How the Mustang coaching staff is using elite-level data and analytics to build smarter players and a better recruiting workflow.
Johan Williams remembers “the old days.” Back when scouting meant combing through a stack of 20 VHS tapes to get the information you needed on a specific player or team.
Now the Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Monroe University, Williams fuses old-school instinct with new-age methods to find the “why” behind every play.
“Hudl IQ is basically the next evolutionary step,” Williams said. “If you can step away from trying to be an old-school guy and just embrace something new, you can really get a lot out of it.”
For Williams, Hudl IQ isn’t a replacement for the gut feel of a seasoned football coach. It’s a tool that removes the clutter so he can focus on the data points that make all the difference in scouting and player development.
Clouding the Passing Lanes
Every football coach has a list of things they look for on film. But sometimes the most important details are the ones that aren’t always noticed by the naked eye. While preparing for a rematch against a rival standout receiver, Williams used Hudl IQ to dig deeper into the player’s performance.
He filtered the receiver’s targets to look specifically at incompletions. The data revealed a pattern that could’ve easily been missed if it were buried in a lengthy spreadsheet.
“What we had discovered in his hit charts is that there was an inordinate number of incompletions in the middle of the field,” Williams explained. “If he was open, he was going to catch the ball. But if there was traffic on any in-route, under-route or digs, he was not going to catch the ball because he heard footsteps.”
The Monroe defensive staff used that information to their advantage by creating cloudy pass lanes and by making the wideout uncomfortable. The result? A win in the second meeting.
Winning with Data
The Monroe University football staff has integrated Hudl IQ into their daily and weekly workflows, focusing on three core areas:
- Self Scouting: Evaluating their own performance to identify which players are winning their individual matchups.
- Opponent Breakdown: Using filters to find opponent weaknesses at a faster clip.
- Recruiting: Turning data into a developmental roadmap for the next generation of Mustangs.
The Star Struck Recruit
For the Monroe University football staff, the impact of Hudl IQ extends far beyond game prep and scouting. In the ever-changing landscape of college football recruiting, every program is looking for an edge to show athletes how their program can maximize their development.
Williams takes a bold approach, putting the data from Hudl IQ directly into his recruiting pitch. He shows them how their speed, route running and top-end velocity will be tracked and improved if they choose to play for the Mustangs.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling to watch the players look at you star-struck,” Williams said. “I like to show it to recruits and say, ‘This is what we’re trying to do for you, as well as how we’ll develop you as a player.’ It’s a great way to judge how we’re performing and what you need to become better at.”
Accelerating the Learning Process
There’s a common misconception in college football coaching circles that more data means less coaching. But the way Williams does it, he’s able to use Hudl IQ to spend more time teaching his players to think the way he does.
He strives to have his players be “learn-it-alls,” not “know-it-alls.” When they come off the practice or game field, he doesn’t want to lecture them; instead, he prefers their development to be a collaborative process. This type of coaching enables his players to see the game differently and make adjustments in real-time.
“I try to teach players to be a coach in the sense that…I want an understanding of what I’m thinking. If Hudl IQ helps out in that understanding, everything correlates together. We can have a better rapport on the field and adjust at any point.”
In college football, the margin for error is razor-thin. Williams knows that if he can equip his freshman players with the football IQ of a veteran by their senior year, they’ll become much better off because of it.
“The higher the level is, the more detail-oriented certain things become,” Williams said. “If we can bring that to a college guy at an earlier age, the learning curve for them to be successful is going to be massive.”
