Carter-Finley Stadium
Visiting Team Locker Room
With halftime having arrived, the Tigers team immediately headed to their locker room under the boos of the crowd of Wolfpack fans, who let out all the frustration they were feeling at that moment from seeing their team down by 3 points.
"For those who have just tuned into our channel, we are at halftime of the game where the Clemson Tigers face the NC State Wolfpack," the commentator narrated while he began to make a summary of the first half of the game.
On the screens, a summary of the best plays could be seen, especially the last touchdown that Wyatt had made by launching his pass toward the corner, being caught by one of his receivers on the team.
After that, the touchdown by NC State quarterback Pete Thomas was shown, which took place in the second quarter of the game.
"Unfortunately, the starting quarterback of the Tigers team, Tajh Boyd, had to be removed from the field due to suffering an injury after having run directly toward the line of scrimmage, ending up buried under a pile of Wolfpack players."
While the commentator narrated the game, he immediately brought his hand to the earpiece he wore in his ear, through which the camera producer brought him news about Tajh Boyd's situation. "Wait, ladies and gentlemen, according to the latest information I have just been given, Tajh Boyd is out of danger, but even so, he suffered a muscle tear in the quadriceps of his right leg, causing him to potentially miss a month of play or even the entire week," the commentator narrated in a grave voice.
After that, and because they were in the halftime break, the screens transitioned to show the ESPN studio, where the college football hosts could be seen talking about the game currently being played.
"A tragedy, what happened to Tajh Boyd in game 3 of the team; an injury like that could cost him his season," said the unmistakable voice of Chris Fowler with a slight tone of regret in his voice, recalling the injury Tajh had suffered.
"I'll say, Chris. Now the decision falls on Dabo Swinney regarding who could be the possible replacement in the coming games in Tajh's absence over the next few weeks," said the voice of Kirk Herbstreit, while below him on the television screens, the photos of three players glinted.
"If we talk about candidates, the options Dabo has are third-year quarterback Cole Stoudt, a player who has always been the second guy behind Tajh and who has known Clemson's game for years."
"A solid player in the past game where they played against South Carolina State," Kirk continued narrating, while the screen showed the best moments of the previous game in which Cole came in as a backup in the 4th quarter.
"I'll say. If what Clemson is looking for is stability in the game during the coming weeks without Tajh, their most solid and logical option is obviously Cole," Chris responded under the attentive gaze of Kirk, who knew that if his partner said that, it was because there was a 'but' behind that entire sentence. "But," Chris said the word, "there is a new variable, and one that has given a lot to talk about, even since his debut in the week 1 game," Chris finished saying.
At that, the screen transitioned to show the face of the second option, and the one that would probably cause the most talk. "Wyatt Sterling," Kirk said the name before Chris could even pronounce it.
"Yes, that very one," Chris said, so that then they began to show Wyatt's best moments in game 1 against the Bulldogs and, ultimately, the touchdown he had executed minutes earlier in this game.
"Without a doubt, he is a kid with a lot of talent and potential ahead," Kirk said while continuing to watch with attention each of the plays Wyatt executed. "The way he controls the rhythm of the game and knows when to throw and run is something that makes him the best dual-threat of his generation," Chris said with a smile, also watching the plays.
"For those who do not know who the person we are talking about is, or live under a rock, let's take a look through Wyatt Sterling's trajectory from the small suburbs in Texas," Kirk said.
Next, the screen showed Wyatt, but this time a younger version wearing a red and white uniform during his high school career.
"From moment one in high school, Wyatt revealed himself on the scene as a great prospect in football, until little by little he kept climbing in the Rivals ranking to position himself firmly at the number 1 spot," Chris continued with the narration of Wyatt's best moments.
"And now, after his commitment to the Tigers team under the command of Dabo Swinney, it seems that Wyatt is demonstrating he made the right decision, especially when recalling Dabo's history of forming good mobile offenses," Kirk finished saying.
"And now we will return shortly with the second half of the game between both teams, where we will see if Wyatt manages to lead the Tigers to their third victory of the season or if he will end up crumbling under the pressure," Chris said directly toward the studio cameras.
"But first, an analysis of next Saturday's game in which Alabama will face Colorado State. Will Nick Saban and his boys be able to maintain their winning streak?" Kirk finished with a question.
Back to the Tigers' Locker Room
While ESPN gave its analysis and summary regarding the game's recap, the Tigers team was inside their locker room, but despite being in the lead, the mood inside the room was somber and depressing.
"Any news about Tajh's condition?" one of the players inside the locker room asked, hoping that one of the others had some update. Everyone remained quiet, without knowing or having any idea.
That kind of atmosphere was what Dabo found himself in, being followed by the rest of his coaching staff behind him at the moment they entered through the large doors of the locker room.
"Ahem," clearing his throat loudly, Dabo achieved his objective by drawing the attention of all the players in his direction. "First of all, excellent first half," was the first thing Dabo said, to then begin clapping along with the rest of the coaching staff and a handful of players who did it mostly out of courtesy.
"And now regarding Boyd, I have good news about him." The next words Dabo said caused all the players, especially Sammy and the rest of the veterans, to lean slightly forward, not wanting to miss any of the coach's following words.
"They just called me from the clinic where he is being treated, and they just confirmed to me that the MRI did not reveal anything severe," he said, so that at the next moment his voice was drowned out by the shouts of relief and applause from the players.
"Nonetheless, he will also miss a month of games," Dabo said once the atmosphere became more relaxed and the players had calmed down a bit upon hearing the news, while some saw this as an opportunity.
The most excited person was, of course, Cole Stoudt, who saw Tajh's injury as an opportunity to finally take over the team's starting role, something that according to him should have been his starting this year.
His plans had been cut short by Tajh when he did not announce his eligibility for the Draft, as many of the experts and commentators believed he would do.
Of course, living in Tajh's shadow had also caused certain animosity between both, which did nothing but worsen at the moment Tajh returned for his fourth year, causing slight friction between them, which did not go unnoticed by Dabo, who had a serious talk with both separately.
"Friend, I think now is your moment," said D.J. Howard, one of the team's starting running backs, who had arrived the same year as Cole, which was why they were both very close to each other. "Don't doubt it," Cole responded with a certain arrogance in his tone, thinking that his moment had arrived to take over the starting job.
"But what about the rookie?" asked Martavis Bryant, who was sitting on the other side of Cole, while his head pointed in the direction where Wyatt was, who was discussing some topic with Laquon that none of the three could hear from the distance they were at.
"You said it yourself, he's a rookie," Cole gestured, while his hand made a sign of brushing it off. "I don't think the coach is going to put a complete rookie, who hasn't even played a full game on his own, in place of a veteran like me," Cole continued explaining, while pointing at himself.
"At least I shouldn't worry about him until next year," was the last thing Cole said, but in a low murmur so that neither of his two friends who were by his side would hear what he was saying.
Although he was resentful of Tajh, he also planned to play his 4th year on the team. After all, in his 3 years so far, he had spent most of them being Tajh's backup, which was why he didn't have the visibility he had hoped to obtain when he decided to come play at Clemson.
After all, without visibility, it would be difficult for an NFL team to choose him in a high pick, much less a lower one, ending up settling for being a practice squad member, something he was not willing to be.
"Alright then, for the second half..." Dabo began to say, while casting a quick glance at the clipboard he held in one of his hands and looking closely at the notes he had taken.
"Wyatt, you will remain in command of the offense once it's our turn on offense," Dabo sentenced, while a look of incredulity landed on Cole upon thinking that he would once again end up on the bench instead of going out onto the field to control the situation.
What hit his pride the most was that he had practically lost it to someone who had barely been with the team for a few months and didn't even accumulate a full game in the games they had played so far this season.
"Now then, what we will do are fast offensive series with quick passes from the pocket, seeking to avoid the ground game as much as possible, at least on the early downs. After all, I don't think anyone else wants to end up injured, right?" Coach Dabo asked seriously of each of the players, especially the most problematic ones, who quickly shook their heads.
Nodding to himself, Coach Dabo stepped aside while allowing Brent Venables to take the floor, since he was the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
"Alright, defense, listen to me closely," Brent began to say, while picking up a whiteboard that was in the corner of the locker room and with a marker began to explain the instructions for the start of the next quarter.
On the other hand, Wyatt stopped listening intently to what the coach was saying, since he didn't need to learn all those details.
Taking advantage of that time, Wyatt was completely mentalizing himself regarding the next plays he had to execute once it was his turn to return to the field.
Recalling the way the Wolfpack team had played the first half, Wyatt had certain thoughts and ideas on how to play against them, but even so, he reviewed them mentally while simulating in his head possible scenarios and events that could happen in the middle of the field.
While that was happening, some knocks on the door echoed throughout the room, which meant that it was already time for the players to return to the field, which was why Wyatt picked up his helmet with naturalness and prepared to leave along with the rest of his teammates, ready to win this game.
Authors thought's
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