Wing Man
(Reece Davis) — CFB GameDay Host
“Brought to you by The Home Depot! A heartfelt welcome back to all of you for the 2021 college football season! Georgia versus Clemson! A border rivalry between two schools just 70 miles apart! Good day, everyone — I'm Reece Davis. And joining me today: Lee Corso! Desmond Howard! David Pollack! Welcome, gentlemen! It is so good to have college football back!”
(Desmond Howard) — CFB GameDay Analyst
“Couldn't agree more. But first, take a look behind us. I'm just happy we get to be reunited with the most passionate sports fans in the world — the ones we briefly forgot about over the past year.”
(Reece Davis)
“Last year's matchup between these two teams was dubbed the Except One Game. It drew nationwide attention, but the result itself was a blowout. 54 to 20. Georgia ran away with it.”
“This year, the circumstances at both schools could not be more different. Clemson lost their most lethal offensive weapon. Trevor Lawrence — up until two years ago, the finest quarterback in the NCAA. He went first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in last April's NFL Draft. Running back Travis Etienne followed him to Jacksonville as the 25th overall pick in the first round. Jackson Carman, offensive tackle. Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell. Clemson's prized wide receivers headed to the NFL as well.”
(Reece Davis)
“Georgia, on the other hand, bled comparatively little. They have gaps at cornerback and linebacker, but the consensus is that good recruiting has actually made the roster stronger. Above all, the entire nation has its eyes fixed on Dwayne Moi Stone entering his sophomore season.”
“According to Kirby Smart's interview, Georgia is more powerful on both sides of the ball than they were last year. If last season's national champions are truly even better now — that's a disaster waiting to happen for everyone else.”
(Reece Davis)
“Now, let's make our picks. Desmond, we'll start with you. Georgia versus Clemson. Who wins?”
(Desmond Howard)
“It's a heavyweight matchup, no doubt. Top-5 teams going at it. Both squads have defenses that get high marks, but as you know, Clemson's offense has suffered a massive void. With that in mind, I'm going with Georgia.”
(Lee Corso)
“Clemson wins. ……… Don't celebrate just yet, Clemson fans. You have to hear a man out to the end. I hereby retract my pick of Clemson to win. The winner of today's game is… the Bulldogs!!”
It was already bad enough, and now this is just humiliation!!
This is a NATIONAL BROADCAST!!
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The t-bag was legendary.
(LMAO) (LMAO)
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#. September 4, 2021
#-1. Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
#-2. Bank of America Stadium
▷ GAME (Week 1)
00 – 00 Clemson (4)
00 – 00 Georgia (1)
Roared on by the cheers of 74,187 fans filling every corner of the stadium, we strode onto the field with everything we had.
How quiet last season had been.
I only realized it once I stepped onto the field. A chill of electricity ran through my whole body. Energy came surging up with it.
I, who had been slowly following my teammates from the very back, clenched my fist and bellowed the moment we entered the field.
“FASIOTI UMA-!!!!”
(Kill them all!!)
Fans seated near the field waved back at me with wild abandon, answering the Samoan war cry I'd roared at the top of my lungs. I couldn't have held the noise in if I'd tried, so I waved my arm harder, urging the crowd to cheer louder, my voice swelling with them. I pumped my fist and threw out a stomping front kick for good measure — and the fans erupted all over again.
Moi just did the Goldberg entrance!!
KILLER!!
(🔥) (🔥)
via Instagram
I'm already fired up!!
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It wasn't something I'd planned, exactly. My body just reacted on its own.
Stopping in place, I took one more slow sweep of the stands, then jammed my helmet on and sprinted full-tilt for the sideline. About five minutes remained until kickoff, and I called the teammates finishing their own pregame rituals over to me, stepping into the middle of the gathering circle.
I'd been thinking about it all night before bed. What should I say? How should I begin? After the team meeting at the hotel yesterday, Coach had asked me one more time to deliver the Hype Speech, which only deepened my deliberation.
The conclusion I reached after long thought: just wing it.
Apart from THE THREE NO I'd given the team two days ago, nothing was scripted.
“Think back to camp!!”
“…”
“We bled sweat, blood, and tears for this season!! Rolling around in the field and the practice yard, we came face to face with the demons inside us!!”
“…”
“Demons!! You feel it?! Today!! We're going to make THEM feel US like demons!! Like absolute demons!! Don't hesitate to pull it out on that field!! The field is the one and only place where we're allowed to be demons!!”
“…”
“…”
“Give it everything!! Pour it all out!! If you're ready to do that — Jordan!! I'll run for you!! Zamir!! I'll run for you!! Nakobe!! I'll run for you!! One man's victory IS the team's victory!! Say it again!! One man's victory IS the team's victory!! We devote ourselves to each other, and we'll show the whole world on that field that we're the best!! Remember THE THREE NO I told you about!!”
The game hadn't even started yet.
And my body was already burning.
But this was only the beginning.
“NO EGOSIM!!”
“WOOF.”
“WOOF.”
The moment I began shouting the words, the barking that symbolized Georgia's identity poured out of my teammates' mouths.
But it wasn't enough. It had to grow louder.
“NO FEAR!!”
“WOOF!”
“WOOF!”
“NO L!!”
“WOOF!”
No egoism. No fear.
And therefore no L — no loss.
That was the message I, as hype speaker, wanted to send to this team.
“We're going to win!! Because we're the best!!”
“WOOF!!”
The mood and the energy were right. Time to find the rhythm.
“BUUUUUULDOOOOOGS!!!”
“Let's Go---!!!”
“OFFENSE!!”
“WOOF!!”
“DEFENSE!!”
“WOOF!!”
“SPECIAL!!”
“WOOF!!”
“WE'RE ALL DAY LIKE!!”
“WOOF!!”
“ALL NIGHT LIKE!!”
“WOOF!!”
“AND IT SOUND LIKE!!”
“WOOF!!”
“AND IT SOUND LIKE!!”
“WOOF, WOOF. WOOF, WOOF!”
“LETS GOOOOOOOO-!!!”
(Chris Fowler) — ESPN Commentator
“The energy in this stadium is simply breathtaking. Just listen to that chant. THIS is college football, folks.”
Everything was perfect.
Over the blazing morale of my teammates, the fans were singing along to the Kenkraft 400 melody from Zombie Nation, layering the stadium's atmosphere into something even bigger.
Back at the bench after the Hype Speech, I walked a short distance to the rear and looked up toward the highest seats, where Hannah would be. Far in the distance I could see people waving. That had to be the spot.
So I raised my helmet overhead.
(Chris Fowler)
“DJ Uiagalelei. Reportedly spent the entire offseason studying Clemson's system. Dabo Swinney says he's fully prepared, but replacing everything Trevor Lawrence was is a monumental task. How do you see his first career start?”
(Kirk Herbstreit) — ESPN Analyst
“Six-four, 250 pounds — an excellent physical frame. On that alone, you might call him competitive, but in the end, what matters is the passing. In a season opener — against Georgia, no less — he's going to be on a very hot stove.”
(Chris Fowler)
“Six-six, 260 pounds. Dwayne Moi Stone. Last year he swept every premier award a quarterback can win, including the Heisman Trophy — a first in college football history for a true freshman — and he's rated to be even stronger this year. The undisputed No. 1 quarterback in college football.”
Jordan Davis (DT), a Charlotte native, walked out as the team's representative for the coin toss and won us the ball to open the game. A Preseason All-SEC First-Team Defense selection, Jordan would be anchoring the D-line again this year.
Clemson's kickoff. The game had begun.
Kenny McIntosh (RB) gathered in the high-hanging ball and took off. He was tackled at the 20-yard line but shoved forward on pure strength, grinding out another five yards.
Starting from the 25. Not bad at all.
“Go show 'em something!”
“Yes, Sir.”
Answering Coach Monken, I ran out onto the field.
The season's first Drive. The first Snap.
Ordinarily you'd lean on the running back here, but by now Coach Monken had grown comfortable with freer thinking on this front. We intended to catch them off guard.
“Go, Red 80!!”
…
“Turbo, set!”
Receiving the snap on quick timing, I turned back and faked the handoff to Zamir. Play action. Rather than turning to the left where the throw came easier, I squared to the right and sent the pass to Brock Bowers — the designated receiver on Hello Kitty — dropping my arm slightly lower on the release.
Throughout camp I'd practiced sidearm throws, wanting to deliver the ball a hair faster and comfortably from more varied situations. The pass arrived right on Brock's numbers, and he turned upfield for eight more yards.
“That's it!”
A perfect opening play.
(Chris Fowler)
“True freshman tight end, Brock Bowers. Out of Napa, California. Welcome to college football.”
(Kirk Herbstreit)
“Georgia talked about Brock Bowers all throughout camp. Not Zamir White or Jordan Addison — both picked as Chipotle Impact Players — but the true freshman was the one who took Moi's first completion of the season. Fascinating.”
Brock Bowers is the wide six-sided hexagon of a tight end every football coach dreams of. His run-blocking is a touch light, but for a freshman that hardly counts as a flaw.
Over fall camp, Brock proved — against not some other team, but our own Georgia D-line — that he could carve out good positioning through blocks, and he showed off route running that belonged among the wide receivers. Considering we already had a trustworthy wideout in Jordan Addison, a tight end who can be targeted on every snap is a genuine kick to the offense.
The season's first Huddle. I called the play.
“Quick Zebra. Right Trips. Left Solo. Y-20 Eagle.”
Crack!
1-1 PG (Personnel Group).
In the old days, a tight end in this situation would have been glued to the offensive line — but right now Brock belonged to the Trips, the three-receiver cluster we'd set up on the right.
Watching Clemson's defense scramble around busily, I judged that they hadn't yet settled in. First game of the season. First defensive series. Their heads were bound to be scattered.
Shotgun. Every Quick play we ran this year started from the gun.
“Go Red 80-!!”
With the first call, I sent James Cook, lined up on the left, sprinting far across to the right Trips — and watched the defense move in response.
Clemson's No. 10, Baylon Spector, trailed after James Cook, and in the gap left by the defender vanishing from the left, I barked the real play call.
“Ready-!! Hut!!”
The crowd's roar was deafening. Which only made me shout louder.
Sed's snap — the first rhythm we'd built together this season — flew right into the pocket, and the instant I caught it I looked left and let the ball go.
Quick Zebra. A strike delivered fast to the Z-receiver.
If the throw to the Z-receiver wasn't there, I could simply fall back on the Left Solo, Y-20 Eagle assigned to the Trips on the right and pick the second receiver instead.
But there was no need for that today.
(Chris Fowler)
“Quick pass, short gain, and Georgia moves the chains immediately. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint — he battled through an ACL injury last season and returns to the field healthy this year.”
(Kirk Herbstreit)
“This is exactly the tempo. Even last season, Dwayne Moi Stone piled up yards at a breathtaking pace. Today: two pass attempts in just 47 seconds, 12 yards gained.”
37 yards from the end zone. First & 10.
We sent out the 1-1 PG again, and I'd just received the play call for pushing into midfield.
Then—
“Wait, wait!!”
“?”
Clemson's defense had sniffed out our play. I could tell from the linebackers' movement.
The plan was to run Hello Kitty by first parking Brock in the Slot, then shifting him to the left side of the O-line just before the call. My standing in shotgun and the Jet Sweep motion were all decoys layered on top.
But the moment Clemson's No. 10 glued himself to No. 17 instead of peeling off as expected, I judged Hello Kitty was dead.
Play clock: 17 seconds. I had to call something, fast.
“Wing Man!! Wing Man!!”
Declaring we'd run the football, I stacked on the blocking-formation call.
“Bottle Cap!! Bottle Cap!!”
Bottle Cap was, in truth, a Left Swing. Why twist left to pop a bottle cap open? An Audible is always a slightly different animal from the calls delivered in the huddle — sometimes you just call out a defender's number or a gap, raw and intuitive.
All set. I immediately demanded the snap.
“Ready-!! Hut!!”
Shotgun. Ball delivered to Zamir on the left.
The O-linemen, exactly as scripted, shoved Clemson's D-line to the left, and Zamir and I took off to the right at the same time.
Why was I running too?
That was this year's new weapon, too.
Wing Man. The auxiliary pilot.
When the running back takes the perimeter — not through the crush of linemen colliding at the line of scrimmage, but around either side of it — I had decided that on certain plays, I would run alongside him as a lead run-blocker. Just like now.
Shielding Zamir from the front as he charged down the right, I slammed my shoulder full-force into the charging No. 17. And down the man went.
Clemson's No. 17, Kane Patterson, was a scrawny thing (?) at just 6-1 (about 185 cm) and 225 pounds (about 102 kg). From the stands you might call that a sturdy build, but out here on the field, that frame is a featherweight.
The instant I watched Kane Patterson crumple, another shiver of electricity shot down my spine. Goosebumps bloomed along my forearms.
What is this.
This is so fucking fun!
The stadium's decibels shot skyward at my run-blocking, and I kept running after that, staying on Zamir's shield. No. 1 was charging at me head-on. Wasn't that kid a freshman too?
Watching another scrawny thing come hurtling in, I threw a shoulder tackle to protect Zamir once more.
And—
THUD!
One more scarecrow added to the collection, right here!
With Jordan locking up the right cornerback all the way, the moment the right linebacker and strong safety got peeled off, Clemson's backfield stood completely empty.
Zamir ran on and on. Keeping an eye on my surroundings, I gradually slowed.
Twenty.
Ten.
And then—
(Chris Fowler)
“TOUCHDOWN-!!! THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE!! Dwayne Moi Stone just blocked TWO Clemson defenders!! What on earth am I watching right now!! A quarterback out here run-blocking like a lineman, like a tight end!! I guarantee you, that was one of the most electrifying moments I've ever called in a college football broadcast!!”
(Kirk Herbstreit)
“INCREDIBLE! A play where you got to see both Dwayne Moi Stone's raw power AND his wheels! Right out of the gate this season, it's like he's telling us: you know what?! Georgia's going to be the most entertaining football in the country again this year!”
(Chris Fowler)
“Thanks to a Georgia play that turns conventional wisdom completely on its head, this stadium is now a boiling cauldron of hysteria!”
Oh— Yeah.
This is it.
After a stretch of time hemmed in on every side by COVID, a new season arrived with proper preparation behind us — and I had finally begun to truly unleash this body of mine on the college stage.