If you've been a follower of the Pac-12 blog for a while, you know that we love us some Rich Rodriguez here. Aside from giving us a coach's version of the 'Whip/Nae Nae' dance, he provided comedic relief at conference media days last year.
Oh, and he also knows a thing or two about offensive schemes, being one of the original minds behind the spread running offense, which is now commonly used in college football.
So whenever Rodriguez talks for an extended period of time, we listen. And the Arizona head coach did just that in a recently released Solid Verbal podcast. You can take a listen here, but in case you don't have time at the moment, here are the top three items from the interview:
Oh, and he also knows a thing or two about offensive schemes, being one of the original minds behind the spread running offense, which is now commonly used in college football.
So whenever Rodriguez talks for an extended period of time, we listen. And the Arizona head coach did just that in a recently released Solid Verbal podcast. You can take a listen here, but in case you don't have time at the moment, here are the top three items from the interview:
- With the explosion of scoring and yardage in college football over the past several years attributed to new offensive styles, it's become popular to say that "offenses are far ahead of defenses." But Rodriguez doesn't like to term it like that: "It's too simplistic to say that one side or the other is ahead of the other scheme-wise. I always tell everybody, it's checkers, not chess. You don't have to think six or seven moves ahead, maybe just one or two moves ahead, but you want to have an answer to the problems. What's happened now is that offenses are creating more conflicts for the defense. So defensive coaches have to simplify more to be able to handle the conflicts... I don't know if that's as much of one group being ahead of the other group, it's just a lot harder to be a defensive coordinator than it's ever been because offenses are figuring out how to use tempo to their advantage."
- And as offenses have transformed in the college game, we've entered a spread-heavy age that's made the whole "system quarterback" debate a common one on an annual basis, especially around the time of the NFL draft. Is a quarterback who operates a spread offense in college less prepared to handle the pro-style challenges of the NFL? Rodriguez doesn't think so because of the multiple options that a spread quarterback must process on every single down: "This notion that spread offenses don't prepare a quarterback for the NFL -- I think they prepare them better. Because they have to understand the entire game and all 11 guys on defense, and where weaknesses are on each defense as opposed to run play, just hand it off, pass play, just read this. They're thinking about everything on every snap."
- Those who have watched just a few minutes of Arizona football over the past few years know of Rodriguez's intense demeanor on the sideline. It can look like he's not having any fun when he scowls at officials or at his own players, and Rodriguez confirmed that he is indeed in a stressful situation any time he coaches: "The most fun for me is to play an early game. Whenever we do, and hopefully win, then I get to go home and watch someone else suffer for three hours on the sidelines."
