For once, I wasn’t first. I think the guys had figured out if they let me go first every time, I’d be considered the leader of the group. These soon-to-be seniors didn’t want it to look like they were being led by an incoming junior. They weren’t shy, though, about asking for advice. It was obvious I’d had upper-level coaching. I noticed the coaches were paying attention to what I told the guys but weren’t interfering.
The first five guys to go struggled. I needed to get my shotgun out and shoot the dying ducks as the balls got caught up in the wind. One guy’s football actually went end over end. The next quarterback decided to grip it and rip it. It did get there, but the defensive guy picked it off easily.
Flee and I had been talking. The key to throwing in the wind was to throw a spiral. If you had any wobble on the ball, it would be magnified by the wind. Flee threw a good ball, but it was short. I was thankful I’d been able to see the seven failures before I went. I knew I couldn’t do any worse. Flee’s ball showed me I needed to overthrow it and let the ball come back to the receiver. I had seven disgusted quarterbacks around me when I completed my pass. I also had seven quarterbacks talking to me after that play. I think they had embraced it not being a competition but an opportunity to make themselves better players.
When we completed the ten stations, we went to lunch. They shortened the lunch period because we’d lost time in the morning. Several of the guys were flying out, so the camp organizers didn’t want to completely mess up their travel plans by running too late.
Flee and I tracked down Roland to see how he was doing. I was glad to see he had his swagger back. We spent the rest of lunch trying to figure out if Flee’s girlfriend really was a stripper. He then revealed that Candy had sisters named Raven and Crystal. Of course, we called bullshit on that. How could any parent give all their daughters stripper names?
We went back out and they announced we were going to be doing ‘throwing lines.’ This phase was called ‘The Third Quarter–The Stroke.’ Up to this point, we’d been doing random drills to get us ready for this. There were no more excuses. We knew where the ball was supposed to go, and we were expected to throw the ball to the receiver. We were expected to be perfect.
They also told us they expected us to cheer on our teammates, show leadership, and not to get our heads down if we didn’t succeed on a play. They were looking at us and evaluating what our potential was. They didn’t care if we were the perfect guys mechanically. If they felt we weren’t a great teammate, they would downgrade us.
I had a blast getting to know the guys and watching the pressure eat them up. Roland was a great example. He was the number 5 quarterback because he could make all the throws. He passed the eye test. Roland was six-four and weighed 195 pounds. He had a smooth throwing motion that we were all envious of. His problem, though, was as he watched players like me have success, he began to doubt himself.
We were separated into new groups. I was sad to see my first group of guys leave. It was apparent our group was a bunch of studs. As the afternoon progressed, you could see a select few start to separate from the rest of the pack.
I quickly realized my main competition came from three guys.
Mathew Palmer was from Tampa, Florida. He could make every pass and made it look easy. His only problem was he knew it. He was an arrogant know-it-all. I could see he was getting under some of the guys’ skin, which caused them to fail. I hate guys like that. It would be different if we were in a game and he was needling guys who were his opponents.
Tim Rogers was from Dallas, Texas. He was the Cadillac of the group, as he was smooth and comfortable. He put it on cruise control and would just glide around the pocket. His exceptional footwork allowed him to be in the right position to make the right throw all the time. I personally learned a lot watching him.
Ben Luck, from Springfield, Missouri, was the youngest of seven children and the jokester. I don’t think the smile could ever be wiped off his face. He was a lot of fun to be around. Skill-wise he was above average. It wasn’t any one thing, it was just a bunch of little things. I got the impression he was never completely focused. I think Coach Trent called it clearing your mind.
As the day went on, Ben and Mathew started trading barbs. Mathew’s were mean-spirited, but it seemed like Ben took them in stride and just smiled more. I don’t really know what happened, but sometime later Mathew made a comment about Tim. Something along the lines that he was so vanilla that he might as well go gay because no woman would want to go out with such a milquetoast.
Mathew found himself on the ground with a bloody nose. I ran over, grabbed Ben and Tim, and sent them to a coach. Mathew had a nasty scowl on his face and I could tell this wasn’t over. I got into his face.
“You better settle your shit right down. You’ve been building to getting your butt kicked all day. Those two don’t know how to fight. I, on the other hand, will mess you up! Go get your nose cleaned up and come back with a better attitude,” I ordered him.
Coach Trent came up.
“Do we have a problem here?” he asked.
“No, sir,” Mathew said, and went to stop his nose from bleeding.
When we got back to the drills, there was a fire in Tim that had been missing. I think we all realized he’d separated himself from the group today.
The final segment was called ‘The Fourth Quarter–The Pressure Chamber.’ Coach Trent brought us all together.
“Today we get to see the top six quarterbacks go head-to-head in a two-minute drill. Let me tell you what to expect. Keep track of the clock. If you need to call a timeout, be sure you get it. Every second counts. I want you to pay attention to your coaches on the sidelines.
“During the drill, you’ll be making seven different passes. Don’t worry; you’ve already made them today, so there’ll be no surprises.
“Finally, I want you to own the environment. You need to step out there with all the other kids watching you. I talked about controlling your mind. Take everything you learned today and process it in such a way that it’s transferred to the field. I want you to make things happen with controlled urgency.”
He then announced the six quarterbacks who’d be competing. I was picked last and was the only incoming junior selected. The Elite 11 was a senior-driven event. I felt that just making it to this point was a great honor.
Coach Allen came out and showed us each pass. He lined up on the 20 where they had a stand with a ball on it.
“The first ball is going to be a hitch route to the outside.”
He dropped back and made an easy toss to the receiver who caught it.
“You’re then going to the next station,” Coach said as he jogged to the next spot. “I’m going to be with you and calling out the situation. I’ll let you know, prior to the play, your down and distance. You’ll know how much time you have. The next throw is a crossing pattern. I want you to follow the man on your back side. Square your shoulders so you can watch him come across the field. When the cross happens, I want you to switch receivers and throw to the one going away from you.”
I watched him follow the first receiver and then switch. This was a tougher throw because the receiver had to look over his shoulder to know when to turn and catch the ball.
Coach Allen jogged to the next station.
“Your next throw is the slant. You’ll have two receivers, and there’ll be a first window and a second window. I’ll call out which one I want you to throw to.”
He completed the pass and went to the next station. This time they had a defensive player lined up to rush you.
“You’re now under a minute,” he said as he dropped back, and then sidestepped the rusher. “You’ll have to make a sudden move and then make your pass for the comeback.”