Alabama has a wealth of talent all over their roster, one spot in particular that stands out is at the wide receiver position where they've got a number of guys that are likely to eventually land on NFL rosters, led by Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III.
Having those kinds of weapons at your disposal can make calling plays a lot of fun.
So when I saw a tweet yesterday about the Tide wide receivers using paper-rock-scissors in-game to determine who runs which route (normally the route expected to hit for a big play) I stopped and wondered a number things:
- How are they managing to do that with a no-huddle approach.
- How cool would it be to have guys PHYSICALLY capable of doing that
- How nice would it be to have wide receivers who MENTALLY grasp the concepts so well that they can play multiple positions
- How easy could play calling become when you have guys so talented mentally and physically that they are literally interchangeable weapons and you no longer have to be concerned with dialing up a certain play for a certain guy against a certain coverage you're expecting.
- If I had all of those things...would I be crazy to NOT let them do this?
- Would Nick Saban really let that fly?
Ruggs III was asked about a video going around (below) showing Jeudy and DeVonta Smith dueling in paper-rock-scissors after a play call came in, and provided some context in the interview at the bottom of the page.
Short answer? Yes, the Bama receivers are doing paper-rock-scissors after play calls during games.
If you're a play caller, imagine yourself in Steve Sarkisian's shoes calling the shots. You have an issue with your playmakers doing that? Or you going to demand your playmakers fit into a specific mold within your offense?
Catch Ruggs III full answer in the clip.
https://youtu.be/VpGTrBG0usU