RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Scott Huff was just beginning his new role, thousands of miles from where he’d coached before, when an opportunity arose that would allow him to stay in the Pacific Northwest and take on a new challenge.
The performance of the offensive line has become a yearly concern for the Seattle Seahawks. At times, it’s significantly limited Seattle's potential on that side of the ball.
Getting the most out of that group now falls to Huff, who was regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in college football during his time at Washington, but is now getting his first chance in the NFL.
“He really reminds me a lot of my college coach. He’s a great guy, very detail-oriented and he brings a lot of energy,” Seattle left tackle Charles Cross said.
There’s no question the Seahawks possess the skill talent to be a highly effective offense. Between Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the pieces are there for Seattle to put up a lot of points and gain a lot of yards.
All that possibility comes with a big “if” that has lingered over the franchise for the better part of a decade. Can an offensive line filled with questions be at the very least serviceable and potentially above average?
That’s the task Huff has taken on to put together a group of linemen and coach them in a way that can help Seattle’s offense reach its potential.
“I’m still pretty fresh into this, but I think the guys want to be coached,” Huff said.
Huff still being in Seattle with the Seahawks is a story by itself. After last season concluded with Washington losing to Michigan in the national title game, Huff thought he’d be coaching offensive linemen at Alabama following Kalen DeBoer after he took the head job with the Crimson Tide.
He was far enough into the process that Huff’s family was in the beginning stages of buying a home in Alabama when the opportunity to stay emerged with the Seahawks.
“I’ve been so lucky my whole career. I’ve been so happy wherever I’ve been whether it was at Boise State for a really long time where I played, (Washington) for three different head coaches which was a really cool experience, even the short time in Alabama being able to see that,” Huff said. “Then obviously being here that was always the, ‘if it just made sense.’”
And it did make sense, especially with Huff getting a chance to stay with Ryan Grubb, the same offensive coordinator he worked alongside the past two seasons at Washington. Last year, Huff and Grubb coached an offensive line that was regarded as the best in the nation winning the Joe Moore Award.
“When you have another person that’s responsible for that much of the offense and pass protection, run scheme, things like that getting that translation down for everybody else in the staff and being able to get this thing off the ground quickly and efficiently and the way you want it to is pivotal. Huff has obviously been a huge part of that,” Grubb said.
That means Huff’s decision to stay here brings expectations that he can have the same success he did in college with the Seahawks offensive line.
Huff should feel pretty good about the left side of his offensive line with Cross at left tackle and veteran Laken Tomlinson at guard. Center received an upgrade with the signing of Connor Williams, provided that Williams is healthy enough after suffering a torn ACL last December.
The right side would be where the biggest questions such as with Anthony Bradford and rookie Christian Haynes competing for the right guard spot. Veteran George Fant is the expected starter at right tackle with no timeline for when Abraham Lucas might get back on the field because of a lingering knee issue.
Huff said the expectations between coaching college kids and professional players has remained the same.
“I think it’s a really high standard. And when we talk about the standard, it’s fundamentally great, it’s assignment perfect and it’s physical and nasty,” Huff said. “It’s really that simple. Now, those are simple things to think about — they’re hard to put on tape consistently.”
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