The Evolution of the Game: Quarterback Mechanics Coaches

In the world of five-star recruits, early college commitments, 7v7 tournaments, athletic combines, and private coaches the name of the game is bigger, faster, stronger. Twenty years ago most of these things did not even exist. One common theme that all of these tools fall under is: the evolution of football. With the game constantly changing and becoming more competitive, the athletes are always trying to gain an edge on their competition.  Within the last decade, the edge to gain is in Quarterback mechanics with private coaches. Many coaches out there believe that a quarterbacks mechanics can be altered for the better through specified coaching. Former NFL personnel Jeff Risdon stated I think it's a delicate balancing act to try and do anything major but changing release points, follow through, back shoulder rotation, even how the football is held are all tweaks that can absolutely be done. Anything that is mechanical and a function of movement can be altered. There are four parts to throwing the football: legs, hips, shoulders and arm, which comes along for the ride when the others are done right. 2

Quarterback coach George Whitfield coaches up
high school players at the Elite 11.
Source: tinyurl.com/o2uejyo

One of the most recognizable names in football right now is George Whitfield. Working with the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Bryce Petty, and Teddy Bridgewater, Whitfield has become known in the football world as “The Quarterback Whisperer”. Whitfield likes to think of himself as a Quarterback Mechanics ‘tweaker’, making the correct adjustments in timing and adjustments. Clients are willing to pay upwards of $300 for an hour of Whitfield's time.1 During this time, the ‘QB Whisperer’ takes the players through numerous drills trying to better their footwork, throwing motion, reading of coverage, and overall field awareness. Whitefield is just one of many mechanics coaches, and players of all ages across the nation are trying to better themselves by partaking in these coaches sessions.

Other coaches, such as Tom House, are using a more technologically advanced approach. Located behind the third-base dugout of USC's Dedeaux Field lies the Rod Dedeaux Research and Baseball Institute, a state-of-the-art facility (eight cameras rolling at 1,000 frames-per-second, three-dimensional analysis) that has attracted some of the NFL's most notable quarterbacks3. House, who is a world renowned pitching coach, states that he is a “rotational-athlete evaluator”, and that all rotational athletes have the same kinematic sequencing; hips, shoulders, arms and implement. And depending on the sport, the same mechanics as each other. House's decades of experience with pitchers, combined with his rare high-tech equipment, help him detect and correct even the slightest inaccuracies. He captures all the data by sticking tiny sensors all over the quarterback's body. When the quarterback throws, a computer is able to render a three-dimensional stick-figure representation detailing every phase of his motion, and the 1,000-frame-per-second cameras help both player and coach see what happens in a nanosecond.

The world of college football is changing and with the emphasis on how high a player is ranked recruiting wise, the competition is more fierce than ever. The development of quarterback mechanics through private coaches is a rising trend and shows no signs of slowing down.

1Conn, J. (2012, April 19). Pass Perfect. Retrieved January 26, 2015.

2Dumonjic, A. (2012, August 1). Can a Quarterbacks Mechanics be Altered. Retrieved January 25, 2015.

3Legan, K. (2012, July 25). Pitching guru Tom House also tutors top NFL quarterbacks. Retrieved January 26, 2015