Memphis head coach Charles Huff is silencing his team’s pre-practice playlist, even if it means cutting them off from entertainment. While he’s making sure there is a strict “no-music” policy at play, this bold move has NFL greats divided on whether it’s championship-level discipline or a misguided tactic.

“When the Navy SEALs get ready to go do a mission, they are not listening to Lil Baby,” Memphis head coach Charles Huff said during a press conference. When they’re training to go to war, which we’re training to go to war for, they aren’t listening to NBA YoungBoy. Coach Saban trained us like that.

We should be focused on what it takes to execute the next play. Not who’s on the aux, who’s pressing play. I’ve never seen the military get ready to go on a crucial war mission with NBA YoungBoy playing in their heads or in the background.”

Ironically, Huff’s military comparison ignores real history. Robert O’Neill, a legendary Navy SEAL, openly admitted he listened to “Red Nation” by The Game before one of his biggest missions ever. The idea that elite soldiers never use music to get hyped simply doesn’t match reality.

Well, coaches often impose strict rules to ensure players are not distracted. Barkley knows Huff’s demanding coaching style firsthand. Long before joining Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama, Huff was the running backs coach at Penn State. He spent years mentoring Barkley there, for whom this strict discipline is exactly what breeds greatness and future NFL Draft success.

Even Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley supported Huff’s move on X, saying, “Haha, love it! Never change!” I know firsthand the kind of impact he has on you as a man and how he brings greatness out of you.”

Charles Huff entered his first full season as Memphis head coach after taking over the program in December 2025. He replaced Ryan Silverfield, who left to become Arkansas’ head coach. Memphis was already a strong team, with winning seasons in the last four years and a Gasparilla Bowl appearance in 2025. Because of this, there are already high expectations for the team, and Huff had to take major steps to ensure the team’s success.

It’s not just Huff who took a bold step to bring back his team’s focus on football. In 2025, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez made a simple rule about social media. He did not completely ban TikTok, so players were still allowed to use it. However, he stopped them from making dance videos. He wanted his players to look serious and strong, not focused on entertainment.

He also believed that making such videos could distract them from football, potentially affecting their performance and focus during training and games. The rule he imposed made national headlines and divided opinions just as sharply as Huff’s policy is doing now. Analyst and former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho didn’t agree with Huff’s comparison of football with the military. He took a bold dig at him.

“Stop comparing sports to the military. Football is a game,” Acho said on X. “A game based on combat, but still a game. Lives are lost in war. Games are lost in football.”

It’s pretty clear that Huff didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, but just wanted to bring some discipline into the team. Military personnel focus on just one goal: saving their country, and Huff is also making sure the same level of dedication comes from his team. So, as 2026 spring practice moves on, he is making sure that his team is focused and has a distraction-free environment.

That distraction-free environment isn’t just a philosophy, but a competitive tool. When three quarterbacks are fighting for the same job, every single rep becomes a lens. Strip out the music, the noise, the entertainment, and what you’re left with is raw leadership, composure under pressure, and consistency. Those are exactly the qualities Charles Huff says will determine his roster.

Charles Huff’s team’s QB battle

With spring practice kicking off, Memphis faces the biggest test, and that’s its QB1 position. Marcus Stokes moved from West Florida to Memphis and is now in a QB competition with Air Noland and Denzel Gardner for the same position.

The quarterback position is very important, so Charles Huff made it clear that certain qualities will decide who becomes the starter. He focuses on leadership, being consistent every day, and how players handle tough situations.

“It is the most important position in all of sports,” Huff said. “That position is not going to be determined by who does the best few days of spring practices.”

He also claims that the team is not comparing players to each other right now or worrying about rankings. Instead, he wants every player to focus on improving themselves and performing well every single day. One player who is getting the most attention is Marcus Stokes because of his past performance and experience.

Before joining Memphis, he had a very strong 2025 season at West Florida. He threw for 3,297 yards and 30 touchdowns, with 13 interceptions. He also helped on the ground by running for 367 yards and scoring 10 rushing touchdowns. Now, let’s wait and see which one of them finally wins the ultimate QB1 title.