Li Wei was extremely focused—
The Trojans thought the Crimson Tide Storm would opt for a ground attack to kick off the season, and indeed, the Crimson Tide Storm did start with a ground offensive.
On the tactical level, there were no secrets.
But what about the execution level?
Li Wei had been sizing up the Trojans' defensive line. Even though it was merely one person more than a normal "4-3" formation, the pressure near the line of scrimmage felt completely different.
"Attack!"
Hertz announced the snap.
Li Wei didn't start moving immediately. Instead, he uncharacteristically paused in place, his vision of the Crimson passing through like automatic doors sliding to the right.
The view across the line of scrimmage unfolded slowly like a scroll, and he promptly noticed his offensive line teammates performing their duties superbly, securing their positions one-on-one and engaging in the first line of confrontation.
Just like venetian blinds.
Maintaining their matchups and moving laterally, yet as they moved, differences in speed and strength caused their rhythms to misalign, and gaps appeared—
There it was!
His feet started moving, stepping forward to Hertz's left. Pretending to pass to the right, Hertz retracted his motion and stretched out his right hand, completing the handoff to Li Wei, and the football nestled securely into Li Wei's embrace, tightly controlled.
Step up.
But he didn't accelerate; instead, he slowed down his pace, keeping his mind clear.
This was a clear difference between McCoy's training template and that of Peterson. People often thought that McCoy, relying on speed, would always opt for raw pace, charging forward without thinking. But that wasn't the case.
The calm observation and careful judgement before starting were the foundations of McCoy's ground offense because once he started, his speed would be pushed to the limit, rarely changing direction even when hitting a wall, but rather advancing forcefully due to speed.
Therefore, Peterson could often break free from tackles and continue pushing forward, while McCoy, unless he could evade the grab with his speed and agility, would find it difficult to break free once tackled.
Now, in a straightforward contest, the Trojans were clearly prepared with their net spread out, waiting for the running back to crash into it, so naturally Li Wei wouldn't act rashly.
Patience, calmness, waiting—
For the opportunity.
Li Wei paused his steps just a bit to adjust, watching as the venetian blinds kept moving, and when the gap appeared again, he started moving.
His foot pushed off, releasing his speed in a flash.
Before him was the meat grinder of layers upon layers; ten players from the offensive and defensive lines clashed and grappled with one another, like dragon's flame, a rolling heat wave spread out, and his vision was filled with smoke.
However, Li Wei's calmness and patience paid off. He caught sight of a gap between the matchups and, with his burst of speed, he was already charging through.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Ah!
A roar of fury.
Ahhhhh!
Full force.
The power to push off the ground transformed into the energy to keep pushing against the opponent, driving the shield before him to keep moving forward.
A hit, a push.
And then, overturn!
Ah! Ahhhhh!
The lineman before him was flipped sprawling, the rolling surge of qi scattering grass debris, the power bursting out from within Li Wei didn't stop, it turned into acceleration, and he immediately took off.
The entire field, stunned.
Zhu Zhu: ???
A sharp inhale of astonishment swirled through the air.
After the first layer of defense, the second layer had also collapsed to the ground.
To describe it, it seemed like he had conquered five passes and slain six generals; in reality, Li Wei had only advanced less than five yards, just crossing the kickoff line and breaking through the lineman's embrace, about five yards away from achieving the first down, attracting the eyes of the entire field, hearts nearly bursting in their throats.
As a running back, could he continue to advance further?
At least Li Wei had no intention of stopping his steps.
Push off the ground!
Push off the ground!
Push off the ground!
Speed, fully unleashed.
As he was about to cross the first down line, out of the corner of his eye, he could see another linebacker adjusting his balance for a second takeoff to leap forward.
The reason was simple, Crimson Tide Storm had set up a shotgun formation, with Hertz moving along the offensive line to the right, starting to look for a right-side pass target, an action that drew the attention of the Trojans' defense, making the linebackers have to cover, thus only now making the second attempt to defend.
Close.
Even closer.
Although slightly slower, the defensive routine of the Trojans was set, even if anticipated, their second reaction was quick enough, with the second linebacker immediately on coverage—
There!
Impact, embrace!
With a leap, that linebacker sprang into the air, actually soaring up.