I glanced at McClain and jogged back to the line while he positioned himself wide right. The kid was talented as hell but struggled all week. Too many drops, wrong routes, and terrible fucking timing. If he could screw it up, he did.
“Same route, rookie. Break at the twelve yard line and have your damn hands ready,” I yelled when he reached the line.
He nodded and I could see the frustration in his body language—shoulders tight, leg bouncing, fingers curled into his palms.
He’s not gonna catch this shit…
The pressure to have a three-peat weighed on the team. The rookies felt it more than everyone because they had big shoes to fill. If we secured another ring, we would make history with three back-to-back.
I cracked my neck, dropped back three steps, and delivered the ball with a perfect spiral and timing. It hit him right in the hands as soon as he made the break but the damn ball went right through and bounced off his chest.
“Fuck,” McClain yelled and snatched the helmet from his head, slamming it to the ground.
I crossed the field and got in his face. “You need to get your shit together or you’re not going to touch the field this season. We still have time to replace your ass.”
His head jerked up and his eyes were blazing. “You need to throw better passes instead of floating that shit and maybe I could catch something.”
I barked a laugh. This muthafucker had lost his damn mind. “Better passes? How about you humble yourself and fucking listen? Coach has been on your ass all day telling you what you need to do. I have two rings. What do you have other than about a hundred missed passes today. Shut the fuck up and learn something, rookie.”
I shoved him in the chest and McClain lost his shit. He rushed me but I didn’t move other than to drop his ass as soon as he was close enough. One calculated punch knocked him on his butt.
He hit the turf and jerked his head up at me, eyes blazing again, but he was smart enough not to get up swinging.
“He’s right. You need to listen. Check your damn ego, McClain. You’re playin’ like shit. You’re good but you’re not ready for this level of competition if you can’t follow directions. Hayes is trying to teach you something.”
Rookie’s eyes darted around the field, looking at the other players and coaches who were watching before he locked in on me. I was grinning because he was mad as fuck but the kid had heart. I’d give him that. He needed to listen though. I extended a hand to help him up but he knocked it out of the way and got up on his own.
“I’m ready,” he mumbled, earning my respect. At least he didn’t bitch up and run to the locker room. Had seen that happen before, two seasons ago.
“Let’s run this again.” I walked back to my position while he lifted his helmet and yanked it down on his head. When I was inplace, I pointed the ball at him. “Keep your hands soft and don’t fight the ball. Anticipate it landing. Don’t worry about the throw, that’s my job. Let it come to you. All you have to do is catch it and when you do, don’t slow down, run through it and keep going.”
He nodded and got in position to take off. I delivered the same pass with perfect timing and placement but this time the rookie caught it and secured the ball to his chest before turning upfield.
When he jogged back, I nodded my approval. “Again.”
The second rep was just as tight.
“One more.”
He caught all three. The kid was finally learning. About fucking time. “Good job. See what happens when you check your ego.”
He snorted and I chuckled because I knew he still wanted to hit me and would if he thought he could get away with it.
“McClain, over here.” Coach called for him, looking pleased and the rookie jogged over to him at the same time Ryland crossed the field and stopped beside me with a grin on his face.
“Did you have to hit him?”
“Yeah, I did. He needs to get his shit together. He’s starting at zero. No one gives a damn about his college numbers. It’s about the end goal, and if he can’t perform, my fist is going to be the least of his worries.”
I had been dying to crack his fucking jaw since I heard him trying to kick game to Makari but truthfully, regardless of what he said to her, I wanted McClain to have a good season. The kid was hella talented if he could manage to get out of his own head.
“He’s gonna be alright,” Ryland said, watching the rookie nodding at whatever Coach was telling him.
“Yeah he will.”
“If you had been at rookie round up you could have checked that ego there instead of embarrassing him in front of the entire team.”
“He better be glad it was on the field and not at the damn club. I really would have embarrassed him.”
