I volunteered to help take the field apart. One thing I got to do (which I asked to do) was take apart one side of human player pads and its electronics and wiring, which were to be placed in boxes that fit them, which are in turn carted off to the next venue. This gave me a unique perspective into a lot of things, including my very own authentic HP bin (wut, wut).
Basically, all you can see is a square rubber pad, taped down by some duct tape. When you step on it, all you feel are these little bumps that go across it laterally. What I, and I understand a lot of my fellow HPs thought was that you had to step on these individual wires to set off the pad. In reality, they are just velcro that attach the rubber to the metal plate below. You're basically standing on a digital scale, and thus, your weight on any part is acceptable. This is why I started moving forward on the "1" or the "3" (depending) of the MC's countdown. My front foot is almost on the ground ahead, and I'm moving forward by the time the countdown is over. One thing I made clear of on the Jive forums is how the pads worked and how the electronics were set up. If you looked up on the screen in practice matches or looked at a certain box in the game desk, you could see what set off a human player pad and who was on. I also noticed there was a short delay after you stepped on before it registered. Another thing to note was that you in reality had 11 seconds to get back, and you have until the end of 10 on the clock. When I got back, if out of stride, my front foot would step on the corner of the pad and I'd quickly pull in my back foot to have them both on the pad, where most would take an extra step to get both feet on. I have a bunch of tricks of the trade i didn't see other HPs doing while on the field too.
As human player, I made it a point to be observant and intelligent about my role, even if it's usually given to the high school quarterback.