Jockblocked: A Novel (Gridiron Book 2)(19)

Introducing a high octane offense might change our dynamic, change the whole makeup of our team. I’m not convinced it’s the right move.

“What’s this got to do with you?” Darryl asks.

I exchange a grim look with Masters. He gives me a sympathetic glance but remains silent, his eyes telling me this is my show now.

The defensive unit operates near flawlessly because we’re so tuned into each other. When one person is out of sync, like the time that Masters and Ellie were fighting and he played like utter shit, we struggle. If we want to repeat as National Championship winners next year, we need to work as one unit.

That means everyone has to support the choice of quarterback.

I give my neck one last squeeze and then drop my hands to my sides. “Coach is going to make this change regardless of whether we’re on board, but he wants us to be supportive. I think if the team stood behind Ace, Coach wouldn’t start this guy. He’d let Ace play until we lost. And when we lose, the loss will be on our shoulders and not his.” Masters nods in agreement. I continue for Darryl and Hammer, in case they haven’t fully grasped what a shit show our team could turn into. “Coach wants me to persuade Ace to move so that the switch from him to the new guy is bloodless. No unhappy, anonymous leaks; no sock puppet forum posts; no rumors of locker room dissension.”

“Why not move Ace to backup?” Hammer asks.

I sigh because I don’t know for sure. “Coach didn’t share his reasoning with me, but if I had to guess, this is a way to make nice for Ace. He still plays, plus he positions himself better for the draft. No one is drafting Ace at the QB position.”

Everyone falls silent because while we all know it’s true, it’s not the kind of thing we like saying out loud.

“The minute Mr. Texas announces, all those sports guys are going to be talking about what this means for our future anyway,” Darryl points out, finally catching on.

“Not if Ace is willing to move to safety. No controversy, just a celebration.” Which is what Coach wants. Even though the screen has gone dark, the plays the high school quarterback made keep running through my mind. I make one last-ditch effort at convincing my friends that Mr. Texas is not the golden child. “We watched an admittedly great high school player, but so what? Every starter on Western was the best high school player in their division. Good high school stats mean squat in college.”

The guys all exchange looks and then Hammer speaks first. “You got to do it, man. An arm like that, even on a true freshman, could be the difference between a perfect season and a one-loss season. With our defense and an awesome quarterback, we would be unbeatable.”

Darryl nods slowly. The idea of having a little less pressure on the defense is appealing. “We should at least give him a chance. Have them fight it out during the summer.”

“A quarterback controversy?” Hammer balks. “Who are you—Rex Ryan?”

“The noise level would be insane. Press would be contacting all of you guys nonstop about which quarterback you supported. Emails. DMs. You don’t want that kind of distraction,” Masters says. He turns to me. “You’re the signal caller for the defense now. You gotta call this one.”

“Coach hasn’t said that’ll be my responsibility,” I object. I haven’t even decided it should be my responsibility regardless of what Masters is trying to silently project.

The videos have started replaying, but I’ve watched about as much Mr. Texas as I can stomach. I reach over and flick the computer off.

“I gotta go shit and shower,” Hammer announces and rolls his rank carcass off my bed. “I’m a worker bee. Tell me which target to destroy and it’s gone. But I’m for Mr. Texas. Ace will come around.” At the door, he pauses, “Either way, I’ve got your back.”

“Same,” Darryl declares and disappears with Hammer. Only Masters remains.

“You know you gotta do this,” he tells me.

“No, I don’t know anything.” I find my wallet and stick it into my back pocket. The room is stifling. I need to get out of here.

“Matty, you gotta be the leader here.”

“Why?”

Masters gives me a perturbed look. “Sophomore year we played Penn. We were set for a blitzing play, but I ended up intercepting the ball. Why?”

“When we got to the line, the offensive was set up for a dig route across the middle by the slot receiver. Blitzing would have put our guys out of position.”

“Right. You came over to me and we changed it up. Had four men rush the quarterback. I dropped back, and the ball landed in my hands. “

“You ran it back for a touchdown.” I grin. That was a good play.

“Because you recognized the offensive play. I didn’t. I have great natural talent, but you memorize the game. We sit in film and you see it once and it’s imprinted in your head. That’s why the defense is going to follow you.”

“I don’t want that. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”

“Too bad,” he says unsympathetically.

“This isn’t even leadership,” I scowl. “It’s mutiny.”

Masters tries a different tack. “You once told me your favorite character from your favorite series was the bad guy who’d done a heinous deed because it helped save the world.”