TDArkansasOhmy
08-04-2007, 03:29 PM
TULSA — Paul Smith did a little extra reading during winter break.
The book: "The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle: An Offensive Philosophy.”
The author: his new coach.
When Tulsa hired Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator in January, Smith hoped to learn as much as possible about him. This being the quarterback's senior season and all, he wanted to know what offensive mad scientist might be brewing in T-Town.
Smith found Malzahn's book to be good reading.
Very good.
"I was very excited right off the bat,” he said Thursday during Tulsa's football media day. "There's a lot on my shoulders, but it's working out great so far.”
Malzahn's offense has been described as recess. He has said the idea of the hurry-up, no-huddle spread came to him when he realized how well the two-minute drill worked. He figured if it was successful at the end of a half, why couldn't it work the entire game?
It did in the high school ranks. It might have at Arkansas.
More on that later.
Only time will tell whether Malzahn's offense will work at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane have turned a major corner, recovering from 11 consecutive losing seasons and going to a bowl three of the past four years. Still, this is a mid-major program that doesn't always snag the most sought-after recruits.
Spend some time around Smith, though, and you get the feeling he's dying to nudge you, give you a knowing look and say, "Watch this.”
Smith is basking in this challenge of learning an entirely new offense, relishing in this role of leading a potentially explosive offense.
Smith is a coach's kid. His father, Ron, coached at Midwest City, then at Deer Creek, Owasso and now at Bartlesville as a head coach. Paul has been around locker rooms and film sessions and coaches' meetings all his life.
He loves this stuff.
"This is definitely something that I'm embracing,” Smith said. "When you can show that you can adjust to a new system, it's going to help you at the next level.”
He paused, realizing his momentary fast-forward.
"Obviously, I'm focused on this season,” he said. "And I think this system is going to be more fun and better fitting for me.”
Smith can throw. He has more than 5,500 passing yards in the past two seasons. He can run, too, with more than 500 rushing yards during that same period. But as much as anything, he can think and react and adjust.
"He's not going to let anything shake him,” left tackle Walter Boyd said. "To learn all this stuff in the spring and come back in the fall and have 20 days to fine-tune it before we play our first game, most people on the outside would think that's pretty difficult. But when you have a guy like Paul ... it makes it a lot easier.”
Consider this: Smith could've graduated last May but decided to hold off. He will take 12 hours this fall even though he has enough credits right now. He's already earned a degree in communications with a minor in marketing.
Smith might be just the guy to handle the Malzahn madness.
"Him being in full control,” Smith said, "I was (excited) to see what he was going to be able to do.”
Ah, yes. Full control. It's something Malzahn never had last season at Arkansas.
You remember the details: Houston Nutt hired Malzahn in 2005, plucking him from Arkansas' high school ranks. Malzahn had been wildly successful at Springdale and Shiloh Christian, winning three state titles in eight years. He was supposed to infuse new energy into the Razorbacks.
Then, Southern Cal drubbed Arkansas in its season opener, and Malzahn's no-huddle became a no-no. The calls were Malzahn's, but the philosophies were not. He never got the chance to really run his offense.
That doesn't look to be the case at Tulsa. First-year head coach Todd Graham intends to give Malzahn input about opposing defenses. Past that, he will be hands off.
Having Smith gives him peace of mind to do just that.
The quarterback has watched the videos and studied the plays and even read the book.
This season, Smith wants to write his own chapter.
The book: "The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle: An Offensive Philosophy.”
The author: his new coach.
When Tulsa hired Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator in January, Smith hoped to learn as much as possible about him. This being the quarterback's senior season and all, he wanted to know what offensive mad scientist might be brewing in T-Town.
Smith found Malzahn's book to be good reading.
Very good.
"I was very excited right off the bat,” he said Thursday during Tulsa's football media day. "There's a lot on my shoulders, but it's working out great so far.”
Malzahn's offense has been described as recess. He has said the idea of the hurry-up, no-huddle spread came to him when he realized how well the two-minute drill worked. He figured if it was successful at the end of a half, why couldn't it work the entire game?
It did in the high school ranks. It might have at Arkansas.
More on that later.
Only time will tell whether Malzahn's offense will work at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane have turned a major corner, recovering from 11 consecutive losing seasons and going to a bowl three of the past four years. Still, this is a mid-major program that doesn't always snag the most sought-after recruits.
Spend some time around Smith, though, and you get the feeling he's dying to nudge you, give you a knowing look and say, "Watch this.”
Smith is basking in this challenge of learning an entirely new offense, relishing in this role of leading a potentially explosive offense.
Smith is a coach's kid. His father, Ron, coached at Midwest City, then at Deer Creek, Owasso and now at Bartlesville as a head coach. Paul has been around locker rooms and film sessions and coaches' meetings all his life.
He loves this stuff.
"This is definitely something that I'm embracing,” Smith said. "When you can show that you can adjust to a new system, it's going to help you at the next level.”
He paused, realizing his momentary fast-forward.
"Obviously, I'm focused on this season,” he said. "And I think this system is going to be more fun and better fitting for me.”
Smith can throw. He has more than 5,500 passing yards in the past two seasons. He can run, too, with more than 500 rushing yards during that same period. But as much as anything, he can think and react and adjust.
"He's not going to let anything shake him,” left tackle Walter Boyd said. "To learn all this stuff in the spring and come back in the fall and have 20 days to fine-tune it before we play our first game, most people on the outside would think that's pretty difficult. But when you have a guy like Paul ... it makes it a lot easier.”
Consider this: Smith could've graduated last May but decided to hold off. He will take 12 hours this fall even though he has enough credits right now. He's already earned a degree in communications with a minor in marketing.
Smith might be just the guy to handle the Malzahn madness.
"Him being in full control,” Smith said, "I was (excited) to see what he was going to be able to do.”
Ah, yes. Full control. It's something Malzahn never had last season at Arkansas.
You remember the details: Houston Nutt hired Malzahn in 2005, plucking him from Arkansas' high school ranks. Malzahn had been wildly successful at Springdale and Shiloh Christian, winning three state titles in eight years. He was supposed to infuse new energy into the Razorbacks.
Then, Southern Cal drubbed Arkansas in its season opener, and Malzahn's no-huddle became a no-no. The calls were Malzahn's, but the philosophies were not. He never got the chance to really run his offense.
That doesn't look to be the case at Tulsa. First-year head coach Todd Graham intends to give Malzahn input about opposing defenses. Past that, he will be hands off.
Having Smith gives him peace of mind to do just that.
The quarterback has watched the videos and studied the plays and even read the book.
This season, Smith wants to write his own chapter.