Jon Gruden’s QB Camp series was a staple of ESPN’s pre-NFL Draft programming the past eight years. His film sessions with top incoming quarterbacks were both enlightening and buzzworthy as he helped bring “Spider 2 Y Banana” and other football nomenclature into the lexicon for fans. With Gruden now coaching the Oakland Raiders, ESPN has created a 2.0 QB Camp concept called QB2QB with Russell Wilson that fans are sure to enjoy.
The new series debuts tonight with four consecutive 30-minute episodes in prime time (7-9 p.m. ET, ESPN). Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champion quarterback, hosts conversations with 2018 draft prospects Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), J.T. Barrett (Ohio State), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) and Saquon Barkley (Penn State). And while QB Camp was focused on X’s and O’s and the relationship between coach and player, QB2QB is more of a peer-to-peer relationship as Wilson, the NFL veteran, discusses his experiences and lessons in the league with the soon-to-be rookie players.
ESPN producers Jay Rothman and Josh Hoffman are leading the ESPN production team behind QB2QB, similar to the roles they played with QB Camp. Filming took place in late March with Wilson and all four players at the UCLA football facility. In the video above, Hoffman previews the new series and discusses why QB2QB might be the start of an exciting new franchise for ESPN.
In addition to the ESPN shows, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and other exclusive QB2QB content is available on the TraceMe App.
Bill Hofheimer and Jon McLeod produced the video above.
.@DangeRussWilson previews ESPN's new #QB2QB series, which debuts Tuesday. His convos w/ @bakermayfield @saquon @JT_theQB4th & @Rudolph2Mason will also be featured on the @TraceMe_App. pic.twitter.com/nX98kaCl1Q
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) April 13, 2018
