A few days after C.J. Anderson's abrupt April departure from the Denver Broncos backfield, he called Devontae Booker, his friend and former competitor for playing time.
"It's your time," Anderson told Booker, offering his blessing. "Go out there and do what you need to do."
In an instant, Booker traveled from backup to probable lead running back. In the modern NFL, where passing rules, Booker's contribution will not be nearly as important as the lead role once played by Floyd Little, Terrell Davis and Clinton Portis.
Still, as the Broncos chase revival after a 5-11 season that spread gloom all across The Rocky Mountains, Booker must play a crucial role in the franchise's transformation from loser to winner.
Is he ready?
"Absolutely," Booker immediately answered in June.
"I know I'm capable of being the main guy. I've just got to keep working hard and grinding on the practice field and getting better. I'm all for it."
The running game, led by Anderson, was decent if not spectacular during the disaster of 2017. The Broncos finished 12th in the NFL in rushing, with Anderson rolling to 1,007 yards. That total wasn't enough to inspire John Elway to pay Anderson $4.5 million for the 2018 season.
The plan is easy to see. Elway hopes Booker can deliver Anderson-like numbers on a salary of $725,000. At training camp, which opens Saturday, Booker will battle against De'Angelo Henderson, Royce Freeman and David Williams _ a trio with a total of five NFL carries _ for the starting job.
If I'm running the Broncos, the plan after Anderson's exit would have been to find an elite _ or near elite _ running back to ease the burden on quarterback Case Keenum.
But I don't run the Broncos.
Coach Vance Joseph, in a brief conversation, mentioned three times Booker's most valuable asset in the struggle to become starter.
"Devontae is our most experienced back," Joseph said.
It's not much experience. Booker has 253 carries and started six games in 2016 with Anderson out with injury. He's shown flashes, but only averaged an anemic 3.6 yards per carry.
And yet ...
If you examine Booker's past, you understand his confidence.
He was a superstar of national proportion at Grant Union High School in Sacramento, where he rushed for an astounding 4,734 yards and 81 touchdowns in his final two seasons. He signed with Washington State, but academic troubles forced a detour to junior college. He sat out the 2013 season to concentrate on his studies.
When Booker finally arrived at Utah for the 2014 season, he was a 22-year-old junior hungry to show he could soar on a big college stage. He finished with 2,773 yards in only two seasons and, more importantly, graduated with a sociology degree.
So, after his long, winding and successful ride to the NFL, he's hardly overwhelmed by the idea of starting an entire season.
"Not at all," he said. "I've been in this situation my whole life. High school, junior college, college at Utah. Once I get that lead role, you can really see what I can do."
Booker, 26, has rampaged to more than 10,000 yards since the start of his junior year in high school. He understands skeptics abound. He knows many expect to see Freeman, the Broncos 2018 third-round pick, seize the starting job before the end of the season.
"They'll just have to wait and see," Booker said of the skeptics. "People are wondering what I'm going to do. You've only seen a glimpse of it.
"You give me the rock, I'm going to do what I need to do out there on the field."
