Counting to 11 Is Harder Than It Looks in College Football

Sonny Dykes learned a lot of things from his father, Spike, a Texas coaching legend. Among them was the importance of fundamental football math.

“You have to start with the basics, and that’s making sure you have 11 people out there,” Spike told Sonny at one point early in Sonny’s coaching career. “You might want to have someone counting players.”

So he does. These days at TCU, Dykes has one of the program’s strength and conditioning coaches count bodies going on the field for every change of possession...