"When coaches do less and less during the day, that's when winning results happen"
As soon as Scott Frost was able to hire someone for his tenth assistant spot at Nebraska, he elevated legendary Husker Barrett Ruud to inside linebackers coach. While Ruud was on staff with Frost at UCF, he didn't have a role as one of the original nine assistants, but worked closely with the staff in a defensive quality control administrator role.
Speaking to reporters for one of the first times the other day, Ruud - the leading tackler in Huskers history and eight year NFL veteran - shared a bit about how his experiences as a player under Pete Carroll and his year under Frost have shaped his belief on preparation as a he enters his first year as a full-time assistant.
"At Oregon, it was "Win the Day." When he took the head job at UCF it was "Rise and Conquer." So our focus is constantly on learning how to prepare. Learning how to attack each day and win each day."
"In my mind, and I learned a lot of this from Pete Carroll. Your preparation is everything. When we prepare at a certain level, you can see it. We saw it transform at UCF. When coaches do less and less during the day, on a daily basis. That is where winning results happen."
Ruud isn't suggesting that coaches sit around in their office all day and work through the wee hours of the night, but he is noting that if you're spending your days Monday through Friday locked in your office game planning constantly, that's usually not the best approach. Get your plan of attack together, make small tweaks here and there when needed throughout the week, and get players to execute those ideas throughout the week and give them plenty of reps at it out on the field.
When you start to perfect how you prepare and use gameplan time, a good chunk of your time during the day can be used leaving your door open, and connecting with players, coaches, secretaries, etc. That's an area that often gets overlooked in favor of scheming for hours and hours and hours on end sometimes.
Hear more from Ruud in the clip.
https://youtu.be/ztPr65MLilY?t=667
