MOBILE, Ala. -- Huddle?
What's a huddle?
Tennessee Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt illustrated just how pervasive the no-huddle offense has become at the college level in speaking with NFL Network at the Reese's Senior Bowl Tuesday. Whisenhunt asked his offensive players for a show of hands on how many went through their college careers without huddling, and the numbers were stunning to the Senior Bowl North squad coach.
"On a lark when the whole offensive team was in there (in a meeting), I asked 'How many of you guys have never been in a huddle before?' I thought I'd get maybe five or six guys. This is about 30 guys -- 25 of them put their hands up. Twenty-five guys had never been in a huddle. It's tough."
"That's amazing," replied NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock.
Much is made of the adjustment that quarterbacks in a no-huddle offense must make at the NFL level, one that North quarterbacks Shane Carden and Bryce Petty are dealing with this week. Memorizing the verbiage for an NFL play call can be a challenge when a signal from the sideline is enough to alert an entire offense in college. But there is an adjustment for linemen, too -- particularly those who were asked to pass block on a high percentage of plays in college.
The gap between the college game and the NFL game couldn't be much wider from an offensive standpoint.
And it's not an easy gap to close with three practice days and a walk-through.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
