Tuesday there was a plan.
By Wednesday there was a new one.
“John Donovan will probably be on the sideline on Saturday,” Franklin said Wednesday, correcting himself after stating otherwise on Tuesday. “We had a bunch of conversations today. You guys asked me that earlier in the week, and I said he’d be in the booth. That’s probably changed now. So I want to make sure I don’t tell you one thing and then something different happens on Saturday.”
The reason for the change? In short it makes things easier for quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Getting the plays isn’t a big deal with multiple grad assistants and coaching signaling in, but it gives Hackenberg someone to talk to in person after a drive. Prior to this he would pick up a phone and call the booth. It’s a face-to-face interaction that makes things easier for both parties.
It’s also what he did under Bill O’Brien.
“Probably one of the biggest things is Hack — playing as a freshman and Billy calling the plays — that’s something he’s comfortable with,” Franklin said. “So having either (QBs coach) Ricky (Rahne) down on the sideline or John down on the sideline with him, a lot of time, once the offense is done, I’m with the defense and I’m with the special teams. He’d like to be able to have somebody making adjustments with him and things like that on the sideline.”
This isn’t the first time that Donovan has been on the sideline this year though. In Dublin the team’s headsets went out thanks to power issues, so Donovan called the game from the sideline. At Michigan just two weeks ago, Donovan called the game from the sideline in an attempt to help Hackenberg out.
Otherwise Donovan has worked from the booth, it gives him a bird’s eye view of the game and allows him to relay information down to the sidelines such as ball location, specific yardage and information that the offense needs. That particular responsibility will now fall on the shoulder of quarterback coach Ricky Rahne.
“Ricky will have a little bit more on his plate, but he’s already done a lot of those things,” Franklin said. “So basically, instead of Ricky talking to (Donovan) — sitting next to each other — he’s gonna give him the information right from the beginning, and then John’s gonna go from there.”
While Donovan might be changing his location seemingly every week, it shows a willingness to adapt to player’s demands and team interests rather than a steadfast commitment to an idea that isn’t working.
And maybe something simple can make a big difference for an offense still trying to find consistency each and every week.
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