Caught the last quarter of yesterday’s game between the Sooners and FSU. The quarterback of one of the teams (if not both) raised one of his legs as a signal for the center to snap him the ball. I have seen this done before in other collegiate games. My question is: if it’s a signal for the center, isn’t it also a signal for the opposing team? What’s the reasoning behind this? Noise from the crowd loud enough so the other players can’t hear? Doesn’t this increase the risk of off-side penalties?
That’s not the only signal to snap the ball. Usual snap counts are something like “on two” … meaning when the QB says "hut for the second time, snap the ball. The lifted leg is merely to tell the center to start the snap count then … it may be a silent count, since it’s harder to hear the QB in the shotgun, so the call could be “count three seconds after I lift my leg then snap it.” The other team still doesn’t know when it’s coming, just that it’s coming sometime – the same they know in a regular snap.
Thanks. I didn’t watch this carefully so I couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed to me that, more often than not - if not always - the ball was snapped almost immediately after the QB had lifted his leg. Could be a simple coincidence. Do you recall having seen this ‘technique’ used in the National League?
I’ve seen the leg lift in the NFL also. It doesn’t look like a can-can to me as much as a dog getting ready to pee.
I think they have to use their leg to give the signal because using their head or hands would probably get a penalty.
Having watched nearly every OU game on TV or at Memorial Stadium this year (don’t get me started on the bastards at Baylor, they wouldn’t let Cox-OKC carry it on the local origination station like they did for all the other non-televised games this year), I can tell you that Josh Heupel uses the stomp to signal the center to snap the ball quite a bit. Nearly every time, the ball is snapped just after he brings his foot down with no attempt to fool the defense. He only does this when the noise is so great that the other players cannot hear him call out an audible snap count. Every OU snap at College Station was taken on a visual cue (Aggies are the loudest fans in the US). This does give away an advantage that the offense has in knowing when the play starts on an audible count, but considering OU’s offensive play style with elaborate formations and misdirection, it gives away less than you might think. In the old days of the up-the-middle, bloody-nose running game, keeping the defense off-guard was critical. Today is a bit different.
Thanks for the additional info.
Bob: I wasn’t aware that using your head (no pun intended) could result in a penalty. QBs quite often look at both sides of the line (theirs and the opponents’) either to bark out signals or detect shifts or cracks in the defensive line. Hands, on the other hand:), could be a different matter.
sewalk: you seem to be confirming my interpretation re: crowd noise and the fact that the ball was usually snapped a second or so after the QB had raised/stomped his leg.