As opposed to the NFL.
What’s in vogue now? How do their typical base defenses and offensive sets differ from the big boys?
Many (though certainly not all) major college teams currently run some form of the “Spread” offense, which is generally not used as a “base” offense in the NFL (though the “Wildcat” which the Miami Dolphins popularized a few seasons ago seems to be related to the spread).
Is the perception that college quarterbacks now are much more mobile than 20 years ago correct? Seems like Vick and Newton are the archetype of a modern college QB.
Depends on the team. There’s a lot more room for successful experimentation in college ball. But some teams (like my Crimson Tide) runs a offensive style which is very much like the NFL.
The “read option” also seems to be hot, where the QB reads the actions of a DLineman and runs or pitches accordingly.
The “wildcat” offense (direct snapping to a running back, originally Darren McFadden at Arkansas) seems to be less in vogue than it was a few years back.
Like Ogre said, depends on the offense. Andrew Luck at Stanford is going to be the #1 pick next year, and although he’s an excellent athlete, he’s a prototypical NFL drop-back passer.
IMO, there is such a dichotomy of talent in CFB, that the coach employ an offense that best exploits their strengths.
A great college player may or may not translate well into the pros. Look how many recent Heisman Trophy winners have not performed well in the NFL.
CFB and the NFL are really different animals.
This seems to be particularly true of Heisman-winning quarterbacks. Looking at QBs who’ve won the Heisman in the past 25 years:
1986 Vinny Testaverde – wound up having a reasonably good (and quite long) career, though he struggled mightily in his yearly years with Tampa Bay.
1989 Andre Ware – first-round draft choice by the Lions. Played four seasons in Detroit, and one with the Raiders, mostly as a backup, then played in the CFL and NFL Europe.
1990 Ty Detmer – ninth-round draft choice by the Packers. Had a journeyman 11-year career, mostly as a backup, with five teams.
1992 Gino Torretta – seventh-round draft choice, only ever played in two NFL games.
1993 Charlie Ward – opted for a career in the NBA, after it became apparent he wasn’t going to be a high draft choice in the NFL.
1996 Danny Wuerffel – fourth-round draft choice, 6-year career, mostly as a backup
2000 Chris Weinke – won the Heisman at age 28, having spent six years in the Blue Jays farm system before going to Florida State. Drafted in the fourth round, 5-year career, started 15 games as a rookie, but only 5 games in the next four years.
2001 Eric Crouch – drafted by the Rams as a wide receiver in the third round. Never played in the NFL, though he played as a safety in NFL Europe, and as a quarterback in the CFL for one season.
2002 Carson Palmer – first overall pick in the draft, had several very good seasons with the Bengals before injuries took their toll. “Retired” because he didn’t want to play in Cincinnati any longer, and was traded to the Raiders two weeks ago.
2003 Jason White – undrafted by the NFL, eventually signed with the Titans as a free agent, but retired without ever playing in the NFL (citing bad knees).
2004 Matt Leinart – first-round pick of the Cardinals, was supposed to be well-suited to playing in the NFL. Looked promising as a rookie, but was injured in his second season, lost his starting job to Kurt Warner, and is now a backup in Houston.
2006 Troy Smith – fifth round pick of the Ravens. Played 3 seasons (mostly as a backup) with the Ravens, then played last season with the 49ers, where he started six games, but was released after the season. Currently in the UFL.
2007 Tim Tebow – first-round pick of the Broncos in 2010 (he won the Heisman as a sophomore). Has been the focus of much debate on his abilities, and whether or not his skills are well-suited to playing quarterback in the NFL (before the draft, many suggested he’d be better off changing positions). Won the starting QB job with Denver two weeks ago.
2008 Sam Bradford – first overall pick by the Rams in 2010. Promising rookie season last year, and his starts aren’t too bad this year, either, but his team isn’t good this year, and he’s getting sacked a lot.
2010 Cam Newton – first overall pick by the Panthers in 2011. There was considerable debate over how well he’d pick up the pro game, but he won the starting job in training camp, and has been pretty effective so far as both a passer and runner.
So, to sum up – in the past 25 years, 15 quarterbacks have won the Heisman. Of those:
- Two (Testaverde, Palmer) have had what would be considered good pro careers (and Palmer’s has been hampered by injury)
- Seven have stuck in the league for a while, but primarily as backups
- Three never played in the NFL
- The most recent three have shown various levels of promise, but the jury is still out
Is the wishbone pretty much dead now in I-A (at least among those with Top 25 pretensions)?
I was going to say that the wishbone has been dead for 20 years, but doesn’t Georgia Tech run something like it?
“Flexbone”–a hybrid of spread and wishbone offenses. Navy also runs the same offense.