RipsIt reader and former USC offensive lineman Otis Page sent in this great question: "How much time goes into planning a practice schedule and how far in advance is it prepared?"
In July of every year, Coach Carroll plots out the schedule for each practice and walk-thru during Fall Camp, planning what scenarios and situations will be drilled on each day, how long each period will be and what the emphasis will be for every workout. It's a surprisingly exact science that has been sharpened in his nine years at USC and four seasons as an NFL head coach.
"We paint a big picture of Fall Camp and then slot things through the different practices," Carroll said. "We end up adjusting them sometimes but the overall world-view concepts remain the same."
The emphases and themes of each practice and walk-thru are set in advance, but the individual plays and drills in each workout are scripted out a day before. Offensive coaches decide the plays they want to run for each 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 period and then give the script to the defense so it can call its plays according to the personnel and down-and-distance. And if that sounds a little fishy -- the defense getting to see the offense's plays and then script accordingly -- it definitely is, and it often produces some good-natured joking between the offensive and defensive staffers on the practice field.
When the defense shuts down a play during practice, sometimes the offensive coaches will tease that it only happened because the defensive coaches knew the play. On the flip side, if the offense dominates the defense on a play, the offensive coaches will occasionally joke to their counterparts, "You knew the play and we still burned you!"
University Southern California Trojans
Sunday, September 13
Sunday, September 13
Sunday, September 13
Sunday, September 13
