Bielema: Borland retirement shows need to address no-huddle safety issue
By Jerry Hinnen | College Football Writer
March 17, 2015 8:48 pm ET
Bret Bielema isn't backing down from his criticism of the no-huddle offense. (USATSI)
In 2013, then-first year Arkansas coach Bret Bielema became the face of an attempt to restrict college football's increasingly prevalent hurry-up, no-huddle offenses to snaps no quicker than 10 seconds following the previous play, citing the increased injury risk to players who couldn't substitute off the field and saw an increased number of snaps per game.
Bielema saw the proposal came under heavy criticism from his no-huddle-friendly coaching colleagues, watched it eventually get tabled by the NCAA, and even had to walk back comments made citing the death of Cal player Ted Agu as evidence change was needed.
But Bielema has never changed his stance and reaffirmed it once again in an interview with the Sporting News on Tuesday, in which he pointed towards the Monday retirement of his former Wisconsin player Chris Borland as reason college football needed more "awareness" of safety issues posed by no-huddle offenses.
"We have an obligation to do what's right," he said. "I can't understand how some guys can't see that ... It's not about what we want for the game, it's about what the game needs."
Bielema recruited Borland to Wisconsin in 2009, coaching the Big Ten Freshman of the Year for four seasons (one used on a medical redshirt) before leaving to join Arkansas following the 2012 season.
Saying he "can't imagine the thought process" that led to Borland's decision, Bielema was up front with where his concern lies.
"I just read a study that said players in the no-huddle, hurry-up offense play the equivalent of five more games than those that don't. That's an incredible number," he told the Sporting News. "Our awareness as a whole has to increase."
The problem for Bielema's continued crusade is that even if studies show hurry-up-no-huddle players play more snaps and the equivalent of more games, there still haven't been any studies -- that we're aware of -- that show those extra plays and extra games actually lead to extra injuries. (Numbers compiled in the spring of 2014 by CFBMatrix's Dave Bartoo suggested injuries are more closely correlated to player weight than number of snaps.)
Yes, common sense dictates that more plays and more fatigued players should lead to more injuries ... but common sense also dictates that the sun rotates around the Earth. Until Bielema and like-minded coaches can produce data proving (or at least concretely suggesting) that the hurry-up-no-huddle is a safety hazard, don't expect the rulebook to change.
Original CBS Sports Story
By Jerry Hinnen | College Football Writer
March 17, 2015 8:48 pm ET
Bret Bielema isn't backing down from his criticism of the no-huddle offense. (USATSI)
In 2013, then-first year Arkansas coach Bret Bielema became the face of an attempt to restrict college football's increasingly prevalent hurry-up, no-huddle offenses to snaps no quicker than 10 seconds following the previous play, citing the increased injury risk to players who couldn't substitute off the field and saw an increased number of snaps per game.
Bielema saw the proposal came under heavy criticism from his no-huddle-friendly coaching colleagues, watched it eventually get tabled by the NCAA, and even had to walk back comments made citing the death of Cal player Ted Agu as evidence change was needed.
But Bielema has never changed his stance and reaffirmed it once again in an interview with the Sporting News on Tuesday, in which he pointed towards the Monday retirement of his former Wisconsin player Chris Borland as reason college football needed more "awareness" of safety issues posed by no-huddle offenses.
"We have an obligation to do what's right," he said. "I can't understand how some guys can't see that ... It's not about what we want for the game, it's about what the game needs."
Bielema recruited Borland to Wisconsin in 2009, coaching the Big Ten Freshman of the Year for four seasons (one used on a medical redshirt) before leaving to join Arkansas following the 2012 season.
Saying he "can't imagine the thought process" that led to Borland's decision, Bielema was up front with where his concern lies.
"I just read a study that said players in the no-huddle, hurry-up offense play the equivalent of five more games than those that don't. That's an incredible number," he told the Sporting News. "Our awareness as a whole has to increase."
The problem for Bielema's continued crusade is that even if studies show hurry-up-no-huddle players play more snaps and the equivalent of more games, there still haven't been any studies -- that we're aware of -- that show those extra plays and extra games actually lead to extra injuries. (Numbers compiled in the spring of 2014 by CFBMatrix's Dave Bartoo suggested injuries are more closely correlated to player weight than number of snaps.)
Yes, common sense dictates that more plays and more fatigued players should lead to more injuries ... but common sense also dictates that the sun rotates around the Earth. Until Bielema and like-minded coaches can produce data proving (or at least concretely suggesting) that the hurry-up-no-huddle is a safety hazard, don't expect the rulebook to change.
Original CBS Sports Story
