Chapter 42

On Sunday, it was announced that Coach Thomas had been named the new interim interim head coach, if such a thing existed. He called a team meeting for Sunday afternoon.

“Everybody’s wondering what happened to USC this season, given how well we played last year. The only way to prove that we are still that team is to act like it, to perform like it.

“The true test of a player is not whether he can have a good game but how consistently good he can be. We haven’t been consistent, not as a team. But you have a chance to change that. Take your best game this season, and match that. Better it!

“I challenge you today to put that on tape! Put it on tape!” Coach Thomas said.

“You’ve got one last chance this season to do your damn job and make an impression on the incoming coaching staff or the NFL,” Coach Farrow said. “You all have it in you. If you want to move to the next level, it’s time to show what you can do.”

“I’m not afraid of this moment,” Coach Thomas said. “I’m not going to play it safe. I plan to go for it and win this game. And I challenge each and every one of you to do the same.

“We’re the USC Trojans, dammit! We have a long tradition of excellence on the football field. As we step on that field today, we—this team—have the opportunity to prove we belong, that we’re part of that tradition. It’s time for us to show the world we’re Trojans! Fight on!”

At that moment, he had the support of the whole team. They were ready to run through walls to make it happen. David made a mental note that just a few well-spoken phrases could turn the outlook of something on its head.

“To that end, we’re shaking up the starting lineup this week. I expect you to all act like professionals and embrace the chance we’re giving certain players to step up and show us what they can do as starters. They’ve earned their shot in practice, and I don’t want to see any head-hanging if you’re demoted because we need you to come in when you’re called upon. When that time comes, be ready to give it your all,” Coach Farrow said.

“The new starters are David Dawson at quarterback, Jerry Barber at left tackle, Jesús Diaz at tailback, Nick Collins in the slot, and Craig Hendricks at wide receiver. On defense...” Coach Thomas continued, listing all the defensive changes.

David noted that Bill Callaway at wideout and Nolan Hammer at tight end were the only skill players not replaced. It wasn’t lost on him that all the players listed had shown up for the voluntary Notre Dame practices. He hoped that meant Coach Thomas would embrace the plays that Coaches Mason and Hope had devised.

David glanced over at Matt and received a nod, letting him know Matt was okay with the change.

“Finally, this is Thanksgiving week. I know the campus is shutting down, but we have a game on Saturday. We’ll move everyone to our usual pre-home-game hotel Wednesday night. We’ll have practice Thursday morning, and at one, we’ll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

“After that, you can either go lift or watch some NFL, or I understand Dawson is organizing a voluntary practice.

“We’ll treat Friday as a normal day. The football building will be open, so if you need treatment or want to work out, you can,” Coach Thomas announced.

David didn’t look forward to telling his mom he wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving, but that was just one of the many obligations a college athlete had to make accommodation for. He was already going to miss Lincoln High’s state championship game since that was on Friday night. His dad was flying out Friday morning and then would return on Saturday, so at least Dad would be able to see Phil play.

Thanks to all the footage his PR team had accumulated over the years, his film class project had been easy to compose. He’d spliced it all together and added music and a voice-over. Before he submitted it, he wanted Tracy to give him her opinion.

“You can do better.”

David sighed because he wanted to finish making the short so he could focus on other stuff.

“Don’t give me that look. You know what you created is a fluff piece you’d see at any of your football award banquets. I thought you were supposed to give it a twist. Maybe you could create something meaningful instead of doing what everyone else would do,” Tracy said.

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” David said to defend himself.

“This makes you look like Superman and not a real person. This isn’t freshman year of high school.”

In the first football game he ever played, he’d run the ball like a man among boys. This was before he became a quarterback. Some kids in his class had created a video and posted it on social media. It portrayed him as Superman, who’d appeared at Lincoln High.

David chuckled because he’d embraced it when he was younger. Now, though ... He might have been a high school stud, and in his first college game, he’d shown he could take over a game with his legs. But that game had cost him the season, as he’d gotten a concussion.

That was when reality reared its ugly head, making him realize he couldn’t do it alone. Actually, he’d known that all along, but getting his bell rung and being forced to redshirt was a reality check.

“You’re right. I can do better,” David said, groaning because Tracy was spot on. He had to stop her before she launched into a long speech telling him why she was right.

She gave him a self-satisfied look.

“Promise to send it to me when you’re done,” Tracy said.

“As you command,” David said, bowing to his friend like she was his queen.

“Careful. Cassidy is losing the sling this week and has a list of boys who need to be hurt. You don’t want me to add you to her list, do you?”

He figured he could still take Cassidy, so he ignored Tracy’s threat. Now, in a few months, he would pay more attention to that threat.

“Seriously, Tracy, thanks for being honest with me. Everyone else has been telling me how good it is,” David admitted.

And that right there was why Tracy was one of his best friends.

When David returned from his workout on the rowing machine, he found that Paul Andon, the studio exec in charge of his Star Academy movies and Lexi’s father, had called.

“David!” Paul said, sounding excited.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Andon?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Paul?”

“One more,” he teased.

Paul chuckled and then got down to business.

“I wanted to thank you for giving me the heads-up about the Dubai call. I probably would have brushed it off if you hadn’t. We’ve decided to do two openings, one here in LA and the other at the Dubai Atlantis resort.

“I’m calling to see which one you want to do,” Paul said.

“Which one is Ben Cowley doing?”

Paul chuckled again. They must have pulled up a truck and dumped a buttload of money into his lap for him to be so giddy.

“Whichever one you’re not.”

David brought up his calendar. School was out on the fourteenth, and the premiere was scheduled for the Thursday before Christmas. His family planned to travel to Alabama to join Scarlet’s parents at their hunting and fishing lodge for the holidays. They would arrive that Saturday.

He’d planned to fly everyone out but could hire pilots instead. He would just meet everyone there.

“I’ll go to Dubai,” David decided.

“I’m sending Trip and Halle James and Jessup Fields with you. If you want to bring anyone else with you, let me know. They’re booking you in the Royal Bridge Suite, which has three bedrooms. If you decide you want to use them all, I’ll put the others in their own rooms.”

“I’ll get back to you,” David promised.

“I’ve got to go,” Paul said, adding, “Thank you again. The people in Dubai will be ecstatic that you’re coming.”

Coach Mason and Coach Hope were addressing the offense via video chat. The coaches had shown them several plays where the ball had been lateraled more than once to demonstrate how hard it was to stop.

“The first time we run one of these, I expect it to score. But what will kill it is a penalty,” Coach Mason said.

“Because of the change of direction, the defender will turn to pursue the ball. If they do, LET THEM GO!” Coach Hope said.

David nodded his agreement.

“If you try to block them, it will appear to the referee as though you’re engaged in blocking the defender in the back,” David said. “Even though it was continuous motion, the ref won’t see that. Something else to keep in mind: If you are running with someone to shield them from the play, don’t engage them. The refs might call you for an illegal block.”

“If you’re blocking, keep your hands inside their shoulder pads. Any whiff of holding will get called,” Coach Mason said.

“The best move you can make is to position yourself for a lateral. That will force the defender to stay with you instead of chasing the ball carrier,” Coach Hope said. “David, take them out and run it at three-quarter speed. Let them get comfortable with what they’re doing before you go full speed tomorrow.”

David took them to the underground practice field so no prying eyes could pick up on what they were doing. When Coach Thomas ran the regular practice, they focused on the standard USC playbook.

David lined them up with him in the shotgun and Chuy as his tailback.

“Set ... Hike!”

They ran their basic RPO play where David would put the ball into Chuy’s gut. His read was the linebacker. If the linebacker was moving to fill the hole Chuy was going to run through, David would pull the ball and make his second read. In this case, that was Bill running a simple down-and-out. If he was covered, David would run the ball himself.

That was what he did. But once he crossed the line of scrimmage, David stopped.

“Everybody, freeze!” David called out.

Of course, that didn’t really work. Players kept running, so he had to wait until everyone moved back to where they were when he crossed the line of scrimmage.

“Now that I’ve crossed the line, I’m committed to running. My job is to draw the defenders to me and either go down if I don’t have any option or lateral the ball. What’s required for me to lateral?” David asked.

“The person receiving the ball has to be behind you,” Big Cat answered.

“For example, Bill was running a ten-yard down-and-out. He will now float back toward the line of scrimmage to make himself available for me to pitch it to him.

“Chuy stuck his nose into the breach and is about even with where I am. The problem is he’s among all kinds of defenders, making it almost impossible for me to get him the ball. I want you to do one of two things: either run to open grass or follow me up the field. Open grass makes it an easy toss, but following me can be more effective. The reason is that multiple defenders will try to tackle me. If I toss it back to you, they have to either get off me or change direction to tackle you,” David coached.

Chuy nodded his head in understanding. They’d shown similar plays of David running the option where he tossed it to the halfback. The back simply ran past the main line of defense. Many times, the running back was untouched for a score.

“I’m going to take three steps, and I want everyone to continue as you would,” David said.

He now had two defenders in his face.

“This is where I have to make a decision. In this case, I’m going to toss the ball to Bill,” David said and pitched it to Bill.

“Now, I want Bill to run the ball up ten yards and have the safety come over to make the tackle,” David said.

“Stop!” David called out. “Craig, Big Cat, and Nolan: look where the defenders are. The safety had to leave the middle of the field. Nolan, you should run to where he was at the beginning of the play; it should be wide open. Craig and Big Cat, cheat over so Bill doesn’t have to toss the ball across the field. Your goal is to find open grass.

“Finally, if I can get up, my job is to trail the play. I want Chuy to do the same. We might bust the play open or extend it,” David explained. “Now continue.”

Bill tossed the ball to Nolan, who ran it in for the score.

To this point, they’d just been having fun tossing the ball around, but now David was explaining what worked and what didn’t.

When they were done, he gathered his skill players around to get their thoughts.

“I’m worried I might either throw the ball away or a defender will pick it off,” Nolan said.

“Most times, the ball will only be tossed once. That said, I remember reading a stat that if the ball changes hands more than three times, you are assured of scoring 90% of the time.

“But if you aren’t sure, just let them tackle you,” David said.

“We have four more days to practice this. Let’s make them all count,” Bill said. “You’ll become more comfortable the more you do it.”

“Remember, Notre Dame has no idea we’re planning this. If we can run it against our defense, and they know it’s coming, it’ll be ten times easier on Saturday,” Chuy said.

With that, David ended the practice.