SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The fourth-team quarterback holds his helmet, takes a slug from a sports drink, wipes his face with a towel, takes two steps backward and one laterally, and watches the three quarterbacks in front of him take turns taking snaps.
Having a good time?
"People might not think that," rookie Tony Pike says. "It's 115 or 110 degrees out here, and we're wearing 20 pounds of equipment. But I love it. When the games start, and we get to run out of that tunnel, and hear the crowd, and have success, there is no feeling like it."
Before becoming the fourth-team quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, Tony Pike was a star for the University of Cincinnati. Last season, he threw 29 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Working out of the spread, he completed 62.4 percent of his passes. The Bearcats were 12-0 before being hammered 51-24 by Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Being fourth-string is not his favorite situation, but he has been there.
"Before my junior year," Pike, 24, says. "So this is a place I've been."
When Hunter Cantwell, who lines up with the third team, finishes his reps during Thursday's practice session, Pike finally takes his.
On the first snap, South Carolina rookie Eric Norwood gets to Pike not long after the ball does.
Pike stands 6 feet 6, as tall as anybody on the roster. But he's agile for such a long target, and he instinctively rolls left. He was only 6-0 as a high school sophomore, and he played guard in basketball and shortstop in baseball. His height wasn't sprung upon him. He grew into it.
It probably was tough for a hitter to poke a ground ball through the left side.
"Yup, yup, yup," Pike says as modestly as a man can.
As Pike runs, he flips a short pass that S.C. State rookie Oliver Young drops. (To be fair, Young earlier made several catches.)
On Pike's second play, he hands off to Tyrell Sutton.
On Pike's third play, Norwood again runs at him, and this time he brings friends. Pike lets the defenders come and is about to become engulfed by their electric blue jerseys. Then he finds a white one and calmly drops a screen pass to Sutton.
On Pike's fourth play, he hands off to Josh Vaughan.
And then it's Matt Moore's turn.
The Panthers are familiar with Pike's work. General manager Marty Hurney twice scouted him last season.
"That's an honor in itself," Pike says.
Pike was considered a potential first-round pick. But after the season, he worked with a new coach and changed his grip. As he adjusted, the ball often fluttered, and his workouts were inconsistent. He also broke his left hand (he throws right-handed) as a junior and injured it again as a senior.
Pike fell to the sixth round, and the Panthers pounced. They like his arm, accuracy and ability to elude the rush. They want to keep him.
They also will keep Matt Moore and Clausen, and they want to keep Cantwell.
Rare is the roster with four quarterbacks. The Panthers would love to stash one on the practice squad. But before they do, they have to cut him. They have to allow him to dangle for 24 hours.
This is why Moore is a Panther. The Dallas Cowboys cut him, and the Panthers grabbed him. If the Panthers cut Pike or Cantwell, either would have a new uniform by the end of the day.
The Panthers have never had so many underage (Moore is the oldest at 25, Clausen the youngest at 23) and talented quarterbacks. They'll have a tough choice to make.
Fans and the media already have.
"CLAW-son!" fans scream as the rookie walks off the field. No one seems to be yelling, "PIKE!" Both sign autographs.
Then the rookie quarterbacks submit to their first interviews of camp.
Clausen is led to a podium, and more than 20 reporters, photographers and camera operators squeeze around.
Pike also has a throng, but only if one writer counts as a throng.
