During Kalen DeBoer’s two seasons at the helm of the Washington Huskies, whenever a player would make a mistake during practice, they would run and touch a small sign right next to the Husky tunnel labeled “T.N.T.” which stands for “Takes No Talent.” It became a staple of spring and fall workouts under the previous regime, and the tape outline of where it hung is still evident inside Husky Stadium.
Dropped passes, penalties, and mental mistakes all elicited a mandatory jog to the sign, usually to the delight of everyone else on the field, who would yell “T.N.T!” at whoever the offender was.
The sign’s message was that it takes no talent to work hard, learn the playbook, or make sure you’re disciplined when waiting for the ball to be snapped, even if you’d go on to become a first-round pick like Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, and Troy Fautanu.
Now, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has taken that same mantra across town to the Seattle Seahawks for his first year in the NFL. Grubb was hired by coach Mike Macdonald to scheme up an offense for one of the most talented groups in the league.
From running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet to wide receivers DK Metcalf and Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Grubb has plenty of talent to work with. He has to remind them it’s about the things that take no talent and plenty of effort to win games.
Interesting to see the T.N.T. (Takes No Talent) sign at Seahawks practice. That was a pillar of Kalen DeBoer’s program at UW, and Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff have evidently kept it in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/xK6tpVYj8S
— Mike Vorel (@mikevorel) August 22, 2024