Sturdy approach

Eastern Washington University had tested the no-huddle waters long before Todd Sturdy arrived.

That’s “tested,” mind you, as in dipped a toe.

But when Sturdy took over as Eastern’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last spring, he promptly shoved the Eagles head first into the deep end, eliminating the long-held tradition of huddling together 7 or 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage to communicate the next play call.

Instead, Sturdy made his quarterbacks bark out the play – along with the formation, snap count and any shifts or motions that might be involved – while standing at the line scrimmage just prior to stepping under center to take the snap.

It was the way Sturdy did things back at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, where he had spent the previous 12 seasons as head coach of the NAIA Fighting Bees.

The idea behind his no-huddle philosophy, Sturdy explained, is to better dictate the tempo of the game and keep opposing defenses off-balance and from making preferred personnel changes between plays.

“It’s not all that different from being in the huddle,” Sturdy said. “The no-huddle system is, basically, about communication. You just do it at the line of scrimmage.”

And the Eagles have done it quite well this fall, putting up some impressive offensive numbers during a turn-around season that saw them finish 8-3 and earn an at-large berth in Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, where they will face No. 2-seeded and unbeaten McNeese State (11-0) in Lake Charles, La., on Saturday evening.

During the regular season, Eastern averaged 456 yards and 32.5 points per game to lead the Big Sky Conference in both categories. The Eagles, who won five of their last six regular-season games – including the last four – to finish second in the Big Sky and earn their third playoff berth in four years, rank eighth nationally in total offense and 21st in scoring offense.

As the trigger man of Sturdy’s no-huddle offense, sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols threw for 3,125 yards and 30 touchdowns during the regular season and was named the Big Sky’s offensive player of the year. And Nichols’ favorite target, sophomore wide receiver Aaron Boyce, also landed a spot on the all-conference team after catching 75 passes for 1,230 yards and nine touchdowns.

“I was really exciting coming in, because I had heard there were a lot of good young skilled position players coming back,” said the 40-year-old Sturdy, who played quarterback for St. Ambrose from 1987-90. “We kept a lot of the terminology the same to make the change (to the no-huddle) as easy on them as we could, and they’ve done an outstanding job of picking it up.”

Paul Wulff, EWU’s eighth-year head coach, credits much of his team’s offensive success this fall to Sturdy and the fresh ideas he brought with him from St. Ambrose, where he mentored Wulff’s current defensive coordinator Jody Sears and his former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach, who is now at Washington State.

“We had done the no-huddle for a long time – bits and pieces of it, at least,” Wulff explained. “But it was always just a package we had, so it was different going to it every single rep in practice and every single play during a game.

“That was big change, and while our kids have done a good job adapting, I think Todd has done a great job of teaching it. A big part of what he brings to us is his ability to teach the things he wants done. He’s tweaked some things and made it much tougher on defenses during games than it is on our offense during practices.”

Wulff met Sturdy almost seven years ago through Sears and Rosenbach and tried to hire him on at least three previous occasions.

“I knew of him and knew he did a great job at St. Ambrose,” Wulff recalled. “He coached both sides of the ball back there and I tried to hire him one time on defense, briefly, and also a couple of times on offense. But it just wasn’t something he was going to do at the time.”

But after last year’s offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin left to take over as the head coach at Central Washington University, Wulff made another run at Sturdy and finally convinced him to come west.

“I just felt I was at a point in my career when it was time,” Sturdy said of finally agreeing to join Wulff at Eastern. “It was just a feeling you get. I had been at the other place for a long, long time and I felt it was the right move – not only for my career, but for my family, as well.”

Any concerns that Sturdy might have a problem with taking orders rather than giving them were eased as soon as he arrived in Cheney.

“That’s what’s so great, is that he’s a great person and ego is not an issue,” Wulff explained. “With him, like with all of the coaches on our staff, it’s simply about doing what’s best for the team.”

According to Sturdy, giving up all of the authority he had as a head coach was easy.

“That was a big part of my decision to come out here,” he explained. “Obviously, I love to coach, and this was an opportunity to focus strictly on that. I really don’t miss those days of being a head coach and dealing with all of that other stuff – like when a kid misses a class or something.”

Still, Wulff is convinced that Sturdy’s past experiences at St. Ambrose have been a big plus for Eastern’s program.

“Coming from a small school like he came from, he had to do everything,” Wulff said, “and the overall experience he brings really helps. He’s done a great job of relaying his message about the no-huddle offense and giving us a sense of consistency that our kids can follow.

“We’re fortunate to have him.”