LSU coach Les Miles came down decidedly against the recent proposal to slow the pace of play in college football games by requiring offenses to wait 10 seconds before snapping the ball. An NCAA committee recommended passage of the rule but the matter has been shelved for more study.
"I find there's no reason to make the change unless you want to limit plays, slow the ball being snapped, reduce scoring and make college football less marketable," Miles said Saturday after the Tigers' first spring practice.
The proposed change was backed by Alabama coach Nick Saban and Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, who spoke to the NCAA competition committee and cited player safety as the reason. The committee's approval drew a resounding backlash from coaches from schools that employ no-huddle, spread offenses such as Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze and Auburn's Gus Malzahn, who argued it doesn't compromise safety.
Miles agreed, although as often is the case, his explanation was complicated.
"There's little or no evidence that would say that injury is likely," Miles said. "Having said that, the incidence of injury in football is 100 percent. That being said, 'He hurt his hand. Why? Because he was playing football. He hurt his elbow. Why? Because he was playing football.'
"Fatigue, if there's a guy on there that's tired, here's how we handle it: We played Oregon and Auburn and a number of teams that use the up-tempo offense, right? Here's what happens: The guy goes like this (patting his head) when he gets tired. When the ball is stopped, he runs off the field quickly. And we put another guy on the field quickly. It just happens. As the time it takes to get on the far hash, it becomes difficult to do, don't get me wrong. But in the ebb and flow of the game, it's not been an issue for us."
Jim Kleinpeter can be reached at email@example.com or 504.826.3405.