The Custodians
Elmo Vermicelli had 170 yards. He was drafted late, on the strength of one game nobody else watched. Two of them found the end zone, in game 8 of his season. The ones who arrive like this tend to know what it cost. That is usually worth something in December.
Across five seasons: 8,532 yards from scrimmage, 123 touchdowns, seventy games. His best was 2,830. This is not that, yet.
Twenty-seven, and Pinch, West Virginia before that. Around the building he is unfailingly polite and completely unknowable.
The club is 5-3. Hutch Ellington is new.
One more thing: he keeps his father's work gloves in his locker.