Prelude to a play

Sporting News, The, Sept 7, 1998 by Terry Frei

On most plays, one or the other is considered the first-priority "hot" receiver, but both have to be aware that Germaine might need to throw the ball quickly, and if they're looking, the receivers can help make the cost of the blitz prohibitive. The adjustments have to be made after the snap, but thinking about the possibilities before the snap is crucial.

Their quarterback, meanwhile, is scanning, and this continues through the cadence. "I'm looking over the defense to see what kind of front they're in and where the secondary is positioned," Germaine says. "I'm looking for the keys even then to tip us off about what kind of defense they might be running."

It doesn't necessarily have to be anything to scare him out of a specific play to an audible. Say Germaine knows he's supposed to mm left and fake a handoff to Wiley going to the weakside, then "stutter" with his feet, roll out to the fight and throw a quick pass to Lumpkin. That play might work out even better because West Virginia strongside linebacker Chris Edmonds, essentially a defensive end, has positioned himself outside Lumpkin and gotten down in a "track" stance, virtually announcing he's coming after Germaine. But the pressure is on Germaine to get through the fake handoff quickly, turn faster and deliver the pass with urgency before he is sacked. He needs to know that before the snap, because he will have his back turned to Edmonds in the instants after the play starts.

The prodding hollers are coming from teammates and coaches on the sideline, and the later in the game this is, the more hoarse the voices and the more urgent the tone.

Wiley might be trying to decide whether he'll be :needed to stay in the backfield to block on a pass, or venture out as a receiver. If one of the backs is going to help in pass protection, he usually wants to go the opposite way line "slide," to protect the backside. So Wiley and Keller also talk, making sure they know which way each is going in pass protection and, if possible, the pass route. When Wiley is planning to become a possible receiver, he needs to identify the nature of the coverage, too, because sometimes not ascertaining the kind of traffic he can encounter will leave Germaine without the safety valve against severe pressure. "You can get caught underneath with the linemen if you're not careful," Wiley says. "And if I'm going out, if I've seen it's a two-deep zone, I know the safety will be deeper and I won't have to be as concerned with him. That allows me more room."

Germaine reaches under Kurt Murphy.

Up in the press box, in the Ohio State booth, Tim Salem, the quarterbacks coach, is hoping that all those hours of study--all week in relation to this opponent and over the years in general--will help Germaine.

"Every week that quarterback is getting ready for another final exam," Salem says. "He's taking a class Monday through Friday, with the final exam on Saturday."

So each play can be a test question, and there is little opportunity for guessing or bluffing--and certainly not for procrastination, because that 25-second clock is ticking down.