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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ It was a moment in which the college football world may have done more than a double-take.
Midway through the second quarter against West Virginia last Saturday the Crimson Tide decided to change the pace of the offense and have senior quarterback Blake Sims bypass the huddle before each snap.
To the casual observer it may have appeared that Alabama was taking a page from its quick-snap, run-as-many-plays-as-possible competition, which tries to do everything it can to get the defense on its heels.
But that’s not necessarily what the Crimson Tide was attempting to achieve.
“We weren’t really trying to go fast,” Coach Nick Saban said. “We can go fast, but to me, for us, it was a communication issue. It’s easier to communicate when you’re going no-huddle because you just have code words and short words for plays and passes and that kind of stuff. It eliminates the communication in the huddle, it makes it easier for the quarterback.”
Alabama first went no-huddle when it was struggling to move the ball with the scoreboard reading 10-10. After the Crimson Tide had to call time out to avoid a delay-of-game penalty senior tight end Brian Vogler was flagged for a false start, for second-and-13 at its own 9.
Saban was considering inserting Jacob Coker and had him warming up on the sideline, but after getting two first downs on Amari Cooper receptions he decided to first try going no-huddle and give Sims a better chance to make pre-snap adjustments without feeling the pressure of the play clock winding down.
“It takes 10 second pressure off of what we’re doing in the huddle, so we can get to the line and if we need to make audible or adjustments we can, without being time crunched to three, two one seconds left,” junior center Ryan Kelly said. “I think the no huddle actually helped him out.”
Thanks to senior wide receiver DeAndrew White turning a short reception into a 38-yard gain the Crimson Tide went on to complete the 13-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by junior running back T.J. Yeldon. On the subsequent possession, also in hurry-up after getting the ball back with 1:31 remaining on the clock, it notched a field goal.
Alabama scored 10 more points in the second half in no-huddle.
An interesting twist is that during the past couple of seasons whenever Alabama would face a mobile quarterback Sims would simulate him with the scout team during practices. Coaches have also had the first-team offense go up against the starting defense more often while trying to replicate the pace of opposing offenses.
“Some teams they kind of do a little bit different stuff, maybe throw more formations at us,” senior safety Nick Perry said. “At practice we kind of have a typical, pro-style offense. Other teams have more receivers out there motioning and jet motioning.”
Saban, of course, has been outspoken with his concerns about fast-pace offenses and once testified before an NCAA committee that was considering potential rule changes.
“At some point in time, we should look at how fast we allow the game to go in terms of player safety,” Saban said in 2012. “The team gets in the same formation group, you can’t substitute defensive players, you go on a 14-, 16-, 18-play drive and they’re snapping the ball as fast as you can go and you look out there and all your players are walking around and can’t even get lined up. That’s when guys have a much greater chance of getting hurt when they’re not ready to play.”
Regardless, Alabama’s offense gained 538 total yards on 82 plays against the Mountaineers, and had a huge time of possession advantage of 37:47 to 22:13, with Derrick Henry and Yeldon and wide receiver Cooper all having 100-yard performances.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Henry said. “I’ll run whatever when they call my name in the game.”
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
