluntary conditioning session in ten minutes,” he said and then scowled at the starters. “And I expect every one of you pussies in the front row to be leading us.”
The whole room groaned.
◊◊◊
Standing on the field waiting for them was Tank Bryce, their strength and conditioning coach. David felt a little sick when he saw Cassidy standing next to him. He hadn’t realized that she had returned to school early. David had a bad feeling about this.
“Hustle your butts. I don’t have all day!” Tank yelled.
Willy and his offensive linemen started to get onto the stragglers. David saw that as a good sign. A moment later, everyone was lined up.
“Today, we are going to mix it up and have Cassidy Hope of the rowing team lead us,” Tank announced.
“Hooroo, toodles, cheerio, see you later! Crikey, that sheila will bugger the lot of us,” Knackers complained.
“Speak American,” someone in the back teased David’s Aussie teammate.
Knackers turned to David to act as interpreter.
“We’re all about to die,” David said.
Most of the team laughed. The ones that had worked out with David during the summer wore a grim expression. They knew what conditioning with Cassidy meant.
Ten minutes in, Knackers just collapsed like he’d been shot. The punter usually didn’t participate in conditioning drills, and it showed. Twenty, and they had guys bent over, losing their lunches. Thirty, and only a handful remained. David was proud that his core group was still standing.
“In two weeks, I’ll have you doing the full routine,” Cassidy announced.
“How long is that?” Willy asked.
“A full hour,” Cassidy said with an evil smirk.
David was secretly grinning as well because these were supposed to be top college athletes, and his little ninja had put their dicks in the dirt. The whole team needed a wake-up call, and Cassidy Hope had just delivered it.
◊◊◊
David went to the team locker room to shower and get clean shorts and a t-shirt. Each day, his locker was restocked by the team-manager staff. It was either that or half these knuckleheads would wear their dirty gear.
“Dawson!” he heard as he came back from his shower.
It was Willy and the offensive line, minus John Johnson, USC’s starting left tackle and Matt Long’s pet. Also with them was Marcus Eshete, the starting running back. Marcus had hurt his shoulder when John had attacked David instead of blocking during spring ball. The whole incident ended up getting Matt, John, and Percy Wilkes—the defensive end who had come to David’s defense—suspended for the first game. Marcus was lucky that his shoulder was only bruised. He would be ready to play when practice started.
“What’s up, fellas?” David asked.
“Was that, whatever the hell we just did, something you guys did to build your stamina?” Willie asked.
“Yup, we did.”
“Is that girl going to continue to work with you?” Marcus asked.
“Her name is Cassidy Hope, and she has been in charge of my conditioning since I was a freshman in high school. She also helped Ridge Townsend and the others that worked out for the NFL get ready for the combine,” David shared. “Did you want to join us when we work out with her?”