The joke between Tim Boyle and Tommy DeVito as they left the shared practice field one final time in July was how it would be fun to duel each other in the Jets-Giants preseason game.

Never could the two third-stringers who spent countless offseason hours throwing side-by-side under the eye of trainer Tony Racioppi have dreamt up the reality that Week 12 of the NFL season will bring: DeVito (Giants) and Boyle (Jets) are the two starting quarterbacks in New York.

“So much of this position is just believing in yourself and getting an opportunity,” Racioppi told Sports+. “Those two guys put the work in. Some guys aren’t prepared for the moment. It goes to show that you never know, so you work hard, you stay prepared, you stay positive. Because if you are not prepared for it, that might be the only opportunity you ever get in your career.”

Racioppi, who works out of Test Football Academy in Bridgewater, N.J., is one of the most in-demand quarterback trainers on the East Coast. He coaches 11 quarterbacks who were part of NFL training camps, including Steelers starter Kenny Pickett and a host of backups who need variables to break the way that they have for the undrafted rookie DeVito and six-year veteran Boyle.