American football's difficult development ladder at linebacker
The assembly of a championship roster is wildly different from high school to college to the NFL. The consequences of a fragmented system loom large over core positions like linebacker.
“We’re going to be pro-style.”
That’s often been one of fans’ favorite things to hear from a new college head coach or coordinator in describing their strategic vision for the program. The major benefit of being “pro-style” is generally in recruiting. You want to be able to sell recruits on playing in schemes which will showcase their abilities for the next level of play.
Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan are a good example of the potential of this sales pitch. Michigan recruited at a top 15 level under Harbaugh but produced NFL Draft picks at much higher rate. The NFL loves talent, but it also loves talent that’s already been taught the right techniques.
Here’s the problem, pro-style methods are tougher. And the pros don’t develop their styles based on the same considerations that go into developing college schemes for winning program. Additionally, high school coaches don’t get based on whether their kids go play in the NFL. Just like college coaches, they get paid based on results in the standings.
Whereas in international futbol (soccer), big time clubs pick out talents from young ages and invest in their development, American football is much more bottom up. This makes the game more fun at every level, but it has repercussions in how talent acquisition and development plays out at each respective level. You can see the impacts most keenly at two major infrastructure positions. Quarterback, which we discuss all the time, and linebacker.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to America's War Game to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.