They can enforce this in the same way they enforce penalties for saying the wrong thing to an official. One does not have the right to free speech on a football field.

The Walsh playbook on 8/232 the page marked 6 atop, he shows a way of creating a mismatch via formation. The same formation, with base personnel in different positions. He puts X to HB and HB to X. The corner moves out, it lets him shift X to the second TE and suddenly he’s got LB by rules or a free safety on him.

He used the exact same tactic(perhaps minus the shift, but from putting X to second TE in aligment) in the second Super Bowl win over the Bengals. Paul Brown had a hybrid type of TE in the Walsh assistant days and it coincided with Walsh’s arrival. Walsh basically wrote of using the trick plays before an opponent in the big games, a thing he learned from Paul Brown, Sr. This was an example of that as well, using a tactic he honed while working with the man, when the West Coast Offense was still the Ohio Valley Offense.

Eventually he did that item directly with a position change, putting Earl Cooper to tight end, from his backfield position in the first Super season they had. He became a fixture there and it let his speed get off the line faster as a downfield target. Thus he had a hybrid tight end in position to mirror the same tactic he used as a Bengals coach. He also used Rodger Craig to in a veriety of places to get that formation matchup in the pass game.

That being said, I think this is a stupid rule. Who is it exactly that has a problem with notes on the eye-black? Although I thought Pryor’s support of Vick was somewhat ridiculous, it did not upset me in the least.

As you might guess, playing college football was a privilege.

Anyway, I’ve always been thoroughly unimpressed with the USC defensive staff. They do less with more while their counterparts at Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and wherever Nick Saban happens to be, end up wildly outperforming USC in relation to recruiting success/NFL output vs. Defensive efficiency.

USC’s uber-simple 43 Under works because they always have better athletes than their opponents. Whenever they meet a team with equal athletes, they are embarrassed and their coaches have their pants around their legs ( Oregon any time they have a quarterback.) USC just put such a stranglehold on CFB recruiting the past 8 years, no one has been able to consistently get the athletes they have. Nick Saban got more out of his kids in two years than Carroll did in 5.

Walsh manual was a good find; I’ve been through his Quarterback Fundamental Booklet multiple times and it gives pertinent advice towards today, perhaps the most important of which is a staggered progression when teaching the basics (footwork until it becomes acceptable, footwork + load, footwork + load + release, etc.)Great reminder to never put too much on a kid when teaching the most difficult position in sports.

Players have no right to play football. It is no different than an employer having a dress code. It is a condition of employment or in this case the opportunity to play college football. Would you object to players having profanity on their eye black? And if so where would the line be drawn as to what is profane and what isn’t. Also, should players be allowed to write whatever they want, where ever they want on their uniforms? The NCAA is merely eliminating what could potentially be a can of worms. If they eliminate all writing, then they don’t have to deal with possible litigation regarding banning some writing and allowing other writing.