Legendary Football Superstar

Luke jogged away from the official players' training field, and soon the adjacent training field came into view.noveldrama

Unlike the official training field, which was surrounded by tall office buildings, luxurious and orderly, ensuring privacy and adhering to central principles, the training field about 1200 feet away was a completely open space, accessible from all directions with a broad view. The entire field was relatively simple but still well-equipped and level, even better than the training fields at UCLA.

At this moment, there were about thirty or forty people scattered around the field. At a glance, it was hard to distinguish who were staff members and who were tryout participants. There wasn't much noise; everyone was focused on their own tasks. However, within the quiet atmosphere, there was a faint sense of tension and excitement.

After entering the field, Luke and Scott didn't speak, just nodded to each other, and then silently separated to start warming up in their own ways.

Each team's tryout methods are slightly different, but ultimately, the content being assessed is the same, only the form varies. So, Luke wasn't too nervous and proceeded with his warm-up step by step. Unintentionally, his peripheral vision began to sneakily observe and scout the situation of his competitors.

Kevin O'Connell, twenty-six years old, entering his fourth year in the league, with a mediocre performance and no outstanding achievements, recently left the New York Jets.

Mark Brunell, forty-one years old, has been through teams like the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins. After leaving the New Orleans Saints last year, he has been looking for a job and still has no plans to retire.

Tom Brandstater, twenty-seven years old, spent his rookie season with the Denver Broncos and has since been a practice squad player for various teams. Recently, he and Luke both participated in the Dallas Cowboys' tryout, but unfortunately, neither of them made it.

Chris Greisen, thirty-five years old, played in the NFL for two years before moving to Australia, where he found a place in their football league and gradually gained attention. This offseason, he returned to the U.S. and participated in tryouts for several teams. Luke had met him before at the St. Louis Rams.

Carson Palmer thirty-two, vears old plaved for the Cincinnati Bengals for eight seasons. After the team selected Andy Dalton in the draft, Carson was cut. He is now seeking his next team. By the way, Carson was the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner. Just a quick look around had Luke feeling the heat.

On one hand, you had the seasoned vets like Carson and Matt. These guys were in their prime, seasoned quarterbacks with mad skills, ready to jump in and make plays after years in the league.

On the other hand, there was the lineup of his competition. Mostly experienced free agents, not many undrafted rookies in sight. Was this a sign that the San Francisco 49ers weren't in a rush to push Colin to the top? Maybe they were leaning towards picking veterans to hold down the fort until Alex got back?

These thoughts were spinning in his head, making him antsy. Luke shut his eyes, realizing he was losing focus. He was totally zoning out during his warm-up, which is a big no-no in competitive sports.

Skipping a proper warm-up could mean his muscles, ligaments, and body weren't fully prepped, upping the risk of getting hurt during the real deal. Especially in a rough sport like football, one slip-up could lead to an injury. Plenty of athletes have gotten hurt in training because they didn't warm up right.

Taking a deep breath, Luke forced himself to get his head back in the game, clear his mind, and start his warm-up all over again. He'd rather take extra time and effort than mess up.

After finishing his non-ball warm-up, Luke smoothly moved to the side of the field, grabbed a football, and started a simple ball warm-up. This whole routine was second nature to him; his muscles had it down pat. Once he was fully focused, all those chaotic thoughts vanished, and the nerves melted away.

About half an hour later, a middle-aged dude in a San Francisco 49ers team uniform strolled over.

He wasn't rocking the usual coaching gear but had on a sports jersey without a number, looking like he could still play. He seemed to be around forty, younger than Mark, with a buzz cut and an athletic build, still keeping that athlete's physique. Even his moves screamed athlete.

On the field, surrounded by athletes, no one really paid him much mind. But then Matt went up to him, and they hugged and chatted as they walked over, catching quite a few eyes.

The middle-aged dude raised his right hand, signaling everyone to gather around. He introduced himself as Bobby Engram, now an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers' offensive team. Before this offseason, he was catching passes as a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Fun fact: Bobby and Matt both joined the Seattle Seahawks the same year and worked together for a solid nine years.

Things were looking pretty grim for the undrafted rookies, or more accurately, things were looking pretty sweet for Matt. But Luke had already chilled out and wasn't too shocked. Among a bunch of undrafted rookies with wide-eyed, nervous faces, he stood out as the calm one.

Bobby then started organizing all the tryout players for some physical tests, the same ones you'd see at rookie training camps: the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, broad jump, vertical jump, and so on. These were just basic benchmarks. They also did specific quarterback drills like footwork training, impact resistance training, and three- cone drills.

By the time Jim Harbaugh, Geep Chryst, and Greg Roman showed up at the adjacent training field, another two hours had flown by. The tryout players had finished all the basic tests and were deep into passing drills. The field was buzzing with footballs flying everywhere, even more lively than the official players' training field.

These three guys were the head coach, the quarterback coach, and the offensive coordinator, respectively, and they were the ones calling the shots on the team's training decisions.

Jim rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache, thinking about the training situation on the adjacent field, his mind all tangled up.

Objectively speaking, Colin's individual skills were solid, with a Wonderlic Personnel Test score of 37, which was why the San Francisco 49ers picked him in the second round of the draft.

But, the sudden turn of events meant he had to memorize all the playbooks within a week, get in sync with his teammates, and adapt to the pace of pro games. That was a tall order.

College football and pro football are two totally different beasts, even worlds apart. No matter how talented a rookie is, they need time to adapt and transition. Historically, very few players have jumped straight into the starting quarterback role as rookies. Among the current four elite quarterbacks, only Peyton Manning managed to pull that

off.

If he could, Jim would love to give Colin more time.

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But another throb of pain hit his temples. Jim took a deep breath, pushing aside all the chaotic thoughts, and started to check out the tryout players on the field. There were three quarterbacks trying out, each in different corners, doing passing drills. It wasn't your typical quarterback-to-receiver stuff; it was more like basketball shooting drills, where the quarterbacks aimed to throw the football into specific baskets.

Jim quickly scanned the field, pausing briefly on each quarterback, not just watching the accuracy of their throws but also their mechanics, the ball's trajectory, and their power control. Finally, his eyes locked onto one of the quarterbacks.

This guy's throwing motion was crisp and clean, with a super streamlined range of motion. His use of arm muscles and core strength was spot on, effortlessly making 30- yard and 35-yard throws.

Plus, his footwork was light and orderly, and his overall balance and flexibility were impressive. But the real kicker was his passing accuracy. He nailed fifteen consecutive 30-yard throws with pinpoint precision, and it didn't even seem to faze him.

The sixteenth throw.

Jim's eyebrows raised slightly. All three quarterbacks were training at the same time, and the comparison was clear. "Greg?" Jim called out.

Unexpectedly, Greg also patted Jim on the shoulder. "Check out that quarterback." Jim followed Greg's gesture and saw the same guy. "His throwing motion is smooth and easy on the eyes. His control of power and trajectory is top-notch, and his ball sense is solid. Plus, he can throw both rainbow passes and bullet passes, showing a good grasp of trajectory changes and timing. It's clear he's a thinking quarterback. His Wonderlic Personnel Test score should be good."

Jim nodded in agreement. "Who is he? With such solid fundamentals, why is he still on the market?" While agreeing, he was more puzzled. With only a week left before the preseason, there were still many quarterbacks on the market, but very few of them were above average.

"Luke." The answer came not from Greg but from Geep.

Jim and Greg both turned to look, their faces full of confusion. "Which Luke?" "The Avalis American quarterback," Geep replied.