Guts vs Glory (20 page)

Practices during the regular season
were no longer held at the local college.  Instead, they were located at the
Knights’ official training facility.  The facility provided everything needed
to run practices.  There were numerous small meeting rooms for positional
groups, two large meeting rooms for the entire team, a cafeteria just for the
players and staff, a state-of-the-art weight lifting room, a separate room with
cardio machines surrounded by an indoor track, and an indoor playing field so
practices could be held no matter what the weather was.  The practice days were
shorter than the days at training camp, but more intense.  Right at the
beginning, the eight of us on the practice squad were pulled together and
briefed on our new roles.

We would be an important part of
the team, without actually being on the team.  Just like in college, we weren't
allowed to attend any games with the team, and were used to help improve the
regular team.  However, there were numerous differences compared to college football. 
We would be working out every day with the regular roster players.  We would be
part of the same workouts that they were a part of.  During practices, we would
be used in various ways and we wouldn't have set positions.  The practice squad
wasn't just used to help the regular roster guys; it was also a way to develop
younger players while stashing away guys to be used later in the season. 
Unfortunately, we would only be able to play on the practice squad for two
years.  And sadly, in those two years, we could be released at any point.  The
good news was that we would be making more than $6,000 a week.  Although it
seemed like a lot of money, we would only be paid during the season.

The coach then gave us more
definitive roles.  Four of us would be linemen.  We would either be used as
defenders to help with the offensive line, or as offenders to help with the
defensive line.  Two guys in the group were used as both running backs and
middle linebackers.  On offense, they would be the ones running the ball. 
While on defense, they would stand about five yards behind the defensive line
and would tackle anyone coming at them.  The last two guys would be used as
wide receivers and defensive backs.  While on offense, they would catch the
ball.  While on defense, they would stand 10 yards behind the middle
linebackers, or 15 yards behind the defensive linemen, and would defend against
wide receivers that went out for longer passing plays.

After that quick meeting, we joined
the rest of the team on the indoor practice field.  My group of linemen was
asked to help out the defensive line.  Just like in previous practices, we
stood on the line of scrimmage and blocked the defenders from getting by us. 
It was fun because we were able to hit other people, while staying in our small
groups.  In college, we had only been allowed to go full-contact when working
as a full team.  After an hour of working with the defenders, we were sent to
join the offensive line.  It was now our goal to get past the offensive line at
any cost.  For me, it would be the first time playing as a defender in four
years.

It wasn`t quite like riding a bike,
but it didn't take long for me to feel comfortable at the defensive end spot. 
I knew where to stand and I knew how to attack once the ball was snapped; what
I forgot about was how to successfully get past the guy on the other side. 
Once I stood up, I got knocked back down.  That fall brought a couple of
thoughts to my mind, as I lied there peacefully.  First of all, the last time I
went against an offensive lineman was in high school.  Although it was in the state
championship game, it was nowhere near the elite level I was currently at. 
Second of all, I would have to remember to put my hands out and expect the
lineman to be there, otherwise he would continue to dominate me.  I would have
to prepare for him and make a plan to get around him, just like I did as a
Hornet.  My strength would have to be my biggest weapon once again.  Finally, I
would have to get back up.  Just like in training camp, I would have to get up
no matter how many times I fell down.  I didn't expect myself to get past the
guy much, but I did expect myself to get back up every time.  And with that, I
was ready for the next hit.

The rest of the practice was a
struggle, but I didn't let it bother me.  I knew I could get kicked off the
practice squad at any time, but I also knew that the practice squad was used to
develop new talent and the coaches were more interested in personal growth than
failure.  I would have to use the squad as an opportunity to get back into my
defensive shape.  I knew I wouldn't make the roster right away, but I also knew
I only had two years to get there.  After practice, we spent an hour in the
weight room.

With the first day of regular-season
practice out of the way, we had three more practice days left until the first
game of the season.  The second day was spent in our linemen group.  Again, the
offense worked separate from the defense, but we were able to work with both
groups.  I was more than comfortable as a center, and I was starting to get
more comfortable as a defensive end.  Even though I didn't get past the offensive
tackle very often, I reminded myself that I was no longer on the college scout
team.

When I was on the scout team, it
was our job to make our starters better football players.  We would have to be
perfect for them to get better at their position.  If we did well, they did
well.  If we did poorly, we were off the team.  As a professional practice
squad member, however, there was less pressure.  The guys on the regular roster
would use other guys from the regular roster to practice on.  We were more or
less tackling dummies for the rest of the team.  So even though I wasn’t quite
at my full potential as a defensive end, I didn't have to worry about my spot
on the team because the offensive tackle would still be able to improve later
in the week against the starting defensive end.  I just had to make sure that I
was constantly improving.

By the third day of that week, we
had a different assignment.  While the team was working in a big group, the
eight of us blocked against each other on the line of scrimmage so that the
kickers and punters could practice kicking during real-game situations.  The
task was easy because we didn't hit hard.  The special teams coach simply
wanted the kickers to work on kicking while feeling the pressure of the
defenders coming at them.  It got monotonous after two hours, but it gave us
something different to do as members of the Michigan Knights.

The team ran a scrimmage at the end
of the week.  There was a scorekeeper controlling the scoreboard, as well as
the game clock.  It was just like our spring game at USM, as players were
hitting each other as hard as they could, .  Even the quarterback was getting
hit during the scrimmage.  The coaches allowed him to get hit because they
would rather have him get hit during practice and learn, than to get hit during
a game and lose.  With the scrimmage going on, the eight of us were left to be
spectators.  Basically, we were allowed to watch the Knights play a game
without paying for admission. 

After two days off, it was game day
again.  Unlike our pre-season games, we had to watch the game from home.  With
the extra day off, I was able to utilize our home gym.  While working out, I
was able to watch my new team play.  It was cool seeing all of the familiar
faces.  When the game was over, the Knights had triumphed.  It was the first
time in five years that they were able to win their first game of the season. 
The victory could've been due to Mike’s 2 touchdowns and 200 yards of rushing,
but I gave all of the credit to the linemen; somebody had to.

After the first game of the season,
the practice schedule changed a bit.  Because the game was on Sunday, we were
given Monday off, allowing the team some time to recover.  The first two days
of practice that week would be spent reviewing game film in small groups, then
working on correcting errors committed during the game.  The third day was a
walk-through day with the first half being spent in small groups, while the
second half was a full team session.  On Friday, the team ran through another
exhibition-type scrimmage.  The team would have only one more day off before
game day.   If the game was an away game, the day before and the day after the
game were used as travel days.

As members of the practice squad,
we were allowed to watch game film in any group of our choosing.  It allowed us
to better ourselves on the practice squad while progressing as players trying
to make the regular team.  I chose to watch film with the defensive line
because, not only did I need to spend most of my time working on defense, but I
had also re-kindled my passion for the position.

In our Tuesday and Wednesday
practice sessions, our group continued to help the offensive and defensive
lines.  We conducted the same drills as usual, but ran them more effectively as
we were becoming stronger players.  On Thursday, we assisted with the
walk-throughs in both the big and small groups.  But on Friday, we again
watched from the sidelines.  The schedule remained constant for the rest of the
season, while our group of eight remained intact.  None of us were kicked off
the team during the season, but none of us were called up either.  As players
got injured, they were replaced by one of us during practices. By Sunday,
however, our team had usually traded players with other teams to replace the
injured player.

When I wasn't practicing, I was at
home.  I spent the time either working out, or working with Christine on the
plans for the wedding.  She loved her job as a teacher, and was making good
money at it.  She had nights and weekends off, which allowed us to spend more
time together.  We especially loved our Sundays because, after a nice breakfast
prepared by his personal chef, we would watch Mike play.

Not all of Mike’s games were like
his first, but he did manage to rush for over 1,000 yards that season.  He also
averaged almost one touchdown per game.  His averages weren't all-star status,
but they certainly justified his starting role.  He was, however, disappointed
in his performance during the season and felt responsible for the Knights not
making it to the playoffs.

Even though the Knights missed the
playoffs by only 2 games that season, they still had a better record than the
previous year.   After a long season of 16 regular season games, I would call
it a successful season overall.  I became even more comfortable at defense and
wanted to play the following season more than ever. 

While I was earning it, $6,000 a
week seemed like a lot of money.  Once the season was over, though, I had no
income.  Fortunately, we were living with Mike at no cost.  Unfortunately, we
had a wedding, a honeymoon, and a future home of our own to pay for.  I saved
my money as I earned it on the team, but it wasn't enough to cover everything. 
We decided that with the money Christine was bringing in, I would only have to
work a short-term job to make up for our additional income needs.

I had a degree in business, but
didn't worry about using it right away as I only needed a temporary job until
the season started back up.  At the suggestion of many of the guys on the team,
I decided to apply for a job as a security guard.  During my interview, the
employer was excited about my size, and knew it would be an asset.  He wasn't
too happy that I would be leaving at the end of June, but understood when I
told him why.  The job wasn't a glory job, but it paid enough during those six
months to supplement our income.  I especially made my co-workers happy, who
were able to brag that they were making $10 an hour alongside a real Michigan
Knight.

Mike, however, used the off-season
to recover.  He had many friends from the team to hang out with, but never had
an serious girlfriends.  He told us that he didn't want to get into a big
relationship because most girls seemed to only be attracted his money, not
him.  He did, however, offer to give us some of his money to help with our
plans, but we told him sharing his house with us had been more than enough.

Finally, on May 18
^th
,
our wedding day came.  With Mike at my side, and Christine’s sister at hers, we
were officially married per the state of Michigan.  After a wonderful ceremony,
we had a fun reception, celebrating with our family and close friends.  I
wanted to invite the whole team, but I knew I couldn't afford the food bill. 
At the end of a long party, we jumped into the car and were off on our
honeymoon.

My boss was kind enough to give me a
week off from work.  We decided to make the most of that time and took a long
road trip.  With money tight, we couldn't afford a fancy trip, so we were happy
just to spend the time together in the car on a 2-day trip to the Atlantic
Ocean.  Seeing the ocean was amazing.  As we stared into the large body of
water, we realized just how small we were compared to the rest of the world.  A
month later, I finished my career as a security guard.  At the end of June, I
turned in my badge and turned up the intensity; it was time to get back to work.

Training camp was much easier the
second time around.  Not only was I prepared for those two weeks, but I was
also in better shape.  The two weeks seemed to fly by as I already knew what to
expect, and the pressure of making the team wasn’t as intense as it had been
the previous season.  I knew that all I had to do was keep up with the rest of
the guys and let my play during the exhibition games determine my status on the
team.  Just like with the previous season, I used the two hours of hitting
after lunch as my opportunity to show off my experience as an offensive
lineman.

In those practices after lunch, I
was having a lot more success against the guys on the team.  I could feel
myself getting stronger, and I was no longer intimidated by my competition.  I
continued to stick with the offensive line because I was still more comfortable
as a center than I was as a defensive end.  Even though I loved the defense, I
had to stick with what I was the most comfortable with.  I made it clear just
how comfortable I was, too.  During training camp, I gave the defender a good
fight every time the ball was snapped.

Although my performance on the
offensive line was improving, I still didn’t get off the third-string team.  I
had a year of experience under my belt and was stronger, but my practice
opponents had also gotten stronger and gained more experience as well.  To make
matters worse, the team picked more offensive linemen during the Selection
Showcase during the off-season, which gave me even more competition.

During the four exhibition games, I
fought even harder than I did in practice.  As a third-stringer, I was allowed
to play as much as I had the previous season.  Again, I was playing against
other third-stringers, so my level of success seemed phenomenal.  After those
four exhibition games were over, we were called in for our group meeting to
discuss the cuts.

While waiting for the results to
come in, I briefly reflected on my progress during the pre-season.  I was defiantly
getting stronger and felt more comfortable playing at the professional level. 
I went through all of the exhibition games without letting the defender beat me
on the line, but I didn’t get very many matches against the defense.  I did
have a year of experience, however, I spent that previous season on the practice
squad and didn’t get the experience of playing against real opponents during
real games.  After reflecting, I came to the conclusion that I would no doubt
end up spending another season on the practice squad. 

My thoughts were quickly
interrupted by the offensive line coach.  As predicted, I made the cut of 75. 
At that cut, the line coach got rid of two linemen.  A few days later, the
offensive line coach only needed to get rid of three players.  For a second
straight year, I didn’t make the 53 man roster.  As I left the room with the
other cut players, the line coach pulled me to the side and told me that I
would have a better season the upcoming year.  That comment made me curious as
I couldn’t figure how another year on the practice squad could get better.  It
would be a few months before I got my answer.