Complex Quarterbacking

The fight song is beating in the background with competition from the PA announcer. Linebackers shuffle to the left and right as you look over to get your play. The play comes to you in the form of obscure hand and arm signals. As you delegate your information to 10 other players in a matter of seconds, you approach the line of scrimmage making sure all of your teammates are set. Noticing the defense is lining up 8 people to attack you and only having 7 blockers on your side, you flash pass routes through your mind hopeful that your hot route is open. Then you raise your leg to notify the center it's time to play football, and take the snap. This is just a glimpse of what a high school quarterback goes through for each offensive play. The quarterback position has evolved into an on field coach. The ability to call up to 5 different plays at the line of scrimmage might make it feel Lombardi-like; it is the hard hitting action on the field that keeps you part of the game. While that may sound like free cheeseburgers from Feltner's What-a-burger, it can be a real pain-in-the-rear. Just ask Springdale High School signal caller Ashton Glaser, who on Friday night while playing quarterback, "took a shot in the behind" from a defender. "I'm alright, but rehab sessions have been pretty bad for the trainers." Not long ago, football in Northwest Arkansas was dominated by run-oriented offenses. Former Farmington High School head coach Alan Holland and Springdale High School head coach Jarrell Williams, both of whom have football fields named in their honor, led their programs to multiple state championships running smash-mouth offenses. Quarterbacks in these offenses would prepare much the same as running backs. Working on fakes to a fullback and handoffs to running backs, a quarterback's practice was often spent never throwing against a defense. Times have changed in the Ozarks; the development and preparation of quarterbacking high-powered offenses has become the key to successful teams. University of Tulsa Offensive Coordinator, and former Arkansas high school coaching legend Gus Malzahn, created a pipeline of well-prepared quarterbacks, as well as current coaches that carry on his success today. Chris Wood, a former assistant to Malzahn at Shiloh Christian and current head coach of Springdale Har-ber, says "Gus, Barry Lunney of Bentonville, and Ronnie Peacock of Rogers, are what I consider the pioneers of the spread." Wood and his offense are settling in successfully having already knocked off the #1 team in the state in just the school's second year of existence. The win came at the expense of the before mentioned Barry Lunney and the Bentonville Tigers. "Development and fundamentals have improved. Quarterbacks get 300-500 reps in the summer to work on timing against defenses, whereas back in the day (late 80's) we had no timing reps versus a defense. We would just go out and throw." recalls Fayetteville High School head coach Daryl Patton. Both Patton and Wood agreed that film study is also a vital part of preparing a quarterback. Wood estimates, "We spend between 30-minutes to an hour each day on film. We go over the mistakes from the week before, and then go over defensive sets." A Monday for Ashton Glaser leads to a busy afternoon. Glaser, who has shined for the Bulldogs this season at the quarterback position, says, "Monday we watch film for an hour, everyday except Friday and Saturday." Glaser also says, "I throw with a coach, work on my drop step and reads, throw to the receiver core and run skeleton drill, each for 20-minute sessions." The skeleton drill is a form of 7-on-7 football, where quarterbacks can work on reading defensive alignments. "Gus went down to Greenwood in 1996 where Coach Peacock (former head coach of Greenwood) was hosting a 7-on-7 tournament, Gus then started hosting 7-on-7 tournaments in Northwest Arkansas." Wood recalls. Now teams from Northwest Arkansas travel across the country to attend tournaments. Tuesday and Wednesday are action packed days for a quarterback. On these days, defensive coverages of the upcoming opponent are watched on film. Quarterbacks then hit the field to see the defensive sets of the opponent in live action. This is where the signals and check down plays are developed and the mental battle begins. These are by far the most critical practices leading up to game night. Thursday is a day of conserving energy and final preparation. In Greenwood, quarterback Tyler Wilson has last minute play review. He also finds team camaraderie and chemistry very important. "I like to watch film of teams with an offense similar to ours playing against our opponent if it is available. Thursday night is "Theme Night" where the position players have dinner together and hang out. We have a lot of laughs and play video games." Wilson went on to say, "We like to play the NCAA '08 football game." When asked what team he chose to play as his team, he laughed and said "the one I have verbally committed to." Wilson has verbally committed to the University of Tulsa. Friday is game day and a special one for a high school quarterback. It starts with getting the game jersey on for classes. Quarterbacks have a small window of opportunity to watch film, depending on if there is a pep rally and travel if it is an away game or home game. Once at the field, quarterbacks often repeat drills from practice to warm up for the game. Fans arrive to the field and its game time. Glaser says, "We huddle on the sideline and coach calls the first play; after that we go to hand signals." The beat of the fight song begins.