Computer Playbook

[Husker_Power]

NU Football: Players can study their assignments on computer screen

BY MICHAEL BRUNTZ

WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

 

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LINCOLN — David Graff noticed the pages. The diagrams with circles and lines. Arrows pointing where the "circle" should run and cut. Boxes where a receiver should end his route and look for the ball. Dotted lines where the tight end should go if he sees the middle of the field closed, or MOFC.

 

 

In the Huddle System, a play can have videos, voice recordings, written comments and scouting report information directly linked to it.To the layman, and probably to a multitude of college football players, it also could be MC, as in mighty confusing.

 

Yet, there they went, Nebraska players heading home after practice lugging binders full of these pages, six black and white plays per sheet. The players were expected to learn what circle moves where for a set number of plays before the next game.

 

Graff, who worked in the Nebraska sports information office from 2004 through 2006, thought there must be a better way. Now, through a project that has largely slipped below the average Husker fan's radar, Nebraska players and coaches are using a system created by Graff and two of his classmates that makes the contents of a traditional playbook seem as dated as the wishbone offense.

 

Some within the Husker program have been using the system for two months, and it is receiving positive reviews.

 

"We looked at the six-plays-to-a-page paper playbook and said, 'It's not exciting,'" Graff said. "Nothing was looking at the players' side of things. Most of the focus was on the coaches."

 

That all changes with the Huddle System and its virtual playbook that became a design studio project in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's J.D. Edwards Honors Program, of which Graff, Brian Kaiser and John Wirtz were members.

 

 

Graff & Co. presented a prototype of their Huddle System to Nebraska coach Bill Callahan and his staff in February 2006. A few months later, they created their own company, Agile Sports Technologies. The company added more features and received feedback from the Nebraska coaching staff during the developmental stages.

 

While computer simulators and viewing video of football plays by computer via DVD are not new concepts, the interactive and portable nature of a virtual playbook advances the idea. Having it available throughout an entire organization is potentially an invaluable learning tool, particularly in an advanced offensive system based on West Coast principles, such as Nebraska's.

 

"Coach Callahan is really receptive to new technologies, so he's been a really good guy to work with," said Graff, the company's CEO. "He's a very progressive coach from that standpoint."

 

Nebraska became the first school to use the software when coaches, quarterbacks and safeties started in June. Other positions will be using it as the 2007 season progresses.

 

For football players who grew up on video games and the Internet, learning the system has been relatively easy.

 

In Agile's Lincoln office recently, Graff gave a visitor a look. Flipping open his laptop and logging on as Callahan, Graff deftly exhibited the Huddle System's features. One was immediately apparent: The use of video is a clear improvement over plays diagramed in the paper-filled binders.

 

Opening a video from last year's Texas game, Graff used a telestrator feature (the tool John Madden made famous on NFL broadcasts) to draw onto the video. He scribbled a few notes and then had the option of choosing names from a list of players to whom he could send the video clips to be viewed on laptops at home.

 

Quarterback hopeful Sam Keller, who transferred from Arizona State before the 2006 season, was one of the first to begin using the system. This summer, he's been watching video of Nevada, Wake Forest and Southern Cal at home at night after throwing with receivers during the day.

 

"This helps me fine-tune my knowledge of the verbiage," Keller said. "It's been a huge help. Given that I was putting in so much time, having this thing at home is great because I'm not spending even longer hours at the stadium watching video."

 

Keller said he particularly likes the feature that allows him to quiz himself on the best plays to run against different defensive formations.

 

At Arizona State, he said the entire team had access to a single simulator at its practice facility. "We had to go up there and use it when nobody was there," he said. "It was nothing as awesome as this. This is top of the line."

 

Graff, Kaiser and Wirtz were not alone in developing the software. Other students in the J.D. Edwards program helped. Eleven of the 12 Agile employees are either current students or graduates of the J.D. Edwards program.

 

"They were stars around the program," J.D. Edwards Program Director David Keck said of Graff, Wirtz and Kaiser. "Their presence was felt no matter what they were doing. They have a lot of ideas for the future."

 

Agile could soon be expanding its reach. The company is in discussions with some NFL teams about using the software and is continuing to develop software that could be used in baseball and basketball. Some Texas high school coaches also have expressed interest in using the program.

 

Currently, the software must be loaded on each player's computer, but Graff said the company hopes to have the program Internet-based in the future, which would make the software more accessible to high schools.

 

For now, the developers are eager to see how the system holds up to the rigors of the college football season.

 

"That's the true test; when they start pushing (the system) to its limits," Kaiser said. "That's why we wanted to get the ball rolling. We're excited and on our guard to respond to any issues that might come up."

 

 

 

How it works

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In the past, Nebraska coaches sent thick three-ring binders full of formations home with players so they could study plays and coverages.

 

With a computer program developed by Agile Sports Technologies, a company started by former athletic department employee and UNL student David Graff and two classmates, coaches now can use video to show plays in motion on a computer.

 

Voice recordings, written comments and scouting report information can also be loaded on to players' computers to complement the video.

 

Nebraska became the first school to use the software when coaches, quarterbacks and safeties started in June. Other positions will be using it as the 2007 season progresses.A non-descript press release issued by UNL in April about final projects completed in the J.D. Edwards program gave the first public notice of the system to be used by the Nebraska football program.

 

"A play can have videos, voice recordings, written comments and scouting report information directly linked to it," the release stated. "Plays can be updated and immediately transferred to every player's laptop or tablet PC when synchronized.

 

"Furthermore, each play can be stored with multiple variations based on various coverage, blitz and front scenarios, and players can quickly 'self-test' themselves on any play by wiping the routes and blocking schemes off the play, redrawing them, and receiving immediate feedback from the system."

[bethelbacker]

That sounds like a really interesting and, more importantly, extremely useful tool for players and coaches. When I played in college, one of the biggest pains in the ass was when we had to negotiate times to get access to footage and facilities so we could all meet as position groups to review film of ourselves and upcoming opponents. On top of that, getting the d-coordinator in there was another task that was tough. With this, the coach can give input on what to watch for without him having to actually be there, and all the players can get the footage sent right to their computer instead of having to hunt down a DVD. This is an awesome development to hear about, and it's nice that the Huskers are the first to utilize it.

[Necava Husker]

Opening a video from last year's Texas game, Graff used a telestrator feature (the tool John Madden made famous on NFL broadcasts) to draw onto the video. He scribbled a few notes and then had the option of choosing names from a list of players to whom he could send the video clips to be viewed on laptops at home.

This sounds awesome! I am surprised they are not using something like this in the NFL. Cutting edge stuff indeed.

[Foppa]

There was alot to like about this article, but I loved the fact that Nebraska is leading the charge on this technology...I'm really surprised that this hasn't been implemented earlier, but oh well...glad it is catching on with the players and that it is working and helping.

[Necava Husker]

There was alot to like about this article, but I loved the fact that Nebraska is leading the charge on this technology...I'm really surprised that this hasn't been implemented earlier, but oh well...glad it is catching on with the players and that it is working and helping.

 

I expect other teams, pro and college, will be quick to follow NUs lead on this. In a couple of years this technology will be the norm.

[HuskerJosh82]

Does it make the play book more excessable to other teams? I hope not.

[Husker_N_TX]

Does it make the play book more excessable to other teams? I hope not.

Could be an opposing d-coord's wet dream..

[Husker_Power]

Does it make the play book more excessable to other teams? I hope not.

Could be an opposing d-coord's wet dream..

I'm sure Graff & Co, thought about that before and took measures against that...remember UNL was one of the colleges that got caught illegally downloading music, so that had to have been a factor.

[Foppa]

Does it make the play book more excessable to other teams? I hope not.

Could be an opposing d-coord's wet dream..

I'm sure Graff & Co, thought about that before and took measures against that...remember UNL was one of the colleges that got caught illegally downloading music, so that had to have been a factor.

 

That's an understatement...EVERY college throughout the nation is getting burned by the RIAA...or at least their students are...

 

But I understand...no one puts up with the crap product that the RIAA tries to throw out anymore...I wouldn't be surprised at their new business model. "Our music sucks, our industry has tanked, so we'll sue everyone to make money now."

 

This is a completely different scenario, and I like how Nebraska is using it, sounds good...

[Overland Park Husker]

Does it make the play book more excessable to other teams? I hope not.

Could be an opposing d-coord's wet dream..

I'm sure that each program is tailored to each team and it's done on site. You really think their going to give out every teams playbook to the others?

[Landlord]

Wait a second...

 

 

 

shouldn't they all be spending their time picking corn and eating lots of meat?

 

[MCAT800]

Sounds great but the Univ needs to buy the technology and not let it get out to other teams.

[Axl_sued_me]

Great, so now people can quit complaining about an 8 lbs. playbook. And start complaining about a 20 GB playbook.

[General Blackshirt]

Great, so now people can quit complaining about an 8 lbs. playbook. And start complaining about a 20 GB playbook.

haha

[adc7236]

GREAT IDEA!!!! I think Graff & Co just stumbled into a a million dollar company in the near future.