Mechanics and footwork

[JackWV]

During combines and pro days mechanics and footwork for quarterbacks come up often in conversation. Richardson is no exception.

 Why aren't mechanics and footwork addressed more at the college level. Wouldn't big time programs like Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, so on and so on, have coaches competent

enough to address flaws? Why wait till the NFL ranks? 

 

[Superman]

I'll take a stab at this, and try to keep it short.

 

1) It's easier to be an effective passer in college, so mechanical flaws or inconsistencies are not as big an issue as they are in the NFL. There's a big talent disparity between good college teams and average college teams, passing windows are bigger, pass rush isn't as good, etc. A talented QB has much greater margin for error in college than he will in the NFL, where every defense will punish you for mistakes.

 

2) Kind of related to #1, passing schemes in college are designed to take advantage of the talent disparity. So, for example, Tennessee doesn't ask their WRs to run pro style routes, they just split them out wide and tell them to outrun the usually lesser talented DBs from Akron or wherever. So the QB isn't going through pro style progressions, which means he doesn't need to take a pro style drop/hitch, the timing is different, etc. The mechanics aren't as big of a factor as they would be in a pro style offense.

 

3) College athletes are limited in the amount of time they can spend working with the coaches. I know collegiate sports kind of make a joke of the educational aspect of college, but it's still a factor. Class attendance and other student responsibilities take time, and in general terms, players can only spend a certain number of hours practicing. And most teams only have a starting level QB for one or two seasons at a time, so by the time his mechanical improvement starts making a difference, he's leaving your team, making the time investment less valuable to the program.

 

4) The best football coaches are in the NFL. No doubt there are some good QB coaches in college who can help players refine their mechanics, but no player is going to get better coaching in college than they will in the NFL. 

 

So I think all these factors, plus others, combine to create an environment that's not totally conducive to highly technical refinement, especially for QBs. 

[coltsfanej]

I agree with @Superman especially with #3. I believe the fact they know they only have these guys for 2-3 years so they aren’t concerned with having the guy set up to reach their full potential, but more so focused on how they can be productive in the short-term. No reason to spend half the time they have with a player laying a foundation that they won’t be able to reap the benefits of.   
 

so the focus is how quick can we make this guy good for us now, not how great can this guy be in 5 years. 

[Defjamz26]

The simple answer is that the job of a college football coach isn’t to prepare players to play at the next level; it’s to win games. Mechanics don’t matter in college where almost everyone is running spread offenses and QBs are only operating out of shotgun. Play calls are all designed by the coach so you don’t need to always be able to throw the ball on a rope. You just need to be able to get it to a spot where the receiver will likely be because he’s the best athlete on the field.

 

Thats why you see so many QBs get with QB coaches like Jordan Palmer in the offseason to actually improve their mechanics. It’s also not worth investing that type of time into a player you may only have for 3 years. By the time they’ve improved on their mechanics, they’re declaring for the draft. It sounds harsh but the reality is that CFB is a business. Get your QB, teach him how to play in your system, and then win as many games with him before he goes to the league.

[Two_pound]

I've alluded to this a few times in the past also. College coaches don't concern themselves with getting qb's ready for the "next level" they only care about winning games for themselves and the alumni so they can keep their jobs. Probably why there are so few pure pocket passers developed in the college ranks anymore. "Dual threat" quarterbacks are the ones that lead to the quickest and most success in college.

[Nickster]

Lots of guys don’t get anything close to state of the art mechanics training in HS and guys like AR just dominate with athleticism at that age.  Most HS staffs don’t have anything like expert QB technique coaches.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

[jbaron04]

14 hours ago, coltsfanej said:

I agree with @Superman especially with #3. I believe the fact they know they only have these guys for 2-3 years so they aren’t concerned with having the guy set up to reach their full potential, but more so focused on how they can be productive in the short-term. No reason to spend half the time they have with a player laying a foundation that they won’t be able to reap the benefits of.   
 

so the focus is how quick can we make this guy good for us now, not how great can this guy be in 5 years. 

Also let’s not forget the limit amount of practice time and have to balance classes etc… but yup every one is right about this 

[throwing BBZ]

 

 "Mechanics don’t matter in college where almost everyone is running spread offenses and QBs are only operating out of shotgun."

 

  Learning to be precise with 3 5 7 step drops is NFL mandatory, with all the handoffs, pitches, fakes, lookoffs, the timing of routes.

 Luck stank at throwing precise bubble screens his whole 1st season.

These were a Major play of choice, especially considering Luck stank even worse throwing accurate short across the middle.

 Not until the end of his 2nd pre-season did he finally figure it out.

 Richardson has a very detail oriented HC, with a offense that is made perfectly for him.

 There is fresh info from camp suggesting that Richardson is exceptional moving in the pocket, with a very high level of awareness.

 This 6th sense is a huge part of what separates the men from the boys. 

   I hope you all are doing well, and I am looking forward to an interesting season with lots of highlights.

 

[sb41champs]

This is the time of the year that coaches TEACH their players.

 

New plays - subtle changes in their stance - changes to their throwing motion - footwork - and - the plethora of mechanics that each and every position and player needs in order to gain the advantage during game action.

 

Making each of these changes turn in to "muscle memory" - and - second nature is the goal of this portion of the league year.

 

It's about improving as a player.

 

Coaching comes later.

[compuls1v3]

On 5/16/2023 at 11:24 AM, sb41champs said:

This is the time of the year that coaches TEACH their players.

 

New plays - subtle changes in their stance - changes to their throwing motion - footwork - and - the plethora of mechanics that each and every position and player needs in order to gain the advantage during game action.

 

Making each of these changes turn in to "muscle memory" - and - second nature is the goal of this portion of the league year.

 

It's about improving as a player.

 

Coaching comes later.

If coaching isn't teaching what is it?

[crazycolt1]

On 5/16/2023 at 1:24 PM, sb41champs said:

This is the time of the year that coaches TEACH their players.

 

New plays - subtle changes in their stance - changes to their throwing motion - footwork - and - the plethora of mechanics that each and every position and player needs in order to gain the advantage during game action.

 

Making each of these changes turn in to "muscle memory" - and - second nature is the goal of this portion of the league year.

 

It's about improving as a player.

 

Coaching comes later.

Teaching is a huge part of coaching. Maybe the most important? 

[sb41champs]

13 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Teaching is a huge part of coaching. Maybe the most important? 

I concur.