You remember huddle presence, the catchphrase of two Sooner seasons ago, used to laud quarterback Paul Thompson's experience and deportment?
Huddle presence has become code for leadership. How does a quarterback carry himself? That's what the guy really meant with his question.
For the truth is, Bradford had no huddle presence Saturday in the Red-White Game. For the best of reasons. He had no huddle.
The Sooners have joined the growing horde of teams experimenting with no huddles. Larry Fedora brought the new-fangled offense to Oklahoma State in 2005. Missouri and Kansas now run it, too, and so will Colorado in 2008. Texas Tech picks its spots for the no-huddle, and apparently so will OU this coming season.
"It's the trend,” said Sooner defensive coordinator Brent Venables. In the same way the wishbone took over college football in the 1970s, and the spread did the same almost a decade ago, the no-huddle is all the rage in the 21st century, going from fad to standard in a season or two.
"I don't think offenses would do it if it weren't advantageous, to a degree,” Venables said.
Bob Stoops says he ordered implementation of the no-huddle for mathematical reasons.
"I want to get as many at-bats as they do,” Stoops said. "I don't want anyone having more snaps than we do.”
That's misguided thinking, of course. The no-huddle doesn't mean more snaps for one team. It means more snaps for both teams. Teams don't play on separate clocks. Quicken the pace, and it means more snaps for everyone. And if both teams go no-huddle, it means even more snaps all around.
Wilson, OU's offensive coordinator, ran the no-huddle for four years at Northwestern. Twice, his Northwestern team led the nation in offensive plays. But I'll bet Northwestern ranked high in plays allowed, too.
That's the delicate nature of the no-huddle. Even if it helps your offense, it can hurt your defense.
"To me, the problems are, can you protect your defense?” Wilson said. "At Northwestern, our defenses weren't any good. We didn't really worry about helping them.”
Different deal in Norman. Defense has done a thing or two over the last 10 years. Stoops can't afford to implement an offense that would damage his defense.
That's why Wilson must be careful.
For example, coaches say OU this spring practiced about 60 percent huddle, 40 percent no-huddle. That's acceptable to Venables. But consider the plight of defensive coaches who constantly must practice against no-huddle offenses. Yes, their defenses can get proficient against guarding the no-huddle.
But instruction time suffers. With no huddles — remember, the defense doesn't huddle when the offense doesn't huddle — coaches coach on the fly, barking directions while the defenders line up, or wai
