George Henshaw, who coached for two decades in the NFL as an offensive coordinator and position coach and also worked for many years at the college level -- including seven seasons under Bobby Bowden at Florida State -- occasionally offers insights into Florida State football for Warchant.com subscribers.
In this week's conversation with Warchant managing editor Ira Schoffel, Henshaw discusses the importance of quality quarterback play, the most important characteristics of a signal-caller and how a coach's handling of his quarterbacks can directly determine his success or failure.
Warchant: There are always a number of coaching changes at this time of year, but the biggest surprise to many was Mark Richt stepping down at Miami. It sounds like there were a lot of issues going on there. But on the field, it seemed like Miami's biggest problems stemmed from something you always talk about -- the importance of quarterback play.
Henshaw: That was certainly a big problem. And even last year, when they won all those games, they were OK at best there. But they had a fantastic defense, and let's face it, they were able to win three or four close games that probably could have gone either way. But what happened to Miami in its bowl game was what happened to a lot of teams that lacked quality quarterback play. I think this bowl season reiterates how important the quarterback position is.
You really are only going to be so good as a football team unless you get really good quarterback play. Just look at a talented team like LSU -- what's the difference this year compared to other years? They got a quarterback (Ohio State graduate transfer Joe Burrow). And he's no phenom quarterback or whatever you want to call it. But I'll tell you what he is -- he's smart, he's a great leader, and he's mentally and physically tough. And in my estimation, those are the first qualities that you should look for in a quarterback. If you don't have those four qualities, the chances of your team being as good as you can be are slim and none.
Warchant: I was actually thinking about that during the LSU-UCF game. For all of the talent they had under Les Miles, they just seemed to have such a hard time getting decent quarterback play. Does that speak to how hard it is to identify quarterbacks?
Henshaw: Well, I think it's hard sometimes. But I also think you have to give this LSU staff credit for adjusting some things. They're certainly, by no stretch of the imagination, a wide-open offense. But what they do is they pick their spots. You'd better not hug that line too tight (on defense), or he's going to be able to make some plays through the air on you. And the thing about him is he's smart and he's tough.
Just look at the way that game started. He goes out there and he throws a pick-six and then just gets crushed. I mean most guys would not have even gotten up from that. Well, he gets up, throws four touchdown passes and ends up winning the game. There he is -- he's a leader, he's smart, he's physically and mentally tough. If I'm sitting over there and I'm an LSU player and I saw all of the things this guy does ... my gosh, I would be out there laying it on the line.
Warchant: I think the challenge for coaches is they are looking for quarterbacks who are a good fit for their system. So even if a player has those four characteristics you're talking about, maybe they don't have the physical tools that fit a particular offense. How do you balance that?
