Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/674053
GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED OLUME 26, ISSUE 5 41 "The biggest thing is reps," Lester said. "It lets them have reps. If I can say, 'Hey, you're going to get all the reps today. You all can get as many reps as you want. You put these goggles on and there's a right and wrong answer to every play.' I just like that they have the abil- ity to get extra reps whenever they want. "It has made a big difference. The summer before (Dungey) started, man, I can't tell you how many reps he took in July, on his own, in the office, just, boom, pop the thing on. He probably took 1,000 reps in July. I think it really helped." Lester hopes he can say the same for Purdue's young quarterbacks: Sophomore David Blough, who's started only eight games in his career, and redshirt freshman Elijah Sindelar, who's yet to get a game snap and whose most extensive reps against a first-team defense came as the scout team quarterback last season. After shelling out $3,000-$10,000 for the software and goggles — Coach Darrell Hazell wouldn't be more specific than a range — Lester sent 80 plays to the de- velopers at EON to have them design a Purdue-specif- ic app. The result: A catered experience for Purdue's quarterbacks that has their plays against the defenses that Lester wants them to see. He set everything — the motions, the blitzes, the coverages, the tricks to catch them off-guard. "We've got young guys and I want them to be able to get millions of reps against every coverage that I want them to see and see if they can react faster and have answers to where they're going with each ball," Lester said. Let's slip on the goggles and see what the QBs do: D eAngelo Yancey doesn't quite look himself. Purdue's top receiver has been reduced to a low-poly video game character, as have the other nine teammates lining up in the offense that are viewable through the VR goggles. Same goes for the 11 guys on the other side of the ball, a look not quite Tech- mo but certainly not modern Madden. But that's OK. The "reality" part of this specific training tool isn't in the likeness of the players: It's in the specificity of the defenses, of the playbook, in the first-person 3D game play. Slip on the goggles and you are the quarterback. You're under center. You're in the shotgun. You're rolling in the pocket. You're turning your head left to see your receivers on that side of the field, turning your head right to double check where the defense is lining up, looking down to see the linemen. The play flashes across the top of the screen and it has all the ingredients the QBs already should know — where the QB lines up (gun or under center), the for- mation, protection and receivers' routes — and there's a "snap" button waiting to be stared down in the middle of the screen to start the play. But that's only going to get looked at when the QB is absolutely ready. In this VR experience, there's no play clock: Quarterbacks can take as much time as they want to scan the defense. And that's the whole point. The better quarterbacks understand coverages, the better they can tear them apart. Lester has given his players a checklist for every play. Depending on the play, the QBs need to look different places. On some, they're beady-eying the safeties. Is there one or two deep? What depth are they playing? Is it 10 yards? Maybe 15? Are they in the middle of the field? Is one to the left? The right? On others, they're staring down the linebacker.