“Huddle” application could give Huskers recruiting edge

By Marc Hudgens  |   Sunday, August 03, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
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A recent column in the New York Times states that Agile Sports Technologies’ “Huddle” program, created by former Nebraska students, is like Facebook because it's an Internet community where a versatile electronic playbook and a communication link between coaches and players exist.

Greg Bishop, the columnist, went on to say that the New York Jets will use it this season, largely because ex-Huskers coach Bill Callahan loved it while in Lincoln and carried it with him to his new assistant head coaching position at the Meadowlands.

But the most interesting part of the column is when Bishop wrote, “(Jets) rookies like linebacker Vernon Gholston and tight end Dustin Keller were able to log in while still in college so they could start learning the Jets’ playbook.”

Well, if the Jets can allow draft prospects to play around with it, maybe the Huskers can do the same thing with recruiting prospects.

Maybe, however, NCAA rules prohibit that; then again, maybe not. The bylaws book is too much a myriad of legalese for most laymen to figure out.

At the same time, though, one has to think about Alabama coach Nick Saban, who got around the rule named after him by using a Web cam. Furthermore, LSU’s Les Miles and Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer are using the Internet as a recruiting tool. So, if the Internet is a loophole, perhaps "Huddle" could be used as one for Nebraska. The program, on the other hand, unlike a Web cam, seems to not be restricted to just video; rather, it is also highly interactive in that coaches could draw up plays and show them to prospects. The video game feel to it will likely appeal to tons of youngsters.

Certainly this is no replacement for face-to-face meetings; after all, few things beat a home visit by the head coach. But Saban and others have demonstrated that head coaches are no longer restricted to certain times and ways of meeting.

And "Huddle" would give the Huskers quite an edge.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He ...
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