A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE Part 3

Part 3 in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

Getting ready for LSU now opening away from home is always tough but to open at tiger stadium in Baton Rouge is especially tough. 75,000 screaming cajuns, mostly well oiled with liquor for the last 10 days[or longer]makes for an unfriendly setting. The seniors and juniors had been there before. The sophomores never had and it would be a shock for the sophomores.

We had scouted the tigers spring game but little new was shown. This is what we expected the crowd noise would be deafening. We would probably have to go off the center’s snap since the tackles and ends would not hear the qb signals. The tigers defense would be very aggressive especially when “the Chinese Bandits” were in. Linebackers shooting the gaps, later called “red dogging” and today called “blitzing”. Tackles and ends pressuring, we would have to run some draws, screens, maybe the “shovel pass” and a few quick slants to freeze the linebackers.

The offense was pretty unknown, a lot of sophomores. A quarterback with play action passing who would run and throw. They would run inside and outside with a lot of speed in the backfield and at the receivers. Alot of speed on kick returns.

We feel that we can move the ball on this team consistently. We feel that our defense will match up well against the tigers.

Key points of interest.
Crowd noise and play calling.
Tigers defensive aggressiveness.
Tigers speed at receivers, backfield and kick returning.

Defensive coverage in the backfield don’t get suckered on the play action pass and let the receiver get by you.

Our game plan was to take care of the ball, no fumbles or interceptions. Don’t beat ourselves make the tigers drive 70+ yards to score. Don’t give them a short field to score on with a turnover. Give our defense a chance to stop them with that 70+ yard drive to the goal line. No foolish penalty’s.

We expect a low scoring game, with good defense on both sides. A hard played game.

Our prediction Ky 14-LSU 10.

The 44 man travel squad flew out of Bluegrass field with the coaches and some sportscasters, sportswriters on board. A new sportscaster named Cawood Ledford was on board for his first trip with a Ky team. We arrived in Baton Rouge in late afternoon then went to tiger stadium and had a very lite work out under the lights. Mostly just loosening up and getting familiar with the field and lighting. We then had a team dinner, went to a movie and returned to our rooms. Curfew 10:00pm no exceptions.

The next morning team breakfast then around 10:00am a meeting with all players and asst. coaches was called, it went like this.

Coach Ermal Allen called all plays and signals from sideline.

Listen up pay attention this is very important. When you are on the sidelines pay attention at all times, watch whats happening on the field and on the sidelines in front of you, forget whats behind you, stay together with your group. Ends together tackles and guards together backs together quarterback’s on the phone table. Things get wild down there so if you stay with your group we can find you if we need you or your whole group if we need to make an adjustment during the game. Be ready to go in all the time, keep your shoes on and laced up and your helmet handy. Don’t go wandering around, if we need to send you in and we can’t find you, you just cost us a delay of game or caused us to waste a timeout to keep from getting a delay of game penalty. That’s just like getting a penalty on the field or much worse.

If the noise gets bad and you can’t hear the snap signal by the quarterback give him the signal and start going off the snap. We have practiced all this.

Don’t make a bunch of mistakes, run the plays right, don’t give the opponent any short fields to score on. Make them march 70+ yards and we win.

The best way to quiet the crowd is to get in front early and stay in front.

We have 44 players here. We selected each of you to come because we felt you could and would help us win this football game. That’s what we’re here for. Stay alert and have a good game.

The players then went to a short meeting with their position coaches.

In the afternoon around 4:00 pm the pre game meal was held and then off to tiger stadium for dressing, warm ups and the kickoff.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE PT 2

Part 2 in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

The 55 team did not have a “special teams coach” as such, several coaches coached the various special teams. We had kick off and punt teams usually the same team unless some one was injured. We had return teams for both kick offs and punts the same team. We had a team that ran the field goal and extra points the same team.

This team is vital. I just saw where UK was ranked #8 in special teams last year. I remember when Guy Morris had a very good special teams coach. Very good and “special teams”go together don’t they???

Successful play calling by the quarterback and successful defensive signal calling by the MLB is a very complicated process and goes far beyond just one player getting out in front of 10 of his teammates on the field and through the use of numbers, letters and signs in an effort to get his team mates to join him in a common effort against the day’s opponent on the next play don’t guarantee success. It’s complicated, it involves hours an hours of work by the coaching staff scouting teams, watching game film and preparing a game plan. It involves meetings, practice, game input from the sideline coaches and the coaching box upstairs. It involves the situation at hand, line of scrimmage, first down marker, and down marker as well as present score especially if it’s late in the game. And yes it demands confidence. Confidence that the next play//signal you call will be the right one for the play coming up. All this churns around the play clock and if it’s late in the game the time clock. Tough task and not a lot of players can handle this job.

When Bob Hardy was in at quarterback he called about 60% of the plays on the field, no cheat sheets. The other 40% of the calls came from the sideline by substitutes, timeouts, or signals. With back up qb’s in more calls were made from the sideline.

When Dave Kuhn was in at mlb he called about 60% of the defensive signals from the field I don’t recall any cheat sheets.About 40% came from the sideline by subs, timeouts, and signals–with backups in that number called from the sidelines went up.

The 54 team struggled with the play calling process, a new staff, a new offense and defense and everything was slow which resulted in.

#1–Delay of game penalty’s which killed a lot of drives and ended up losing possession of the ball.
#2–Wasted timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s.
#3–Poor selection by the signal caller due to being rushed
#4—More play//signal calling

After the problems in 54 with play and signal calling asst. coach Ermal Allen created a process, a strategy, a system that gave the person on the field and the coaches up stairs a 12 second earlier notice over what they had received in the past. This cut back on

#1–Delay of game penalty’s
#2–wasted use of valuable timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s
#3–rushing of the signal callers and coaches upstairs to make calls in order to beat the play clock–
#4—In 55 i don’t know if 2 way radios were around I couldn’t afford one anyway. I don’t exact know when cell phones came in or text messaging and now twitter.

I don’t know what is being used out there today to transmit information quicker and more reliable and after all that’s part of the play and signal calling process to find out what the line of scrimmage is and how much more to go for a first down or td isn’t it??? There has to be a way to give me and my team that 5 second edge on play calling every down.

Take a stop watch when the guy with the ball goes down start the clock, when the ball is marked and the down marker/line of scrimmage stick is moved stop the clock. How much time did you get??? That’s what you’re working with–saving 5 seconds off that dead time is money in the bank–

It worked for us but wasn’t widely known or discussed. Ii don’t think anyone ever picked it up after coach Allen left for the Cowboys. I am not sure what system was used though coach Bradshaw did talk to me once about it but i wasn’t around much in those days.

Play calling today is even far more complicated than it was in 55. The expanded use of the “spread offense” and use of changing defenses to defend them makes it a new crap shoot entirely. Coach Collier brought the Cleveland browns offense to Ky in 54. It was on the edges of the “spread offense” with wide outs and slot backs and splitting the ends out.

Sid Gilman, head coach at Cincinnati had created a offense that later became known as the “west coast offense” and many people have been credited with it’s invention including the Forty Niner’s coach who won a couple of super bowls with Joe Montana using it, but it was Sid Gilman who created it and it was a beginning strain of “the spread offense”.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE

The first in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

In the summer of 55 I was asked by the majority owner, publisher, and editor of what was probably Kentucky’s largest weekly newspaper, to write a weekly article on the 55 Ky. football team as they went through the season. The publisher wanted something that the Courier Journal did not have, a inside view–sort of a one up situation.

I was concerned about my writing skills since my English 1a and 1b grades were less than superior but the publisher said you get the info together and I will edit it if that’s ok”??? I agreed–and away we went–

The predictions listed in the upcoming series are those made in that column every week. So stay tuned it should be fun. If it isn’t blame it on bill he asked me 6 times.

Those weekly predictions were not just mine but the team’s predictions.

Each week the seniors and about 10 juniors would get together and write the article. I would do that by asking “how do you see this game”??? The answers were very good, deep thinking on everyone’s part. Then I would say “so you are saying this is going to be a hell of a ball game”??? This will be a “take no prisoners game???” An all out brawl??? Score predictions?? Opponents strengths, never list weaknesses.

Then I would write the comments with the prediction and have it picked up at a store in Chevy Chase on Wednesday for publication on Friday.

Background
The team was lead by 13 seniors and a large talented junior class. The senior class came in 52 except one player who came in 51. That senior class had played a lot of minutes along the way. The junior class came in 53 during coach Bryant’s last season at Ky and had played a lot of minutes also. The sophomore class was large but untested in any way. Freshmen were not legible for varsity play in 54, the last year for that was 53. Lou Michael’s looked good in spring practice and would play several minutes. Several other players had possibilities. Some would have to step up and play. so freshmen were not legible in 55.

About 60% of the players would go both ways. Obviously qb’s would not play on defense due to injury risk. A number of soph lineman would play on defense but few would play on offense due to complicated blocking schemes and play learning. A number of sophmore backs would play on offense but few on defense due to pass coverage and play reading problems.

Leadership we had 13 seniors and a talented junior class. Senior bob hardy at quarterback was a 5 year man who had spent 3 years under coach Bryant and 54 under coach Collier, seldom got rattled, seldom made mistakes was in command, called “paddle foot” but now and then picked up a few on the run when other things were shut down. Co-captain and leader.

Senior end Howard Schnellenberger played both ways. Started the third game as a freshman and every game since. Lead the team in minutes played in all 3 years to date and was expected to do so again in 55. Co-captain and a great leader.

The team was organized and confident not cocky the seniors and juniors were experienced and had been through the wars. There were no superstars on this team but instead a group of hard practicing and hard playing group of “blue collar players” who wanted to win and played hard.

The 55 coaching staff had settled in and adjusted-,the full offense and defense had been installed in spring practice.

The 54 season had been “helter skelter” for the team and staff thru no fault of their.

Coach Bryant had suddenly departed in early April 54 for Texas A&M. Coach Collier came on board around April 20th or so and started assembling a staff, but spring practice had not been held and it had to start and quickly coaches or no coaches. So spring practice started and coach Collier continued to hire coaches but there was no other choice than to revert back to the 53 season for offense and defense.

The summer came and then fall practice started. Coach Collier had a full staff of good coaches but several didn’t know the players they would be coaching. 2 a days started with the introduction of a new offense and new defense was attempted but it didn’t mix well with 2 a days and hot weather. So back to the old system with a plan to slowly introduce new plays as we went along. This cost the team a lot of problems and probably at least 1 loss in early season but by mid season everything was pretty much in and the team started cooking. The record in the second half of 54 proves it and the players liked the new offense.

If we are going to play the “blame game” here we probably must blame coach Bryant for not departing in Dec 53 after the season ended or in early 54 after the bowl games. Seldom does a major college football coach depart after late January of any given year.

But 54 was now in the rear view mirror and it’s 55 and looking forward.

Every year all college teams have a few holes to plug due to losing starters and backups so departing starters must be replaced as well as back-ups. I remember a couple of years ago when Locke was #5 on the depth chart at the start of the season but by the 7th or 8th game he was starting you have to be ready.

Incoming classes have to be inducted. They have a hard time adjusting to the speed and agility of the seasoned players.

So the sophomore class of 55 was untested, untried and some of them would have to step up.

Known soft spots.

#1–Back ups at quarterback, some talent but untested and unproven.

#2–Defensive backs, ome sophomores would have to step up. Scary

#3–Back ups at end. We had 3 solid both way ends. We lost one solid 2 way end due to an off campus incident. There was 4-5 sophomores there who were not impressive in spring practice. A couple had to step up.

It is very hard to get “rookie” sophomore players to step up at the following positions.

#1–Defensive secondary–pass coverage and run support.

#2–Offensive line–blocking schemes and various calls.

#3–Kick coverage of any kind “rookies” get over anxious, get out of their lane,lose their spacing instead of staying home. That’s how they run the big one back on you. Unless you have a kicker who kicks the ball a mile high and a cover guy that is a track man who arrives the same time as the ball and creates a fumble,.Stay at home, keep your spacing andstay under control. You’ll get your shot and you won’t have egg on your face and the opponent points on the scoreboard.

The hardest positions to fill.

#1–Defensive backs–most people want to be a quarterback.

#2–Quarterbacks–a mouth full to swallow.

#3–MLB//signal caller–another mouthfull

Toughest position to play.

#1–Quarterback–key to the offense–hours and hours and hours of study and practice.

#2–MLB//defensive signals–key to defense–about 80% of quarterback hardness

#3–Defensive backs–you either get it or you don’t–must have great reaction and agility–you gotta want to play it baby.