7-on-7's at the high school level have become just as much a part of the game as two-a-days, but according to first year Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, except as he sees it, there is one major difference; the bad habits that the 7-on-7's are creating in young quarterbacks.
"What ends up happening so much in high school is that there is so much 7-on-7 that is played at a four second pace, that it really ends up training some bad habits."
"Nobody is getting hit, nobody is in front of them, they're blowing a horn at four seconds...and that's not the real world. When you have a guy like Clowney rushing you, that is below three seconds and then he's bringing 270 pounds of pain. So they have to understand, in order to stay healthy, they've got to throw the football."
Then Roper talked about his one rule for young quarterbacks, which I found especially interesting.
"I have a very simple rule for young quarterbacks when they come in; When we call a pass, I want them to throw the ball, and that's hard for a young guy to do because they don't know what the route concepts are and their first inclination is to keep it and run, well you're not running past guys like (Gators defensive ends) John Bullard and Dante Fowler."
"So simple rule; when I call a pass, throw it. Make a decision and throw it. We'll learn from our mistakes, but be decisive. If a guy can't be decisive, it's going to be hard to play."