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  • The ineligible receiver downfield rule has been tabled by the NCAA

    Auburn OL

    The no-huddle offense just can’t be defeated, in or out of season.

    Following last year’s failed bid to force a 10-second delay before any snap (lest incur a mind-melting delay of game penalty), the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel has tabled a proposal to move the illegal receiver downfield threshold from three yards to one.

    “Panel members, who met on a teleconference Thursday, felt more discussion about the rule should take place within the college football community before a final decision is made,” read the official statement.

    Additionally, the PROP said it was hesitant to implement a new rule without more feedback from its constituents. Only 65 of the 128 sitting FBS head coaches participated in a survey about the rule, and only 46 head coaches offered comments about the rule.

    So while the 2015 season will be used for further evaluation, the NCAA says it will more strictly enforce the three-yard rule already on the books.

    Other rules that have been passed:

    – Allowing a universal eight-man officiating crew if desired by a conference or school.

    – A 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for pushing or pulling players off piles.

    – A 10-second runoff if a helmet comes off a defensive player in the final minute of the half. Also, the play clock will be set at 40 seconds, up from 25 seconds.

    – Officials will now provide a sideline warning for moving out of the designated bench area instead of going straight to a penalty.

    – Illegal equipment issues (i.e., an exposed back flap) will force a player to leave the game for one play, and he can not return until the issue has been corrected.

    – A kicking team player blocking a receiving team player before an onside kick has traveled 10 yards is now a reviewable play.

    – Teams must now provide 22 minutes prior to kickoff for pre-game warmups unless both teams agree to shorten the time period.

    – If the play clock runs down to 25 seconds before the ball is set for play, the officials will reset the clock to 40 seconds. The previous rule required the clock get down to 20 seconds before a reset.

    – Overbuilt face masks are now prohibited.

  • Malzahn: “Rule changes shouldn’t mess with creativity”

    The newly proposed rule that would draw a flag for having lineman more than one yard down field on a pass play is a real thorn in the side for creative offensive coaches, and Gus Malzahn and Hugh Freeze have been very vocal against the proposal aimed at limiting run-pass option schemes, or “packaged plays”.

    For Malzahn, one of the more creative offensive coaches in the game, he feels that the rule change would really limit creativity on the offensive side of the ball.

    “It’s going to change the way we do things, those of us who are run-pass offenses, and when you look around college football right now, that’s a lot of us,” Malzahn told ESPN in a piece yesterday written by Chris Low.

    “You’re always looking for ways to be creative, and I don’t think you should ever change the rules to take creativity out of the game unless it’s a safety issue. This is not a safety issue.”

    Although it may seem self serving to a degree, Malzahn adds that scoring will also go down, which will lead to less fans in the stands. He also notes the change will hurt coaches at the high school level as well because many of them are running similar schemes.

    Hugh Freeze added to Freeze’s comments by saying that he understands where coaches are coming from, but this isn’t the right solution.

    “I understand those coaches who are upset when a lineman is 5 or 6 yards downfield and the quarterback pulls up and throws a pass, that’s a penalty and should be called. Throw the flag, but don’t penalize those of us who are doing it right and coaching it right by changing the rule.” Freeze noted.

    I happen to agree with both guys, but in the interest of full disclosure, I’m an offensive guy to my core, and I can’t help but have nightmares about this already.

    With that in mind, I have a strong personal belief that all future rule proposals should ask two important questions. First, and most importantly, is how will this proposal have an impact on player safety? And secondly, does it limit ingenuity or creativity within schemes?

    In an era where athletic departments are trying to pry people off their couches and get them into the stands, limiting ingenuity in the game doesn’t seem like a good idea, especially when it has no bearing on player safety. With participation in football down around the country at nearly every level, giving players the opportunity to play in new and exciting schemes is a nice feather in the cap.

    As the packaged plays / run-pass option concept begins to gain steam, I think a better alternative would be to appoint one ref with one job only, and that’s to keep an eye out for ineligible lineman down field. That appeases the coaches with concerns, and still gives the guys who coach it right the freedom to be creative.

    I’m interested to check the pulse of other coaches with thoughts on the subject. Let me know your thoughts @CoachSamz or in the comments below.

    Update >> Good news. The rule is staying at 3-yards.

  • “You have to understand that the game is about the young men. The game is not about you.”

    Mike Martin Florida State

    Mike Martin has won more games that you can even dream of. Probably 1,500 more, in fact. That’s not a statement of your football coaching abilities, though. Martin is Florida State’s head baseball coach.

    Now in his 36th season, the 71-year-old entered 2015 with 1,813 wins and 16 conference championships. He’s never missed the NCAA tournament.

    And what has his Hall of Fame career taught him?

    “You have to be yourself,” Martin told ESPN.com. “Don’t try to be somebody that you aren’t or something that you aren’t. You have to understand that the game is about the young men. The game is not about you.”

    Martin has reached 15 College World Series in his him at Florida State, but has yet to win a national championship. Still, he says his most rewarding moments have nothing whatsoever to do with baseball.

    “I mean, we all have goals in this sport,” Martin said. “But I always love it when a guy comes back and says, ‘Eleven, I really appreciate the way you got on me when I wasn’t doing my job in the classroom,’ and then he looks me in the eye and brags about a job he’s got or the way he’s worked up the ladder to success. That’s what still excites me. To see them come here as a boy and leave as a man, that is still truly what I love to get out of the game.”

  • “We’ve started to mentally prepare for workouts like we prep for games”

    UGABanner

    Back in December, Georgia head strength and conditioning Joe Tereshinski Jr. stepped down after being a part of the program since 1982, taking over the head job in 2011. To replace him, UGA hired Mark Hocke, the co-associate strength and conditioning coach at Alabama, known for his high energy approach.

    Since arriving to campus, Hocke has instituted some new interesting new changes that the players have embraced, according to The Telegraph. Among the changes are an absence of country music Fridays, a new mental approach to the weight room, and one player noted that the changes have made “lifting fun again.”

    “I think there’s been a lot more accountability and discipline instilled in us, a lot more being taught how to be a leader, being taught how to calculate an attitude, as coach Hocke calls it,” senior tackle John Theus explained.

    Theus then explained a little more about the calculated attitude approach that Hocke has brought with him.

    “Looking at a workout like you go into a game. When you go into a game you calculate that attitude and you go bust your behind in the game. You do the same thing in the workout.”

    Getting players to understand how to calculate their attitude everyday has led to the weight room environment and off season experience being more fun, and thus more productive, which is something that everyone can learn from.

  • Video of the Day – Central Oklahoma 2015 preview

    Friday March 6, 2015

    Video of the Day

    Central Oklahoma 2015 preview