Alabama to use no-huddle play cards?

Alabama appears to be diving deeper into the no-huddle offense pool.

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There’s some rather interesting news out of Alabama’s summer camps, as apparently Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin have been experimenting with no-huddle play cards during practices. Those goofy signs that teams, such as Oregon, hold up to call plays – the ones that feature Scott Van Pelt’s headshot or DJ Pauly D – might just be coming to the sidelines in Tuscaloosa.

According to AL.com, after talking with several coaches from around the college football landscape – namely individuals from national champion Ohio State, TCU, Washington and even Kansas – Saban decided to employ the idea. With one year of the no-huddle under the team’s belt, he feels adding the play cards is a way to make the Crimson Tide’s offense even more seamless.

"“We felt like last year we were kind of learning how to be a no-huddle team on the run because of the personnel we had,” Saban said. “We thought it was best suited for Blake (Sims), and we’ve talked about that many times before, but we didn’t go in with the idea that we were going to be a no-huddle team.“So we visited a lot of people during the offseason to try and come up with the best system – Kansas, Washington, a lot of people that go no-huddle ― It’s just a methodology of how some people get formations and plays in the game.”"

While there’s still an air of uncertainty surrounding this year’s offense – who’s going to start under center? – it’s nothing compared to last season. This time last year, Lane Kiffin was taking over for two-year incumbent Doug Nussmeier and the Tide were seeking a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2011. How would the embattled Kiffin slide into his new role? Would Saban fully commit to the new offensive game plan? Could Sims and/or Jacob Coker fill the very large shoes of AJ McCarron?

The results were a rollicking success, as ‘Bama hardly skipped a beat in points per game – posting roughly 37 points per contest – and upped its total offense by 30 yards per game (484.5 ypg) over the season prior. All with a career backup leading the way.

With the team’s core now familiar with Kiffin’s terminology, it’s time to take the next (logical) step. Play cards, while at times gimmicky, help speed up progressions and will afford the quarterback a little extra time to read the defense and make appropriate changes at the line. The most difficult trick will be for players to re-associate the pictures with their given formations, as the combinations will change each game.

Alabama’s consistency and dominance during the Nick Saban Era has been well-chronicled. However, his willingness to shift philosophies based on personnel and coordinators tends to fly largely under the radar. The power-running, throw only when needed offense during McCarron’s first season was markedly different from the following two seasons in which he slung the ball all over the field. Last year’s hurry-up under Kiffin, with Sims routinely throwing over the top to Amari Cooper, was another shift. This year it’s the play cards. For as much as he’s viewed as an old-school type of coach, Saban has been able (and willing) to adapt to the changing landscape of college football as well as anyone.

Alabama appears to be diving deeper into the no-huddle offense pool.

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