AJ Smith might not be one of the most recognizable members of Colorado’s coaching staff, but Deion Sanders wants that to change.
During his latest press conference Coach Prime singled out the offensive analyst while discussing some of the people helping Colorado prepare behind the scenes.
“AJ is like a guy that could play the game who is also a nerd...and we like that,” Sanders said.
That combination of football experience and technological creativity has made Smith an important resource for Colorado’s young quarterback room, particularly 18-year-old Julian Lewis.
“He’s helped the quarterbacks tremendously,” Sanders said. “He’s helped the entire offense tremendously, as well as the defense.”
AJ Smith sees big strides from Julian Lewis
Smith arrived in Boulder in January after spending six seasons coaching in spring football, most recently as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
His professional résumé includes a 29-12 record as a play-caller and stops with four different spring-football teams. He worked alongside former NFL head coach Wade Phillips and coached quarterbacks with considerably more experience than the group he inherited at Colorado.
“My quarterback room was 32, 31, 28,” Smith told Colorado Athletics. “Now, I don’t...they’re all under 20, I think, right now? Or right at 20.”
Despite that dramatic difference in age, Smith believes Colorado’s quarterbacks approach their development like professionals.
“To see their work habits and their desire, like, at the pro level—that’s been impressive so far,” Smith said.
Lewis has been one of Smith’s primary projects since spring practice. Asked how much progress the former five-star prospect has made, Smith seems very happy in the direct Julian is heading.
“Big strides,” Smith said. “That’s just through finding differentiators...finding out what’s good, what’s bad, and then correct them, coach them, drill them. Big, big strides since the spring, and we’re going to continue to get better.”
Lewis’ development has been assisted by technology Smith began exploring long before virtual-reality training became commonplace in football.
Colorado turns missed repetitions into virtual experience
Smith’s interest in alternative teaching methods began when he became a high school offensive coordinator at 21. Convinced that his players would not study a conventional playbook, Smith taught himself how to build what he described as a “Tecmo Bowl playbook.”
“If I went in there with a playbook, man, that thing is not getting open,” Smith said. “So that was like the first time I went back and Googled how to create something called a Flash game, and I created the first ever, like, Tecmo Bowl playbook.”
When the Oculus Rift arrived several years later, Smith began experimenting with virtual reality. The initial technology helped teach plays, but incorporating practice video transformed it into a training system capable of recreating live repetitions.
“That’s where it went from teaching to training,” Smith said. “Because now I can sit there and I’m actually seeing what it’s going to look like, actually seeing the receiver speed.”
The system allows Colorado’s backup quarterbacks to experience first-team repetitions they did not receive on the practice field. Smith can even increase the playback speed before returning it to normal, making the action appear slower and easier for a quarterback to process.
Hundreds of teams have access to similar technology, according to Smith. Merely owning a headset, however, does not guarantee that a program understands how to maximize it.
“A lot of teams have it, but they don’t know how to use it,” Smith said. “And we do.”
Sanders has noticed an effect that extends beyond Lewis and the other quarterbacks.
“He has a lot of football knowledge up under his belt,” Sanders said. “He’s doing a great job.”
Smith’s equipment has evolved from a homemade digital playbook to an 8K virtual-reality experience. His purpose remains the same: find a better way to teach the game and give his quarterbacks an advantage.
“Just trying to be one step ahead of the game,” Smith said.
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