Colorado State University Athletics
In Position: Quarterbacks work on basis of their craft
6/26/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football
Footwork vital to success in Rams' system
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – All the fireworks are seen from above, but the triggering starts at ground level, which is where the Colorado State quarterbacks are spending their summer.
"The main thing is foot work, just to be fundamentally sound," position coach Ronnie Letson said of the homework assignment for his group. "They're actually working on drops and ladders to speed up their feet. Make sure they're throwing on balance and finishing on balance is the main thing.
"It's also making sure their feet are underneath them, so when they do make their throw they can drive. You throw from the ground up, so you want their feet underneath them so they can drive and throw."
To Collin Hill, returning as a redshirt junior after appearing in 10 games in 2018, starting the final four, it makes sense. He says the common rule from head coach Mike Bobo is 80 percent of missed targets are the result of shoddy footwork.
Hill, who has started seven games in a career hampered twice by knee surgery, has hit the point where he can tell the difference, be in competition or throwing to receivers in practice. And it is not the good throws which spell the difference.
"I would say you can tell more when it's a bad ball," Hill said. "If I'm set to you and then I go there, it just feels awkward. I feel if I have my feet underneath me and I throw it, then it feels way different than when I'm all over the place with my feet.
"You're just trying to get your feet as quick as they can be. When I'm out here, I don't think about it much. When I was first out here and I was new, it was 100 percent, counting the steps in my head. Now, I think if you do it enough, it just becomes second nature."
After four years in the system, the process is starting to feel more like muscle memory for him. As his starts started to build, so did his production, as he finished the season throwing for 1,387 yards, completing 59 percent of his attempts.
For some of the others in the meeting room, not so much, and they've found there is specific footwork in Bobo's system that translates to success. At the end of the spring camp, Patrick O'Brien headed for the break with a checklist in hand, courtesy of Letson.
"They all have a little bit of difference. Pat was false stepping a bit," Letson said. "I told him when spring was over, this is something you've got to be working on. He said he'd been working on it, so I want him to continue working on that. We only get one hour with them without a ball, so, you don't get a whole lot of time with them. You want them to really work on the little things."
As he noted, those key details are what help separate players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady from the rest of the pack.
Both players said footwork is something which can be corrected on their own, in a living room, though some conditioning drill they do also put them in pattern. They pay particular attention during individual drills, using seven-on-seven sessions to work more on reading defenses and going to the right spot. Eventually, the goal is to have it all come together and remain in the back of the mind.
"In this offense, it's definitely different than what I've done before," O'Brien said. "Like Collin said, it's with timing. And with protections, the offensive line is thinking where you should be, and your foot work has got to be perfect so you can get the best protection you can possibly get.
"When I went back home, that's what I've been working on. When I'm here, just keeping it in the back of my head, just trying to get better at it because I know that's something I need to work on. It's going to get there eventually."
"The main thing is foot work, just to be fundamentally sound," position coach Ronnie Letson said of the homework assignment for his group. "They're actually working on drops and ladders to speed up their feet. Make sure they're throwing on balance and finishing on balance is the main thing.
"It's also making sure their feet are underneath them, so when they do make their throw they can drive. You throw from the ground up, so you want their feet underneath them so they can drive and throw."
To Collin Hill, returning as a redshirt junior after appearing in 10 games in 2018, starting the final four, it makes sense. He says the common rule from head coach Mike Bobo is 80 percent of missed targets are the result of shoddy footwork.
Hill, who has started seven games in a career hampered twice by knee surgery, has hit the point where he can tell the difference, be in competition or throwing to receivers in practice. And it is not the good throws which spell the difference.
"I would say you can tell more when it's a bad ball," Hill said. "If I'm set to you and then I go there, it just feels awkward. I feel if I have my feet underneath me and I throw it, then it feels way different than when I'm all over the place with my feet.
"You're just trying to get your feet as quick as they can be. When I'm out here, I don't think about it much. When I was first out here and I was new, it was 100 percent, counting the steps in my head. Now, I think if you do it enough, it just becomes second nature."
After four years in the system, the process is starting to feel more like muscle memory for him. As his starts started to build, so did his production, as he finished the season throwing for 1,387 yards, completing 59 percent of his attempts.
For some of the others in the meeting room, not so much, and they've found there is specific footwork in Bobo's system that translates to success. At the end of the spring camp, Patrick O'Brien headed for the break with a checklist in hand, courtesy of Letson.
"They all have a little bit of difference. Pat was false stepping a bit," Letson said. "I told him when spring was over, this is something you've got to be working on. He said he'd been working on it, so I want him to continue working on that. We only get one hour with them without a ball, so, you don't get a whole lot of time with them. You want them to really work on the little things."
As he noted, those key details are what help separate players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady from the rest of the pack.
Both players said footwork is something which can be corrected on their own, in a living room, though some conditioning drill they do also put them in pattern. They pay particular attention during individual drills, using seven-on-seven sessions to work more on reading defenses and going to the right spot. Eventually, the goal is to have it all come together and remain in the back of the mind.
"In this offense, it's definitely different than what I've done before," O'Brien said. "Like Collin said, it's with timing. And with protections, the offensive line is thinking where you should be, and your foot work has got to be perfect so you can get the best protection you can possibly get.
"When I went back home, that's what I've been working on. When I'm here, just keeping it in the back of my head, just trying to get better at it because I know that's something I need to work on. It's going to get there eventually."
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