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Academic question for those who've coached/played before

ghost2

ghost2

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to pass the time - what position, in your opinion, is the most difficult to coach at the college level? Easiest? Why?
 
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I played DB, so hard for me to say on all positions. On the defense, I think LB is the toughest. Probably WR on offense.
 
Ill leave QB out for obvious reasons.

The easiest - RB. Just teach them how to pick up blitzes. They should know how to run through a hole and find the endzone if they have the talent
The hardest - I'd say MLB or Safety. They both have to know the defense, be able to communicate before and during the play, and they need to know the offensive tendencies to make calls and line the defense up. There are a lot of other things that they need to do too but I dont feel like getting into all of that.
 
I coached at Monmouth University on the offensive side. I would say WR is easiest to coach on offense and Oline is hardest on offense. Wr's is easiest because you are pretty much doing the same type of drills every practice. Route running, hand eye coordination drills, and blocking. You teach blocking techniques here and there but it's not rocket science. Running back is harder because blitz pick up is a lot more demanding and can attack you different ways. Teaching proper footwork, vision, and blitz pickup make it more difficult IMO. On top of that in most offenses these days RB's are a big part of route running too.

O-line is toughest in my opinion because you need to get all 5 guys to work in unison (including backups and rotational guys). There are so many different calls that need to be made, technique is more difficult to teach/learn, teaching how to use proper leverage and weight distribution, and in Miami's terrible offense they made them all learn at least 3 positions it seemed.

I am pretty much excluding QB, because we know that is a whole different ball game. But I must say QB is the clear position to me where the QB either has "it" or they don't. You can hide deficiencies and play to there strengths, but a good defense will continue to bring those flaws out at some point. For example Jacory had so many ups and downs. Fisch was able to hide his biggest deficiencies very well. But as we all know at times the typical Jacory would come out here and there.
 
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In my opinion:

RB is the easiest - Scheme is usually easy for Rb's - the hardest part of the schemes is Blitz pick up and the o-line calls usually can tell the RB who he has. Good Rb's are usually good because they naturally do what they need to do. Ball security, blocking and catching does not take a great coach to teach.

QB & O-line are the Hardest - you have to coach those kids hard on every snap.

O-line is hand to hand combat every play and you lose if your technique is not good. Plus you have to know all the schemes for multiple fronts, if you hesitate you lose. They are usually lined up against better athletes so they must work together as one or they will lose again. A lot of opportunity to lose on the o-line. So much must be correct to win. It takes a great teacher of technique and scheme who is a workaholic, who won't get bored with the details, and can get on those guys level to have successful O-line play.

Qb - usually has to be the smartest guy on the field. He must know what everybody else is doing. He must know pass pro, coverages, and be able to read the box to get in and out of effective run opportunities. Qb's usually have to work in the class room year round just to have a chance to let their physical skills shine. Qb coaches have to train the brain as much or more than they train the body.
 
This is the main reason why you see WR, RB, and DB coaches being the main recruiters. If you are a Miami caliber Running Back or WR there is only so much teaching you need to do. Those coaches need to have a good motivational personality which is why they tend to be your best recruiters as well.
 
Yes, I should have omitted QB for obvious reasons. Good stuff so far!
 
I played DT and QB at the FBS level, and those are the 2 toughest positions to learn. Luckily, I was heady.
 
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sfowler06 said:
Ill leave QB out for obvious reasons.

The easiest - RB. Just teach them how to pick up blitzes. They should know how to run through a hole and find the endzone if they have the talent
The hardest - I'd say MLB or Safety. They both have to know the defense, be able to communicate before and during the play, and they need to know the offensive tendencies to make calls and line the defense up. There are a lot of other things that they need to do too but I dont feel like getting into all of that.
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I'm no coach but did play a little high school QB and coaching RB is a little more complex than u just explained lol.
 
Coming in ol and dline are the hardest to play as freshman. Have to physically tough, and be ready for contact every play against players sometimes 3-4 years olden than you
 
kev13108 said:
sfowler06 said:
Ill leave QB out for obvious reasons.

The easiest - RB. Just teach them how to pick up blitzes. They should know how to run through a hole and find the endzone if they have the talent
The hardest - I'd say MLB or Safety. They both have to know the defense, be able to communicate before and during the play, and they need to know the offensive tendencies to make calls and line the defense up. There are a lot of other things that they need to do too but I dont feel like getting into all of that.
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I'm no coach but did play a little high school QB and coaching RB is a little more complex than u just explained lol.
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Also I'm not saying it's diffciult but besides what u mention a lot of emphasis I needs to be placed on footwork and mesh pointe change between QB and RB
 
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Played & coached...without singling out one particular position, I'd say offense is easier to coach. Offense is rote, while defense is always playing 2 steps behind. I've coached QBs, I've always found that easy to teach, maybe because I grew up watching the former UM greats, and Marino with the Dolphins.
 
FullyERicht said:
Most brain power needed in order (Not counting QB):

OL, Mike backer, Safety.
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Edit I wrote this as most difficult to play mentally.....

Coaching DBs might be the hardest now a days with all the various coverages, particularly pattern matching rules.
 
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Timcanes said:
For example Jacory had so many ups and downs. Fisch was able to hide his biggest deficiencies very well. But as we all know at times the typical Jacory would come out here and there.
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Jacory's problem was post-snap reads. I remember listening to a Randy Shannon interview, this was after Jacory suffered that concussion at UVA. Shannon said they were at practice, and Morris threw an INT down the middle of the field, to which Jacory said, "Why did He do that?", and Shannon replied, "You do the same $h!t." That right there told me they either weren't teaching Him PSRs, or they weren't emphasizing it, I think it was more of the former.

Also, Jacory had small hands, lotta folks don't realize that hand size effects balance, didn't help that He had that lingering thumb injury.
 
CaneSince4Ever said:
Timcanes said:
For example Jacory had so many ups and downs. Fisch was able to hide his biggest deficiencies very well. But as we all know at times the typical Jacory would come out here and there.
Click to expand...

Jacory's problem was post-snap reads. I remember listening to a Randy Shannon interview, this was after Jacory suffered that concussion at UVA. Shannon said they were at practice, and Morris threw an INT down the middle of the field, to which Jacory said, "Why did He do that?", and Shannon replied, "You do the same $h!t." That right there told me they either weren't teaching Him PSRs, or they weren't emphasizing it, I think it was more of the former.

Also, Jacory had small hands, lotta folks don't realize that hand size effects balance, didn't help that He had that lingering thumb injury.
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Did you just say hand size effects (sic) balance? Please explain.
 
crimson_cane said:
Did you just say hand size effects (sic) balance? Please explain.
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Because the size of whatever you're throwing, effects the way it's thrown. When you throw something that's big, the initial mechanics are limited. The delivery is slower, because the finger action is limited...and the release is too hard if the object is too large for the hands. Big hands, especially long fingers, are a benefit in handling the ball for balance, and an advantage when playing on a wet field. Watch the Eason kid and you'll see what I'm talkin' about, kid has some big *** hands, can do some crazy $h!t with the ball.

Also, long arms plays an important role in passing also, moreso than height.
 
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