AJ Blazek working on new snap
The "dead snap" is revolutionizing the quarterback-center exchange
More teams than ever before will break spiral-snap tradition and rely on the dead snap in 2017, as assistant coaches nurtured in the spread era flood sidelines and under-center playbooks become historical references. In 2016, 84 percent of snaps were run from the pistol or shotgun formation, a 33 percent increase since just 2011.
"This is something you're going to see more of," Rutgers offensive line coach AJ Blazek said.
Blazek was persuaded to experiment with football's primordial function by Northwestern assistant Adam Cushing, who was at a crossroads with his centers after the 2015 season. They couldn't snap the ball on target. His offensive coordinator, with each errant Saturday snap, would remind him of that. Seven snaps that season were classified as a disaster.
As Cushing canvassed the snapping landscape in his offseason probe, he noticed Michigan and a few other schools' centers peculiarly palming the football's nose rather than grabbing the laces in shotgun. They flipped and floated it back, allowing it to hang in the air without much rotation. It was a landmark judgment favoring precision over power.
That crude simplicity is the dead snap's most attractive feature. Once the ball is spotted, the center places the back point of the ball in his palm rather than gripping it like a quarterback arming a spiral. The nose is then placed into the ground so the ball is at a 45-degree angle with an inch of the ball grazing the turf. The fingers are spread, usually with one across the laces or seam to help with grip. Then with the wrist locked, the center swings his arm back like a pendulum and releases.
"Life changing," Cushing said.....
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...p-revolutionizing-quarterback-center-exchange
The "dead snap" is revolutionizing the quarterback-center exchange
More teams than ever before will break spiral-snap tradition and rely on the dead snap in 2017, as assistant coaches nurtured in the spread era flood sidelines and under-center playbooks become historical references. In 2016, 84 percent of snaps were run from the pistol or shotgun formation, a 33 percent increase since just 2011.
"This is something you're going to see more of," Rutgers offensive line coach AJ Blazek said.
Blazek was persuaded to experiment with football's primordial function by Northwestern assistant Adam Cushing, who was at a crossroads with his centers after the 2015 season. They couldn't snap the ball on target. His offensive coordinator, with each errant Saturday snap, would remind him of that. Seven snaps that season were classified as a disaster.
As Cushing canvassed the snapping landscape in his offseason probe, he noticed Michigan and a few other schools' centers peculiarly palming the football's nose rather than grabbing the laces in shotgun. They flipped and floated it back, allowing it to hang in the air without much rotation. It was a landmark judgment favoring precision over power.
That crude simplicity is the dead snap's most attractive feature. Once the ball is spotted, the center places the back point of the ball in his palm rather than gripping it like a quarterback arming a spiral. The nose is then placed into the ground so the ball is at a 45-degree angle with an inch of the ball grazing the turf. The fingers are spread, usually with one across the laces or seam to help with grip. Then with the wrist locked, the center swings his arm back like a pendulum and releases.
"Life changing," Cushing said.....
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...p-revolutionizing-quarterback-center-exchange
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