The Rookie Who Outran Barry Sanders
The largest online community in America: Lejit.
A place where every kind of drama and spectacle unfolded by the hour. And today, even CFL—a small, out-of-the-way football sub-forum—erupted.
The title was plain enough. But every football fan who clicked through to the video inside couldn't help losing their minds.
His pass receiving was admittedly a mess. But the dizzying burst of speed that leapt off the screen alone had everyone gasping in awe.
And his opponent? A hulking frame that looked to clear 190 centimeters. Compared to Jaehyuk at 178, the guy had a full head on him—it was the kind of matchup where you half expected him to get flattened at any moment.
Eunbi read through every last comment, replying fiercely to each and every one of the haters dragging her brother. Leaving a nasty remark on a post she had uploaded was simply unforgivable.
"Whew!"
The person behind the camera had been Eunbi herself. The author of the post was, of course, also Eunbi.
Ever since Jaehyuk's first video had blown up, she had awakened to a brand-new pleasure. She was a straight-A student with standout talent in the arts and athletics—and a beauty adored by everyone around her. This was the moment that shining Eunbi began her descent.
"Eunbi, your brother was in a video again!"
"Hm? Where?"
She hastily closed Lejit and feigned ignorance, but her friends simply showed her the video she herself had posted.
"Wow, the more I watch, the less I believe it. That's Liam sunbae he's going up against."
"Right? And if it's Liam, sure he's been used on the side lately, but he's still competing for the starting running back spot."
Eunbi only nodded along at her friends' chatter. Truthfully, she was astonished herself.
Unlike the sessions with Barry Sanders, Jaehyuk was now dominating opponents his own age. When he'd gone up against Sanders, she'd wondered if that was simply the highlight reel of a lifetime—but apparently, her brother's skill was the real deal.
"Though why does he always look so sad and shabby whenever we go watch him practice?"
"Tell me about it. Oh, did you hear, by the way? Who we're facing in the first game of the season."
"Ah, yeah, I heard. It's a derby, right? Honestly, we might as well just hand over the first game."
As the two friends talked, they exchanged a sly, meaningful glance. Feeling the weight of it, Eunbi asked, "What?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just... you're his sister, so we figured maybe you'd heard something?"
"Like what?"
"Well, you've seen the video—Liam lost again. Doesn't that basically mean he could claim the starting running back job now?"
"My brother? A starter?"
She hadn't even thought of it. No—why hadn't she thought of it?
"Nope, haven't heard anything."
"Aw, too bad. But it seems like Sanders has been working with your brother nonstop lately, doesn't it? Isn't that a good sign?"
"Wow, do you have any idea how hard it is to become a starter at a school with over fifty members on the roster? And he'd make it the second he walks in?"
Eunbi simply laughed off her friends' commotion. Inside, however, her heart was thundering.
My brother... a starter?!
Which would mean she could watch him play live in the regular season. And Eunbi happened to be in the marching band. Rather than playing an instrument, she performed choreography with flags and sabres as part of the Color Guard—arguably the front line of the football team's cheering section.
"Ask him tonight!"
"Yes! Then we'll know for sure!"
In the end, Eunbi nodded. She and her brothers barely exchanged two words at home, but surely this much was worth asking about. Besides...
Nobody in our family seems to know yet.
Their parents, all the way down to her younger brother—everyone still believed Jaehyuk was on the track team. It was about time someone brought it up. Why this guy was just running around without ever saying a word was beyond her. Probably because he'd been training so brutally hard lately that he passed out the second he got home.
"Classes are done—want to go watch the field again?"
"Sounds good. Eunbi, you coming?"
"Uh, yeah."
She nodded and started packing her things. And at that very moment, a roar went up from outside. No—a sound closer to stunned disbelief than cheering.
"What was that?"
"It's coming from the field!"
What on earth was happening now?
Eunbi and her friends bolted straight for the door.
"Liaaaam! Liam's on the defensive line!"
"Did he switch positions?! What's going on, Liam?!"
Amid the crowd's shouts—a tangle of cheers and outright shock—the players lined up at the line of scrimmage were rattled too.
"What are you doing over there?"
Mark asked, staring at the Liam glaring back at him. Liam answered flatly, "Tried a position change."
"Haah. A position change? Now, of all times?"
"......"
Saying nothing, Liam set his stance at the edge of the line. Mark's reply was ice cold.
"Liam. Don't tell me you switched positions because of that Asian runt. Because you don't think you can beat him?"
Liam didn't dignify it with an answer, keeping his focus locked on the line of scrimmage. Mark pulled a face of pure disbelief.
"The regular season opener is the day after tomorrow. I genuinely don't know what game you're playing."
It was absurd—but it made no difference to Mark. Judging by where he'd planted himself at the edge of the line, Liam had apparently taken the Edge Rusher spot hunting the quarterback, and Mark felt not a shred of tension about it.
Dumb kid.
Mark had known Liam for a good while now. Back when Liam's body had shot up and he'd first switched positions, they'd played together then, too. And every time, the results had been nothing to write home about.
"Ready, ready!"
At Mark's call, everyone set. Then—
"Hut!"
The ball snapped and Mark took it in. The regular season was right around the corner. Mark fully intended to shine this season and land an offer from a big-name college. Even on a bottom-of-the-barrel team like this one, he believed that as long as he performed, success would come eventually.
Willie.
There he was, having shaken off the defense.
The team's ace receiver, as expected. The instant Mark cocked his arm to throw to Willie—
Tk!
"...?"
His arm wouldn't go forward. What the—? It was as if someone had grabbed it—
WHAM!
"Ugh!"
The moment the pass died, the defensive line collapsed inward and the tackles came flooding in. Dazed by the impact, Mark heard the defensive squad's celebration ringing in his ears.
"Whoa, what was that! Liam, how did you do that?!"
"He looked even faster than when he played running back! He spun behind Mark and grabbed his arm in, like, a split second!"
"A sack the very day he switches positions!"
I got... hit with what?
When exactly had he circled behind me and closed that distance? That was possible in that sliver of time?
A sack—tackling the quarterback before he can get the throw off. For Mark, whose quick release was his calling card, it was a situation he simply couldn't believe.
"Haah... haah."
Liam had sprinted hard enough to be sucking wind, and he loomed over Mark from above.
"...Let's go again."
"Sure."
Liam nodded. At the end of the day, they were teammates. If Liam's hidden talent was real, that was good news for Mark too.
But how did his performance jump like that overnight? He's never landed a single sack as an Edge Rusher before...
And against him, of all people—Mark, whose release was faster than anyone's.
As they lined back up, Mark noticed Liam staring at something strange off to the side. He followed the gaze with his own—and there was the little Asian guy, running himself into the ground.
"......"
"Still hung up on running back, Liam? Going back after one day as an Edge Rusher? I'd say you could stand to test it out a little longer."
"No, it's not that, it's just..."
With an oddly complicated expression, Liam watched Jaehyuk for a moment, then set himself back on the line of scrimmage. He'd moved while consciously shifting his center of gravity through that last rep—and the freedom of motion it unlocked had hit him so immediately he was still reeling.
He pinpointed a flaw in one shot that not a single coach or the head coach himself ever saw?
And this, from a guy in his first week of football?
"Ready, ready! Hut!"
K-BOOM!
Now was not the time for other thoughts. Now was the time to adapt to his new position, one careful shift of that still-unfamiliar center of gravity at a time.
FWEEEET!
"Ha! He asks for a position change, and then flies around even harder than he did at running back. And here I am, a former running back myself running this team. Tsk, tsk."
Having finished patching Jaehyuk up, Sanders turned his gaze to the scrimmage. Out there, a thoroughly unexpected player was putting on a show.
Liam Hughes. A rare breed of fullback, sure, but always an awkward one to use...
To think the boy had recognized his own shortcomings and come requesting a change himself. Come to think of it, Tyrone had mentioned that Jaehyuk and Liam had gone one-on-one the day before. Someone had filmed it, too—the footage was circulating online. And apparently the kid who normally wheezed like a dying engine had turned on the jets again this time.
The score stood 5–3. It looked razor-close at a glance, but in reality Jaehyuk had simply failed to catch the passes—he'd beaten Liam decisively on every rep.
"Don't just fly around in practice, kid—run faster when it counts! You little greenhorn!"
"Huff... huff."
Jaehyuk looked like he wanted to argue back, but he was too spent to get the words out.
Either way, Sanders suspected this brat deserved a share of the credit for Liam's sudden position change today. First he'd lit a fire in Sanders's own heart and gotten him to take the head coaching job—now his influence was spreading to the players themselves. That boy really was something else entirely.
FWEEEET!
"That's it. One-minute break."
"Whew."
Jaehyuk dropped where he stood and sprawled flat. Watching that, it was a wonder the kid kept up with training at all.
"Conditioning comes first. Speed comes second. And just as important as speed—deceleration. In the end, you have to fool your opponent and shake him loose, so train it diligently."
"Yes, sir."
Watching Jaehyuk nod along, Sanders finally asked the question that had been gnawing at him.
"You went one-on-one with Liam yesterday?"
"I gave him some coaching, sir."
"I didn't ask about that, brat. Anyway, he suddenly switches positions today—did you two make some kind of bet over the running back job yesterday?"
"A bet? No, sir. What would I even get out of betting? The outcome's a foregone conclusion anyway."
"Then why on earth did he switch?"
Had his pride crumbled under the sheer size of the gap? Sanders hadn't actually witnessed the duel, so he could only guess.
Then Jaehyuk tossed out the answer as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.
"I told him to switch."
"...What?"
"Once I went up against him, I could see it. I told him Edge Rusher would suit him better than running back."
"You're serious? You said that?"
"Yes, sir. Honestly, I felt a little awkward saying it as a beginner myself, so I figured he'd just let it roll off him. I didn't expect him to switch on the spot like that."
CRACK!!
The moment the words left his mouth, Liam landed yet another sack. In the same breath, everyone watching erupted—teammates first, then the rest of the defensive unit, then even the students in the stands.
"KYAAAA!!"
"Liam! Liam, you're so cool!"
"Holy crap, it's just a scrimmage and that's already his second sack! Is that what playing running back does for you?"
Deaf to the cheers, Liam rose silently to his feet—then turned his head and looked this way. No, more precisely, he was looking at Jaehyuk.
"Eyeing me the second you pull off something decent."
Their gazes met, and Jaehyuk snorted a laugh before pushing himself upright.
"Break's over, right? Let's keep going."
At Liam's and Jaehyuk's reactions, Sanders froze for a long moment. The fact that Liam had looked straight at Jaehyuk—did that mean what he'd just said was actually...
A kid with barely a week of football saw what the rest of us couldn't?
"Heh heh."
Maybe—just maybe—this brat really was a genius of American football.