Mailbag question: College quarterbacks

Posted at 4:00pm — 8/2/2010

Mailbag question: College quarterbacks

Hi guys,

Congratulations on your new site. Whatever you are doing, do it more!

Everyone knows that great college QB’s often do not make it in the pros because of throwing mechanics. And by the time they are pros, it is often said that they are too old (?) to change.

Now if I know that, every college coach in the country must know. Every high school coach in the country must know. Many young QB’s must know.

So how do these kids make it to the pros without proper mechanics? When new QB’s arrive at UM, why don’t the coaches teach them great mechanics? Is it too late by the time a player is 18 (that’s true in other fields, such as classical musicians)? I would think that the players would insist on it, great mechanics are good for them and good for the team.

Go Blue!

Guanxi

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Thanks for the question.

Well, poor quarterback mechanics are the single toughest thing in football to change. One old saying goes like this: “People like leopards do not change their spots.” It is difficult to change an arm slot and create exemplary mechanics. Think of converting your handwriting from one hand to another and being expected to have better handwriting at the end of the process.

This is true at every level, but the NFL is an organization with a minimum of time and/or patience for development. By the time most quarterbacks have reached the high school level, they have thrown incorrectly 1000’s of times.

You can teach, preach, stand on your head, or scream and changing improper fundamentals is still a significant coaching challenge. Essentially what must happen is a process of kinesthetic re-education, and the older a person is the more resistive the motor centers in the brain are to changing locked-in motor/neural patterns.

By the time most quarterbacks reach high school they have played four or five years of football and have had two or three different coaches.

It is like fixing a golf swing, you might take lessons, watch a video, or read a book, but if you have practiced a swing long enough incorrectly, it is difficult to fix.

This brings up another expression coaches use:” I would prefer to get a player before they learn bad habits than correct them.”

We remember the discussions about Chad Henne, who played well early on, but also had many mechanical issues. The situation of an elite talent encompasses not only learning but also whom a talented quarterback trusts?

Some players rely on past coaches or others they have known for a long time and are reluctant to change a motion, even though they admire the coaches working with them at the college level.

Frequently “the others” aren’t the best source of information and advice.

Sometimes it takes a “shock” like motivation brought about by thinking about the payday from an NFL future before a quarterback seeks out and listens to the best quarterback help available, which many times was right in front of him all along.

Written by GBMWolverine Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!