Spread Offense Run Game Answers vs. The Blitz

Written By Joe Dailey

Today’s discussion will revolve solely around handling the zone blitz in the run game. This has been a very popular topic and I have seen a number of ways people go about handling the blitz. For this discussion we will focus our conversation on the Zone running scheme out of a 2 by 2 formation versus various zone blitzes.

We are all familiar with the interview Rich Rodriguez did for ESPN explaining some of the things they did at West Virginia. If I remember correctly, the reporter interviewing Rich Rodriguez pointed out four distinctive things West Virginia would do on any certain play.

Those being:

1) Hand it off to the back
2) Read the Defensive End.
3) Read-Option with a back
4) Throw Bubble

These are all valuable answers to counter act what defenses are doing to handle the spreading of their defenders. In the video, Rich did not get into great depth schematically on what they will do versus zones blitzes and other situations. I’m sure if he wanted to; he could have done so with great depth. In the absence of his explanation I have proposed a simple solution to handle different types of zone blitz encounters that an offense will face in a given season. Note this is not the best way or the only way to solve some zone blitz problems, but it provides an offense with some decent solutions to the blitz.

The main goal in the Spread Offense, philosophically, is to consistently take advantage of what defenses lack to defend. By this, I mean what can we do schematically to spread a defense thin and ‘gut em’ down after down? And what can we do to counteract their zone blitz packages with minimal effort and communication in the run game? In order to be effective running the ball in the spread offense, you need to have sound answers versus pressure in the run game.

Through research, trial and error, I’ve come to find there are some simple answers to handle the zone blitz in the run game that will allow offenses to stay on course of positive yardage play after play. These answers came to life after simply applying some “common sense” protocol to handling the blitz.

Answer’s to the Blitz

After watching hours and hours of film, reviewing some of the notes I’ve taken over the years, reading books on handling the zone blitz and watching numerous clinic tapes on handling the zone blitz, I’ve come to the conclusion that you can build in answers to the blitz without whispering a single word. You ask how? Simple! By teaching your players to play with their eyes! Sounds cliché? Well it’s true!

As the son of a coach I remember growing up hearing “a smarter player is a better player!” I can remember to this day when I first saw this saying come to life. I was a high school Quarterback in the late 1990’s as a freshman. It was my first varsity game. I played the entire season on the freshman squad and was moved up to start at Quarterback for the varsity teams’ last game of the season. All week long I remember preparing for this game as best I possibly could. My pops watched film with me and we studied the opposing team’s defense tirelessly. Game day came and I was crazy nervous. We received the ball first and took it down to the opposing team’s 30 yard line. Since I was a freshman playing Quarterback for the first time, we expected blitz a lot. On the very first play we came out in 11 personnel in a 2 by 2 formation. We had a toss play strong called but there was an audible out of this formation in case we got pressure. Guess what that audible was? Bubble! The weak side linebacker over the slot walked up to the line of scrimmage and assumed his blitz position. The slot receiver and I signaled to each other the bubble sign and at the snap I threw the bubble and the receiver took it 30 yards for a touchdown!

With that said, let’s get to the solution for handling the zone blitz in the spread running game. I am a big advocate for the Zone running scheme out of the shot-gun spread offense. It gives the offense a solid blocking scheme which will never change. It is a scheme that you can’t ware out. It’s simple for the offensive-line to learn and simple for a coach to teach.

It’s as simple as covered or uncovered for the linemen. As for the backs, they have to simply make one read and stick with it. They have a 3 step decision. On the third step you must decide whether to bounce is outside, hit the hole or cut it back. The Quarterback has to make a decision on whether to keep the ball or hand it off based upon whether the defensive end chases or slow plays the read. Receivers must simply stalk block their defender and climb to second level if nothing shows up.

Theory

We want to run the zone play regardless of what the defense does. With this line of thinking you must ask yourself how exactly can we do this? Well we’ve found out over the years that by spreading a defense out, you force them to reveal what it is they are trying to do defensively. Are they trying to play coverage with sound run fits or are they trying to apply pressure to disrupt your run game?

Our theory is to run into a zone blitz and away from a zone blitz! That’s right into a zone blitz and away from a zone blitz! We can do this by simply applying our everyday zone blocking rules. Let’s look at them.

Covered Lineman:
*Never get beat away from your help!
*Press your landmark!
*Climb to the second level if your defender runs to your helper.

Uncovered Lineman:
*Get your eyes on the down lineman beside you!
*Anything that comes to you attack and remove it.
*Nothing comes to you track second level.

Additional Ways to handle the zone blitz

I’ve taken what my father taught me in high school in terms of handling the zone blitz in the run game and what is probably taught to most spread teams out of a 2 by 2 formation when they get blitz into a run and that’s to throw the bubble. The only difference is that we don’t handle signal this, we site adjust! By this I mean, we teach our wide receivers to automatically run the bubble when their defender threatens to blitz. The Quarterback will recognize it and throw the bubble.

Now the way we do this is probably not the same as other people but I feel that it can be done with quite ease. We apply this concept to both slot receivers. This is a change up from what we discussed earlier with the slot receivers climbing to the second level if their defender runs away. This time we tell them that we want to throw the bubble to you if the defender over you blitzes. Our thinking is that we want to get the ball to a speedster in space. Or what my receiver’s coach in college taught me “get the ball to a freak and let em’ eat".

Conclusion

What I’ve proposed here is not the one and only way to handle a zone blitz from the gun and the spread offense. It is merely one of many ways. I see people who check to four verticals or jail-break screens that go the distance. What we have here is a simple alternative way to solve zone blitzes with the least amount of communication. We are simply teaching our players to play with their eyes; our offensive linemen playing with their eyes in terms of defenders rotating to different zones and our slot receivers playing with their eyes when the defender over them blitzes.

I hope this article can help some people out there who are looking for different ways to handle the blitz from the gun. This can be used as a tool for teams who lack experience at the Quarterback position and need to find a answer to the blitz without using an audible or teams who are looking to change up the way the handle blitzes and break tendencies.

For any additional information or questions email me at Mrjdailey@yahoo.com

View this article with play diagrams at: SpreadOffense.com

USF Has Advice To Offer - The Spread Offense

By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - With Rich Rodriguez now at Michigan, the University of South Florida has suddenly become a hot spot for teams seeking help in preparing for Rodriguez's spread offense.

Ohio State has won the past four meetings against Michigan, but the Buckeyes still sent cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson to meet with USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham and secondary coach Troy Douglas this week.

"Johnson said it was because we've done such a good job against that offense," Burnham said. "And we've had some success."

Under Rodriguez, West Virginia was 22-4 the past two years, including 0-2 against USF. In that span, WVU averaged 16 points, 160 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry against USF, compared to 41.2 points, 311.5 yards rushing and 6.6 yards per carry against everyone else.
A Minnesota assistant visited USF last week, and a Colorado assistant - the Buffs play West Virginia this fall - will visit next week.

"They pick our brain and see why we do certain things," Burnham said. "We've done as good a job slowing them down as anybody. With the spread offense, I guess people think we have some answers."

Burnham said he'll only help out so much. "There are a few subtle things I keep to myself," he said. "We don't give away all our secrets."

Spread Offense Q&A with Herb Hand - University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football

I'm proud to offer the first of hopefully many Q&A sessions with big time college coaches on the spread offense.

SpreadOffense.com - Q&A with Herb Hand, Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach at University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

1. Coach, thanks for taking the time to speak with us at spreadoffense.com and congratulations on a great GMAC bowl victory?

No problem. The GMAC Bowl was a great experience for our football program, our university and our alumni and fans. Our goal at Tulsa is to be a championship level program and winning a bowl championship certainly falls into that objective.

2. Tell us a little bit about the spread offense you run at Tulsa? (Run first philosophy? balanced attack philosophy (run/pass)? Tempo? Gun vs. under the center, Etc…).

We are a spread – no huddle team. We operate primarily out of the shotgun and strive to have a very balanced attack. In fact, our run/pass ratio was basically 50/50 this year (562 runs/564 passes). We want to control the tempo in every game with our no huddle. We operate at a ‘two-minute’ drill pace as our base tempo. Our goal is to snap the football with 17-20 seconds left on the play clock. We want to press the tempo, but we also want to use the advantage of being no-huddle to eliminate ‘oh-crap!!’ plays (plays where you say ‘oh crap’ before the snap because you know that the play is not going to work). We also have the ability within our system to slow down the tempo to control the clock or to force the defense to show us their hand with our ‘check-with-me’ procedure. We were very fortunate to have players that bought in to our philosophy and executed the system with fairly good success.

3. Based on this philosophy, what do you and your fellow offensive coaches look for when preparing for an opponent every week?

The first thing we look at is formations and how our formations affect the opposing defense. What kind of fronts are we going to see versus our formations? What kind of coverage’s? What are their adjustments to motion? What are their adjustments to unbalanced sets and formations that are set to the boundary? Then we look at situations. What kind of changes can we anticipate within field zones (particularly ‘coming-out’ situations, red zone and goal line)? What kind of changes can we anticipate with down and distance (particularly 3rd downs, 4th downs and 2nd down and 10). We like to look at 2nd down and 10, so that we can have an attacking mentality on 1st down – we want to throw the ball on 1st down and so we need a good 2nd and 10 plan to offset incompletions on those attempts. The last thing we look for is match-ups and how we can create favorable match-ups in our passing game thru formations, motions, shifts, play actions, screens, etc.

4. What type of student-athlete do you guys target at Tulsa offensively when recruiting?

The University of Tulsa is an outstanding school academically. We are ranked in the top 100 academic institutions in the country. We are also the smallest Division IA school in the country, with only 2700 undergraduate students and 4000 total students. We have some very interesting demographics at Tulsa – 1 in every 11 students is an athlete….also, 1 in every 11 students is a National Merit Scholar (which ranks 12th in the country, right behind Stanford and Vanderbilt). We recruit players that are ready to compete everyday, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. We need to recruit student-athletes that are up to that challenge. With that being said, we put a high premium on speed for offensive skill players. We also want to recruit athletic and physical offensive linemen – we will sacrifice some size for athleticism – with the idea that we can build up our players’ size in our strength and conditioning program. Lastly, we want to recruit guys with a tough disposition that play with a ‘hard-edge’ mentality.

5. You’ve been involved with the spread offense for about 10 years now (6 years prior at West Virginia, then at Clemson), how has the spread offense evolved over that period in college football?

Probably the biggest change in spread offenses over the last decade is complexity and diversity of the run game out of traditional spread formations. The incorporation of the option and the zone read concepts that have developed during that time have really revolutionized spread offenses. I also think that general perceptions of the spread being a ‘finesse-style’ offense have drastically changed during this evolution. People now realize that you can have a very physical run game out of spread shotgun formations.

6. Based on this evolution you’ve seen, is it still safe to say that defenses are still playing ‘catch-up’ in trying to figure out this offense (scheme wise)? Especially when defending an offense that has a gifted ‘dual threat’ type quarterback?

I don’t think that they are necessarily playing catch-up. I think that what you are seeing now from a defensive standpoint is schematic answers to the zone read by giving quarterbacks a variety of looks on the backside of the zone. I think the defenses are putting a priority on athletic defensive ends that have the ability to quickly change direction which allows them to square-shoulder read the backside of the zone. I also think there is a big need for ‘space-players’ – guys that can make tackles in the open field. The defenses that have really given us problems in the past have had very solid safety play, as a lot of spread run game concepts are based on getting the runner in a one-on-one situation with safeties in the open field. Of course, there are answers to run-stopping safeties in play action passes, which are becoming increasingly more effective when you factor in the spacing conflicts that spread formations present to defenses.

7. Play a little devil’s advocate, what are the biggest weaknesses you see in the run oriented spread offense in college football?

I think that balance is the key to having great success in any offense….not just spread offenses. You need to be able to throw the ball…and not only when you have to throw it, but also when you want to throw it. That is why we concentrate on being a good 2nd and 10 team, so that we can have a lot of confidence in throwing the football on 1st down.

8. When this run oriented spread offense first arrived on the national spotlight, a lot of critics called it a fade or ‘gimmick’ offense, what made you and your past staffs keep your conviction in your beliefs through the years?

Success and personnel. The beauty of the spread is how easily you can adapt your offense to match the strengths of your personnel. We knew that with the personnel that we had…in particular the tremendously athletic quarterbacks on our roster…that we could present match-up problems against the defenses we were facing. When you couple the personnel advantages with the influx of option concepts, the run-oriented spread offense has become increasingly successful.

9. Look into your crystal ball and tell us what the state of the shot-gun, run orientated spread offense will be in high school, college, and professional football in five years?

I think the popularity of the zone-read concepts will continue to grow on all levels of football. However, I don’t think you will see a huge influx of zone-read concepts in the NFL. The trouble with running the zone-read on the professional level is the premium that is put on keeping your quarterback healthy. The quarterback in any option based offense is going to take a lot more hits than quarterbacks in a more traditional style offense. On the collegiate and high school level, the athletic-style quarterback also creates a much greater mismatch than he would on the professional level.

10. Coach, what would be your advice to a high school or pop warner coach looking to install and implement the shot-gun, spread offense for the first time?

Keep things simple and do things that help to highlight the strengths and skills of your specific personnel. The spread that we run at Tulsa is very different from the offenses that we ran at West Virginia and Clemson. But we still built our scheme around our personnel, in particular our quarterback.

11. How can high school coaches get in touch with the staff at Tulsa? What’s your clinic schedule this spring for a little X’s and O’s chalk talk? When’s your spring game?

Tulsa Spring Football Coaches Clinic - April 4th (F) and April 5th (Sat). HS Talk every Tuesday afternoon during spring ball. For more details, contact: Teresa Moyer at 918-631-2393 - Spring Practice begins March 11th, with the Golden Hurricane spring game on Saturday, April 19th at 7:00pm.

12. Coach, final question. You have one game to play to save planet earth vs. the University of Mars and the President of The United States has chosen you to run the offense. You need to pick a dual threat quarterback to lead your spread offense to victory. You have 4 weeks to prepare for this game in the coliseum in LA, and the only rule is you can’t choose a quarterback that you currently coach… who’s in the gun for you for this game?

Wow….that is a tough question. I have been fortunate to be around some tremendously successful QB’s….Woody Dantzler, Rasheed Marshall, Patrick White, Paul Smith….I also have been able to watch some great spread quarterbacks in recent years….Vince Young, Tim Tebow, Chase Daniel….I also think that a guy that was ahead of his time, like a 1989 Major Harris would be unbelievable in the spread. I guess if I had to pick one, I would have to go with Vince Young….his combination of size, speed and throwing ability would be hard to beat.

About Herb Hand:

Herb Hand is in his second season at the University of Tulsa. Hand joined the Tulsa coaching staff as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in January 2007. In 2007, Tulsa led the nation in offense, averaging over 542 yards a game. The Golden Hurricane were the first team in college football history to have a 5,000 yard passer, three 1,000 yard receivers and a 1,000 yard rusher on the same team. Tulsa won the 2008 GMAC Bowl by a score of 63 – 7 over Bowling Green. It was the largest margin of victory in NCAA bowl history.

In his 17-year coaching career, Hand has coached 14 all-conference players, four All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans.

Before coming to Tulsa, Hand spent the past six seasons as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at West Virginia. He helped the Mountaineers reach five straight Bowl Games and win three Big East Conference Championships.

He was a member of the WVU coaching staff that won 11 games in consecutive seasons (2005-06), winning more than 10 games back-to-back for the first time in school history. While at West Virginia, Hand coached in three Gator Bowls, one Continental Tire Bowl and one Sugar Bowl.

In 2006, West Virginia finished with an 11-2 record and was among the nation's top-10 teams for most of the season. He helped lead an offense that ranked second nationally in rushing (303.0 ypg), third in scoring (38.8 ppg) and fourth in total offense (461.3). A year earlier, WVU posted an 11-1 record and was ranked fifth nationally.

Prior to moving to West Virginia, Hand served as an offensive graduate assistant at Clemson in 1999-2000, as the Tigers participated in the 1999 Peach Bowl and 2001 Gator Bowl. Before that, he was defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator at Concord College for two seasons (1997-98).

From 1994-96, Hand served as defensive coordinator at Glenville State for three years where he helped coach the team to three WVIAC Championships. Previously, Hand was a graduate assistant coach for three seasons (1991-93) at West Virginia Wesleyan, where he coached the linebackers.

Hand began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Framingham South (Mass.) High School in 1990, before moving onto the collegiate level.

A 1990 Hamilton College graduate, Hand received his bachelor's degree in history, and a master's degree in 1993 from West Virginia Wesleyan in business administration.

Hand, 39, and his wife, Debbie, have three children: sons, Trey and Cade, and daughter Bailey.

Bowl Games as a Coach

1999 Peach Bowl (Clemson)
2001 Gator Bowl (Clemson)
2002 Continental Tire Bowl (West Virginia)
2004 Gator Bowl (West Virginia)
2005 Gator Bowl (West Virginia)
2006 Sugar Bowl (West Virginia)
2007 Gator Bowl (West Virginia)
2008 GMAC Bowl (Tulsa)

Coaching Technology For The Spread Offense

It never ceases to amaze me how creative coaches are getting with technology to help their players learn and understand the game of football. The spread offense can be complicated to learn, but we found a great set of videos to help your players get a great simulated look and feel of this offense.

Go to: http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/video_gallery

Enjoy!

--Mark

The College Spread Offense In The NFL By 2011

Now that the off season is here, I thought it would be a good time to look into my crystal ball and tell you what I see for the future of the spread offense. I think most would agree that the high school and college game has reached the momentum phase in regards to the implementation of this offense. A strong commitment is being seen at all three levels of college to recruit high school athletes to fit this system.

What about the NFL? How is this momentum phase in major college football going to effect National Football League teams in the future and how they'll draft offensive players out of college?

If you're reading this article, you likely already know the main difference between 'the spread offense' we're talking about today and 'the spread offense' of years past is the ability of the quarterback to run as effectively as a running back with the ball, and still be able to throw the ball with accuracy and effectiveness when needed.

If you think of the spread offense's run by the likes of Warren Moon with the Houston Oilers in the late 80's and early 90's, it was based off a quarterback who threw the football with great accuracy and frequency, and only ran with the ball when flushed out of the pocket.

The spread offense you see in college and high school today actually has designed plays for the QB to run, sometimes up to 5 or more designed runs or 'options' to run in the playbook based on how the defense reacts.

Spread offense's of the past had maybe one designed QB run, a QB draw that was only run near the goal-line.

One of the arguments I always hear is "The current spread offense could never be run in the NFL, the QB's would get killed because the defenses are so good." My rebuttal to that is:

If the defenses are so much better, then aren't the offensive linemen, running-backs, and receivers blocking for the running QB's that much better too? They came from the same talent pool of elite college players as the defensive player's, right?

In addition, wouldn't you agree that a Vince Young type of dual threat NFL QB is much less likely to get creamed by a defense when he runs with the ball then say a Warren Moon of that era? Vince Young is a runner who can throw the ball well enough to win, Warren Moon was a great passer who couldn't be expected to run the ball 10-12 times a game on designed QB runs because he just wasn't that type of athlete.

My impression was always that a quarterback was much more defense-less in the pocket getting sacked then running in the open field on a designed run.

So my point is this, with the likes of dual-threat college quarterbacks Dennis Dixon, Patrick White, Tim Tebow (2007 heisman trophy winner, a dual threat QB), Armanti Edwards, Terrelle Pryor (the most highly recruited high school senior this year), and others making such a splash throughout the college game, and high schools throughout the nation implementing run oriented spread offenses, isn't it just a matter of time before it makes its way into the pro game?

A lot will argue that the spread offense you see in college and high school today is nothing more than a dressed up version of the old Oklahoma Sooner wishbone offense of the 70's and 80's.

This offense never made it into the pros as many predicted, but I personally see a lot differences.

First off, the wishbone offense didn't spread the entire width of the field with big, strong, fast, and athletic wide receivers like the current spread offense, and secondly, the modern day spread is run predominately out of the shot-gun, which allows these talented dual threat QB's more options in the passing game that the wishbone formation did not.

Finally, back to my prediction for the future of the spread offense in the NFL.

By the year 2011, an NFL franchise will make a commitment to the current spread offense we see today in college and high school game by first hiring one of the many college coaches who have evolved this offense.

Names I think of are Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, Urban Meyer at Florida, Ron Zook at Illinois, or Chip Kelly at Oregon.

What these coaches will do is have three (3) dual threat quarterbacks on the 53 man active roster every week. These QB's may even rotate into the game and all three may see some sort of action every week, as these offenses work best in a no huddle system.

What NFL owners would be bold enough to try this first? Maybe a Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins, a Jerry Jones in Dallas, or an Al Davis in Oakland.

Imagine an NFL team having quarterbacks Vince Young, Patrick White, and Terrelle Pryor on the same roster in 3 years, sign me up... I'll pay extra for that!

I don't know about you, but I look forward to this day. I personally enjoy watching football much more on Saturday's as opposed to Sunday's, but that will all change as the stars of Saturday create a 'disruptive innovation' at the NFL level by 2011.


-- Mark Colyer - http://www.spreadoffense.com/

Defending The Spread Offense - I'll Take A Shot

Defending The Spread Offense - Downloadable Playbook!

Since we've opened the coaches forum at SpreadOffense.com we've received some great posts and feedback from coaches from all over the world on how to run this exciting offense.

The section of the forum that asks for feedback and insight on how to stop the spread offense has been occupied by tumble weed, like a section of Nevada 100 miles from Las Vegas or something.

So I figured I'd try to give some insight on how to stop this potent offense that has taken the college and high school game by storm. Three areas you need to be good at on the defensive side of the ball are:

• Defensive Team Speed



• Excellent Open Field Tacklers



• Gap Responsibility and Pursuit Discipline
  

I'm not going to get into whether an odd front is better than an even front, sliding to strength or away from strength, slanting, angling, cover 2, cover 3, combo coverage, etc...

I'll leave that up to the coaches and hopefully you can apply this to any defensive alignment that you run.

1) Defensive Team Speed

It's obvious when you look at the landscape of both the college or high school game that players like Patrick White, Noel Devine, Armanti Edwards, Terrelle Pryor, and Percy Harvin have required defenses to have fast, athletic players to match the speed of these great athletes. When I say 'speed', I don't mean 100 meter dash speed per say, but football speed, which is usually an athlete that not only can run fast in a straight line, but can also run fast, stop, then re-start again at a rapid rate. Change of direction speed, the ability to accelerate, decelerate, then re-accelerate at a rapid pace.

Is a player born with this? Some are for sure. Can a player work on this type of speed? Absolutely! It's called change of direction training, such training facilities as The Parisi Speed School and Velocity Training teach it around the country. Google them both to check it out, I know Parisi's sells videos on it, go to Parisi's website by clicking here, they call it 'Deceleration Training'.

2) Excellent Open Field Tacklers

The one big thing a spread offense try’s to exploit is the need for defenses to be in open space, a lot of times with even numbers in that section and that takes away the classic 'gang tackling' concept that so many defenses preach. It's much harder to gang tackle when you're spread all across the field and isolation of areas of the field are what spread offenses are looking for.

Working on open field, individual tackling is of utmost importance for defenses. The ability to break down in the open field, make good contact, then grabbing cloth as you bring down the offensive player is very important to teach your 2nd level players (Linebackers and Defensive backs).

One very simple part of being a good open field tackler is teaching the defender to have their head up, and eyes open right up to impact. This may sound simple, but in individual drills at practice ask your players how many of them close their eyes right before contact. You'll be surprised at the response. It's a natural human reaction to close your eyes before any contact and football is no different, but you need to change that if you want your players to be good open field tacklers.

Angles of pursuit are also critical, and I don't mean just the game saving angles of pursuit, you need to work on the intermediate angles of pursuit, and what to do when you get there (tackle and then strip) and are ready to deliver an open field blow.

3) Gap Responsibility and Pursuit Discipline

I remember when the great Denver Bronco teams of the late 90's gave defenses fits with their zone blocking scheme and the ability of Terrell Davis to cut back on over pursuing defenses. Well now in 2008, you're seeing at the college and high school level spread offense zone teams do the same thing to over aggressive defenses who insist on flying over the top to get the zone hand-off, only to get burned by either the tailback cutting back against the pursuit, or the QB (who's now the best athlete on the team and one of the fastest) tucking it on the zone read and bootlegging the other way.

The ability for a defense to be disciplined in gap responsibility and pursuit starts in practice. It needs to be worked on in individual, group, and team settings.

It all starts with confidence in the team that all 11 players believe in the other 11 and if I do my job then the team will benefit. Now don't confuse what I'm saying with not being an aggressive defense, it just needs to be ingrained in your defensive players that your pursuit angle (meaning anything ran away from you) should never pass the ball carriers 'inside' pocket or armpit at your level.

Once they pass your level, you need to fly to the ball, because a cutback at that point is not a concern at your responsibility level.

Now if the ball is coming your way (play side), you still need to keep your outside arm free and never give the corner, again believing in your play side teammates that they're pursuing and your backside teammates that they're pursuing at the correct angles.

One of the best college teams I've seen do all of the above the last two years has been the University of South Florida, especially in their games versus West Virginia the past two years.

USF's defensive staff would be a great group to go visit and clinic with if you need to stop a West Virginia style run dominant spread offense. Best wishes on your preparation for next year, believe in your plan, your coaches, and players.

Source: Mark Colyer, http://www.spreadoffense.com/

Coaches Forum Opens at SpreadOffense.com

We're proud to announce the opening of our online coaches forum, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/forum/

Use this forum to interact with other football coaches throughout the world to discuss tactics, techniques, ideas, successes, failures, or whatever else on the spread offense.

Keep Spreading 'Em,

Mark

mark@spreadoffense.com

Spread Offense Coaches Forum

Video: Discussion on The Zone Read

Source: CSTV.com

The college football staff at CSTV.com break down the zone read out of the spread offense. This video is from 2006, and shows video from West Virginia with Patrick White and Texas with Vince Young.

Click the "play >" button to start the video below.

Washington State picks up former Westmont, De Anza football player

Source: Dennis Knight - Mercury News

Since he started playing football at 9, Chantz Staden's goal has been to earn a Division I scholarship.

The former Westmont standout was disappointed when he was passed by after his senior year of high school. But this week Staden, after an impressive sophomore season at De Anza College, made an oral commitment to play at Washington State.

"This is like a dream come true for me," said Staden, who led California junior college players with 18 touchdowns and 110 points this season. "To play for a Division I school, let alone a Pac-10 team . . . It hasn't really hit me yet and probably won't until I step on campus."

A gifted receiver who can line up anywhere in an offense, Staden rushed for 755 yards in 167 carries and caught 50 passes for 855 yards this season. He earned first-team All-American honors from JC Grid-Wire.

"Chantz is going to fit right in - he couldn't ask for a better situation," said De Anza offensive coordinator Tony Santos, who also coached Staden at Westmont. "Washington State has new coaches and they are going to put in a no-huddle, spread offense. They were looking for a character guy, and they got one. Chantz is a first-class kid."

Evaluating college quarterbacks is no snap

Source: Brian Baldinger

With the offseason here for all but four teams and many of them in need of a quarterback, it's fun to look ahead to the NFL draft with visions of Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, Colt Brennan and Andre' Woodson dancing in our heads. It's also scary as hell because evaluating college quarterbacks has become a nightmare.

The rise of the spread offense has made the college game so different from the pro game. Even traditional running powers such as Oklahoma are lining up in the shotgun, spreading the field with four or five receivers and throwing the ball all over the place. And that makes it difficult to know what you're getting when you draft a quarterback from that background.

There's a world of difference between taking snaps under center and taking snaps five or six yards farther back. Think about it: Brennan started at Hawaii for three years and never turned his back to the defense. That's huge.

We take it for granted that Peyton Manning can take a snap under center, turn and fake to Joseph Addai, then turn back around and face a defense that probably was disguised when he saw it before, refocus his eyes downfield, locate an open receiver and release the ball on his fifth or seventh step. Manning makes it look easy, but it isn't. And if Brennan has never done it in college, why should we think he can learn to do it in the NFL? Alex Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, is still trying to figure it out. It's hard.

Teams can realistically assess the abilities of Ryan, an NFL prototype quarterback from Boston College, and Brohm, who played in a pro-style offense at Louisville. But how can they judge Brennan, Woodson and so many others who spent most of their time in spread formations? These prospects will be asked to show pro-style skills such as dropping back and executing play-action at the Combine and individual workouts, but those are artificial environments. The real world of the NFL will be less forgiving.

Think of a G.M. who invests a high pick in a spread quarterback as Forrest Gump reaching into his box of chocolates.

With no idea what he's gonna get.

Brian Baldinger, an offensive lineman for 12 NFL seasons, can be heard on Sporting News Radio and seen on FOX Sports. Listen online at http://radio.sportingnews.com

Steve Slaton Heading To The NFL

Reports out of Morgantown, West Virginia are that Steve Slaton has decided to leave the West Virginia University football team early and enter the NFL draft this April.

Slaton, a junior who has put up some very impressive numbers in his career will be remembered by the staff at SpreadOffense.com as a pioneer player in the latest evolution of the spread offense.

When #10 came onto the scene for WVU in a close loss to Virginia Tech in 2005, he instantly created a spark along with Patrick White that catapulted the Mountaineer's to national prominence.

Steve Slaton ran for 3,923 and scored 55 touchdowns in 3 years at West Virginia. He was the MVP of the 2006 Sugar Bowl after rushing for 204 yards on 26 carries and scoring three touchdowns when WVU upset Georgia.

One of Slaton's most memorable games was in 2005 versus Louisville. Slaton scored 6 touchdown's as the Mountaineer's came back from 21 points down to win in triple overtime.

This year Slaton's carries dropped as WVU shared the wealth between Slaton, White, and newcomer in the backfield Noel Devine.

Thanks for the memories Super Steve... show them what you got in the NFL.

The Spread Offense - Single Wing D-Mac Style

Darren McFadden will be missed in college football, he'll be remembered as one of the true symbols of the spread offense evolution. His trademark wild cat and wild hog formations will be studied, copied, and built upon for years to come.

Enjoy the video below of some coaches chalk talk on the Arkansas wild cat formation. Thanks D-Mac for the memories!

Learning The Spread Offense - Valuable Resources for Coaches

Spread Offense Playbook - Download Now!

Stopping The Spread Offense - Defensive Playbook - Download Now!


One of the best quotes I ever heard and still truly believe is: 'Leaders are Readers' or in the modern era 'Leaders are Readers and watch Video'.

Below are both free resources and pay for resources for coaches looking to educate themselves on the spread offense:

1) Free Resources

I can't stress how important it is to use recording technology to your advantage if you want to learn and study something, especially the sport of football. The ability to tape games via a DVR machine (usually available through a cable company, satellite provider, or telephone TV service like Verizon FIOS) or a standard video recorder right from the comfort of your home is very valuable free resource.

If you're a coach that is passionate about running the spread offense or a coach passionate about stopping the spread offense, I would have to ask if you've taped most of the following 2007-2008 college bowl games:

Appalachian State vs. Delaware

New Mexico vs Nevada

BYU vs. UCLA

Purdue vs Central Michigan

TCU vs. Houston

Oregon vs USF

Auburn vs. Clemson

Florida State vs. Kentucky

Florida vs. Michigan

Missouri vs. Arkansas

Air Force vs. California

Texas Tech vs. Virginia

USC vs Illinois

Hawaii vs Georgia

West Virginia vs Oklahoma

Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

US Army All American Bowl (High School)

Tulsa vs. Bowling Green

LSU vs. Ohio State

I may have even missed some, but that's A LOT of spread offense to evaluate and learn from. It may not be too late if you missed a lot of these because ESPNU and ESPN Classic do a good job of replying these games for a few weeks after the bowl season.

These games are so valuable for learning and seeing what some of the best spread offensive minds are thinking and more importantly what some of the best defensive coaches are doing to stop it (or at least trying to do too stop it).

If you ever read 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, he mentions a very important point: "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". If you want to be a great offensive spread coach, you need to know what the defensive coaches are thinking and planning to stop you (and vice versa).

The ability to breakdown film as a coach is a critical skill, not just your teams or your opponents, but what I call 'third party' film. Imagine in your head what you might call that 'third party' play based on your terminology and formations.

When I coached, I had a lot of 'specialty' plays that I stole from the likes of the Ol Ball Coach (Spurrier) and Bobby Bowden, plays like the Gator Counter and the Seminole Toss Pass.

I still have boxes of old VHS taped from the early 90's thru the early 00's that I just can't part from (my wife thinks I'm nuts) with game upon game that I recorded.

Get detailed on paper with notes if you see something you really like, what are the lineman's splits?, are there any influence blocks (or joker type techniques on the O-Line) taking place?, is the slot receiver acting out the bubble screen?, what's the play tempo like?, what's the down and distance?, where on the field is the ball?, what are the backfield splits?, etc.

Try not only praising the video, but be critical of plays when you evaluate 'third party' film. Is the quarterback carrying out his option fakes or carrying out the zone read bootleg fake on the hand-off? Is the tailback carrying out his fakes if he doesn't get the ball on the zone read? Are the X and Y receivers blocking aggressive enough on the bubble screen? Coach the other teams on the video as you would coach your team.

Besides video resources, another free option is to simply call a college or high school in your area that runs the spread offense and ask the coaches if they would clinic with you and your staff. Most staff's are very open to this, especially if you have some solid recruits that may be of interest to them in the future. Even if you don't and you're say a Pop Warner coach, most coaches will be glad to assist.

2) Pay For Resources

There are many good resources that you can pay for, many of these I have personally used and others I am going off references from other coaches.

I personally prefer video over books when it comes to coaching instructional stuff. The ability to rewind, slow mo, pause, and taking notes while watching is very valuable as opposed to reading it.

What I do enjoy reading is more motivational type stuff, life balance, or organizational books to help build teamwork, character, discipline, work ethic, and courage (the 'intangibles' of football).

Before I get into my favorite spread offense instructional videos, let me share some of my favorite motivational, positive attitude, life balance, organizational, and leadership books.

1. Sun Tzu For Success - Gerald Michaelson
2. Turning The Thing Around - Jimmy Johnson and Ed Hinton
3. Power For Living (Christian based) - Jamie Buckingham
4. Finding a Way to Win - Bill Parcells and Jeff Coplon
5. The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
6. Creating Your Own Destiny - Patrick Snow
7. You Can Heal Your Life - Louise L. Hay

I have attached below an Amazon.com online search box for your convenience. Just so you know this is a mix of books that I feel will make you a well rounded leader and person, both on the football field as a coach and in life. To me, balance is the key to be a great leader, motivator, and teacher.




Here is my list of favorite spread offense instructional videos:

1. The Shotgun Spread Offense Series - Bruce Eien, Brethren Christian (CA) High School Head Coach
2. West Virginia Spread Offense - Rich Rodriguez, Rick Trickett, Calvin Magee - West Virginia University
3. The Zone Option Package - Brian Hughes, C.W. Post College Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator
4. The Run Game Within the Spread Offense - John Reagan, University of Kansas Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
5. The Simplified Spread Offense - Dennis Dunn, Louisiana College Head Coach (former Evangel Christian Academy (LA) Head Coach)
6. Transitioning From the Wing-T to a Spread - Lew Johnston, Western Branch HS (VA) Head Coach
7. The Basics of the Single Wing Offense - Mike Rude, Johnston City High School (IL) Head Coach;Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame

Defending The Spread Offense Videos

8. Defending the Spread Shotgun Wing-T Offense - Lew Johnston,Western Branch HS (VA) Head Coach
9. Defending the Spread with the 50 Defense - J.T. Curtis, John Curtis Christian School (LA) Head Coach,2006 USA Today National HS Coach of the Year
10. 12 Keys to Defending the Spread - Brian George, Indiana University Co-Defensive Coordinator / DL
11. Defending the Spread with the 3-5-3 - Bert Williams, Georgia Military College Head Coach

Coaches Clinic's:

Glazier Clinic's 2008 Schedule

Nike Football Clinics 2008

I have produced hyperlinks above so simply click on the titles to view these fine videos and clinics. If you're interested in purchasing them, follow the directions once the page launches.

One area I'm not going to elaborate on but is critical for a successful spread offense is your off-season strength and conditioning program. This not only builds strong, fast, athletic athletes, it also goes a long way in building teamwork, togetherness, and comradery amongst your players and staff.

"The key is not the will to win . . . everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” - Bobby Knight.

Best wishes in your off-season preparation, and keep spreading them!

Terrelle Pryor Showcases His Spread-ability in San Antonio

Terrelle Pryor has been called the next Vince Young. He certainly looked the part Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school all-star game in San Antonio, Texas.

Pryor ran the spread offense for the East team with exceptional poise and execution, leading his team to a 33-23 win over a talented West team.

Pryor split playing time with two other quarterbacks, but ended with 155 all-purpose yards, 79 rushing and 76 passing and was named the games MVP.

The physically dominant quarterback out of Pennsylvania stands 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds.

He still has not announced a college choice for next season. He is reportedly considering Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, West Virginia, and Oregon.

The national signing day is Feb. 6.

West Virginia's Venomous Spread Stings Oklahoma

Just when you thought the wheels popped off the WVU Mountaineer spread offense after their crushing loss to PITT on December 1st, they unleashed a venomous attack on the Oklahoma Sooner's in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl 48-28.

West Virginia amassed 525 yards of total offense (349 on the ground) against a Sooner team that was allowing 91 yards of rushing a game.

Patrick White was responsible for 326 yards of total offense, and showed why he's one of the most explosive dual threat quarterback's in NCAA history.

A few articles ago we discussed how important a balanced attack was in the spread offense and pointed to WVU as one of those programs that may need to add more passing into their attack.

Well, the interim staff over in Morgantown did just that, as White connected on some timely passes the entire night which kept OU off-balanced.

Another impressive showing was by Noel Devine, the true freshmen back-up tailback at WVU who ran for 108 yards and 2 TD's (filling in for the injured Steve Slaton).

Great job Mountaineer's and Coach Bill Stewart, the new Mountaineer Head Football Coach.

Capital One Bowl - Filled With Spread Offense Vibes

How cool is the atmosphere at the 2008 Capital One Bowl with Florida playing Michigan.

You have in the house down in Orlando Tim Tebow (this year's Heisman trophy winner and our player of the year), Coach Urban Meyer and Coach Dan Mullen from the Gators (two top Executives of the spread offense), Michigan throwing in a new spread offense wrinkle in Coach Carr's last game, and the Chairmen of the Board Rich Rodriguez at SpreadOffense.com on the sidelines as an observer (Michigan's new coach).

Wouldn't it be nice to grab this group after the game for some spread offense talk, a little clinic stuff for us spread fanatics!

Enjoy the bowl games - a lot of shot-gun spread offense is being displayed throughout the country.

How Important is a Balanced Attack In The Spread Offense?

When you think of the spread offense, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it running the ball using the zone read, triple option, and quarterback 'single wing' type plays like West Virginia and Oregon (with Dennis Dixon)? Is it throwing the ball all over the field both vertically and horizontally like Hawaii? OR...is it a balanced mix of rushing the football and passing the football like Florida?

I must admit, when I personally think of the spread offense today (at this moment), the first thing that comes to my mind is the use of the quarterback in the rushing game...the Coach Rodriguez style of the spread that has made West Virginia a national powerhouse over the last 3 years. But is this style of the spread offense the best style? Is this style the 'formula' for ultimate success?

Maybe the reason I think of the spread in this rushing form is because it is the newest, freshest, or the 'buzz' out there in college and high school - not necessarily the 'best' form or style.

I mean don't get me wrong, when Oregon, Appalachian State or West Virginia had teams scrambling to figure out how to defend their respective rushing dominant spread offenses, it was some of the funniest stuff to watch as both a fan and a coach. It was so good that you wondered 'how the heck are they doing that?'... gashing some pretty good defenses with these shot-gun spread running plays?

On the flip side, if you tuned into West Virginia's two defeats this year versus South Florida (who has beaten WVU two years in a row with great defense) and Pittsburgh, you would have shook your head saying "What's all the fuss about?"

As a former offensive coordinator myself, I must admit that one of the hardest things to do is get away from something that is so successful so often. Is it pride, ego, stubbornness, or the fear of not enough preparation or more importantly game exposure to 'Plan B' that prevents coaches from shifting gears when a defense hasn't stopped you all day?

Remember, there is only so much time in a day and more importantly so much 'game experience' for alternative measures to be confidently ran when the scoreboard is on.

So as a coach...what do you do? Your racking up tons of yardage and points using a lot of the same stuff simply because the defense can't stop you, do you stop calling what's working (going against the 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' motto) and try to 'balance' your attack? Risking a possible turnover or more importantly loss of offensive momentum and scoring to prepare for the future (just in case)?

Obviously the capabilities of your player's will have a lot of determination on how balanced you are willing to be.

It's a fact that Patrick White from WVU couldn't run Colt Brennan's offense at Hawaii (or vice versa) but how 'balanced' could these two guys really be?

Colt Brennan threw for 4,174 and rushed for 65 so far this year

Patrick White threw for 1,548 and rushed for 1,185 so far this year

If you looked at these two stats from two great college QB's, you would say that West Virginia is the more 'balanced' offensive team, but is either team really 'balanced'?

Then you have the Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow from Florida, his stats so far this year look like this:

Passing: 3,132
Rushing: 838

Not very balanced stats, but during my observation of this year, I would have to say that Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen of Florida do the best job of 'balancing' an attack and more importantly staying with that balanced attack game plan then any other spread offense in the nation.*

Is it because of Tim Tebow's skills? or a philosophy the Gator's have that staying balanced in the spread is the right formula to keep defenses honest and stressed?

The Gators did lose 3 games this year in the very tough SEC conference.


* (As a side note, Butch Jones from Central Michigan also did a great job of balancing his attack in the Motor City Bowl this year.)

The Spread Offense Dominates the 2007 Motor City Bowl

One of the best quotes I heard this year was ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit mentioning at the Heisman trophy presentation earlier this month, "Scoring in college football reached an all-time high this season (2007), the reason being the execution of The Spread Offense by teams throughout the country".

Right on Herbie....

Purdue outlasted Central Michigan in the 2007 Motor City Bowl by a score of 51-48.

Both teams used the shot-gun spread offense, with Purdue more of a passing team, and Central Michigan more of a running attack, though balanced with some timely passing mixed in.

Both coaches, Joe Tiller and Butch Jones are from the spread offense fraternity of coaches.

Tiller is more of an 'innovator' of the spread passing game, while Jones comes from the Rich Rodriguez coaching tree as an assistant at West Virginia.

In last nights game, Curtis Painter (Purdue QB) and Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan QB) but on a show that would make Tim Tebow and Patrick White blush.

LeFevour threw for 292 yards and four scores and ran for 114 yards and two TD's for the Chippewa's.

Painter threw for a school-record 546 yards and three touchdown passes, setting up Chris Summers' 40-yard field goal as time expired.

The 99 points tied the second-highest total in a bowl game that ended in regulation, trailing only the 2003 Insight Bowl where California beat Virginia Tech 52-49.

Hawaii tops West Virginia in ESPNU's Simulated College Football Final

The Hawaii Warriors defeated the West Virginia University Mountaineers in the championship game of a simulated college football Division 1-A playoff 45 -41 held by ESPNU.

Why report on this? Well, we thought it was nice to see two spread offense teams, one dominant in the passing game (Hawaii), the other the running game (West Virginia) make it to the final through EA Sports simulated NCAA Football platform.

See some highlights of the simulated title game below.

A Nice Wrinkle by BYU in The Spread Offense

I had not seen the Brigham Young University football team play this year being I'm on the east coast, but I had a chance to watch them last night in the Las Vegas Bowl versus the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

I was very impressed with one neat 'wrinkle' in their spread offense, that being the way they align at the line of scrimmage during their no huddle pre snap period.

What BYU does is come directly to the line in a tight pro-set I formation, then they shift into a wider shot-gun spread set, with the offensive linemen really opening up their splits during this shift.

I also saw them run a few plays out of this tighter pro-set formation from the I (sort of a quick tempo play), keeping the defense honest and requiring them to defend the offense prior to shifting.

Nice job by BYU... again another 'wrinkle' in the ever evolving spread offense.

Here's a small video clip of a BYU preseason practice.

Zone Read - Playing the Numbers

The zone read is considered by most shot-run spread offense coaches as the 'bread and butter' run play of this offensive system. It's comparable to the buck sweep in the 'Wing-T' or the ISO in the 'I formation'.

Lets breakdown two important areas of the zone read that make it so effective:

1. The Quarterback 'cancelling out' the backside (DE or OLB) line of scrimmage threat


2. Counting the 'numbers' in the box and favoring blocking angles

1. A key component of the shot-gun spread offense is the ability of the quarterback to 'cancel out' the backside Defensive End (DE) at the mesh point with the Running Back.

What we are saying here is that at the critical point where the quarterback has to decide whether to keep the ball or hand it off (the mesh point), the defensive end (or possibly an outside linebacker) responsible for backside contain has to make one of two decisions.

Decision #1 is to crash or knife down the line of scrimmage for the running back, Decision #2 is to 'stay home' and box out the quarterback for a potential keep.

If the QB reads decision 1, he keeps it for a backside bootleg run or triple option pitch progression, if the QB reads decision 2, the QB hands it off to the running back (and fakes the bootleg run), thus 'cancelling out' or blocking in effect the backside end.

2. One thing the zone read allows is the offense to dictate 'numbers' and 'angles' during the pre-snap period. This is why 90% of spread offense teams go with a no huddle, it makes the defense show their hand in regards to alignment, allowing the offense to change the play based on 'lucky or ringo', 'rip or liz'...coaches and player lingo for go 'right or left' with the play.

If the defensive alignment shows more defender to the left (using the centers crotch as the mid-line) in the box, then the call at the line would be 'ringo', meaning we're zoning right, thus the QB will be reading the left defensive end on the zone read.

This number is usually a 4 vs. 3 defenders scenario that determines the call. If the numbers are even (say 4 left and 4 right), a lot of coaches teach their quarterback to read the defensive front alignment, looking to run to the '1 technique' tackle side as opposed to the '3 technique' tackle side, looking for better zone blocking angles.

If you don't want to take that path with your quarterback, you can also pick the side in an even defensive alignment scenario based on your team's preference, wide side of the field, or player strength (or a defenders weak side), or audible to the bubble screen if appropriate.

Mastering these two areas of the shot-gun zone read can really go a long way in producing some serious offensive production.

See video below of some exciting shot-gun, spread offense zone read plays (of course 'speed and agility' from your player's help make it all look great).

The Spread Offense Player Of The Year in 2007: Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow, quarterback for the University of Florida and the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner has been named "The Spread Offense Player of the Year" in 2007 by SpreadOffense.com

Tebow became the first player in major college history to run for at least 20 touchdowns and throw 20 TD passes in the same season. He accounted for 51 touchdowns, including a SEC record 22 rushing, and set a school record with 3,970 yards of total offense. He also was the second-rated quarterback in the country, completing 68 percent of his throws for 3,132 yards.

If you think about the consummate 'dual threat' quarterback, Tebow's face is in the dictionary as the visual example subtitled: "The Tough Version".

The difference between Tebow and the likes of Patrick White, Dennis Dixon, and Armanti Edwards is his tough, physical style of running.

Tebow's not going to go blazing 60 yards through a defense like White, but he'll loosen your chin strap with bone crushing runs that truly wear a defense down.

I always said there's two ways to wear a defense down, through speed and power.... well at Florida, Tim Tebow is the power, Percy Harvin and the gang are the speed.

The most amazing stat this year is the accuracy and effectiveness of Tebow's passing game (completing 68 percent of his throws for 3,132 yards), imagine what it takes for this guy to make a bone jarring run on one play, and then a 30 yard bullet throw the next (with great effectiveness!) play.

Congratulations to Tim Tebow, the 2007 SpreadOffense.com College Player of the Year.

Other Finalists:

Patrick White - WVU
Dennis Dixon - Oregon
Darren McFadden - Ark
Armanti Edwards - ASU
Percy Harvin - Florida
Chase Daniel - Missouri


Enjoy the Video Below!

Terry Bowden to West Virginia?

Rumors are flying around Mountaineer Nation that Terry Bowden will be named the new head football coach at West Virginia University as early as tomorrow, replacing Rich Rodriguez who left for Michigan.

Other strong possibilities for the position are:

John ‘Doc’ Holliday
Bud Foster

We will keep you updated as we hear more.

The Spread Offense Of The Year in 2007: Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University has been named 'The Spread Offense Of The Year' by the staff at SpreadOffense.com

The Mountaineer's finished the season at 13-2, and this year's Subdivision college final (formerly Division I-AA) victory was their 3rd in a row.

The victory capped a season in which the Mountaineers upset Michigan 34-32 in the opener, what some have called 'the biggest upset in college football history'.

“They hadn't played against that fast-paced of an offense that I know of,” said Jerry Moore the head coach at ASU since 1989.

Senior running back Kevin Richardson gained 118 yards, and sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards had 89 in the championship game vs. Delaware.

Edwards, the catalyst to Appalachian State's spread offense, dazzled college football fans this year with his passing and running ability.

"We like to think we've got good team speed. It's a key factor in recruiting and a key factor in determining who's going to play", Moore said.

In 2003, Appalachian State had just finished the season with a 7-4 record. Coach Jerry Moore thought his traditional I-formation offense needed a spark.

So his staff studied Utah's spread-option offense under coach Urban Meyer and made a trip to West Virginia to study the spread attack under coach Rich Rodriguez.

The ASU offensive attack is orchestrated by the entire offensive coaching staff, lead by Shawn Elliott, the offensive line coach and Scott Satterfield, the quarterbacks coach.

"We complement each other. But if something comes up that we don't agree with, we're almost like brothers, we say what we feel. We deal with it and move along," Elliott said.

"Coach Moore is a special person," Elliott said. "That's why no one leaves. A lot of coaches go someplace for the money or because it's a bigger program. But we know what we have here in Boone."

Congratulations to Appalachian State University, the 2007 SpreadOffense.com College Football Team of the Year.

Enjoy the Video Below!

Video: Rich Rodriguez Breaks Down His Spread Offense

Courtesy of ESPN Broadband

Rich Rodriguez, former West Virginia University coach explains his spread offense running schemes known as the zone read and triple option with ESPN.

Rodriguez Heading To Ann Arbor

Rich Rodriguez has decided to leave West Virginia University and become the new head football coach at The University of Michigan.

Coach Rod posted a 60-26 record at WVU in his seven seasons at his alma mater, where he played defensive back for Don Nehlen. The Mountaineer's posted 4 Big East Football Championships during his tenure.

Coach Rod is known as a pioneer of 'The Spread Offense', which he created during his days at Glenville State College.

Coach Rod's offensive system at West Virginia produced very impressive numbers, especially on the ground as WVU consistently produced Top 5 in the country rushing teams.

Two WVU quarterbacks under Coad Rod became Big East Offensive Players Of The Year, Rasheed Marshall and Patrick White (twice).

Here at SpreadOffense.com, we consider Coach Rod, "The Chairman of The Board" of The Spread Offense.

Rumors of possible successors for Rodriguez at WVU are: Calvin Magee (current Offensive Coordinator), Terry Bowden (a WVU graduate), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Butch Jones (former Assistant Coach at WVU, currently the Head Coach at Central Michigan), and Rick Trickett (former Assistant Coach at WVU, currently at Florida State).

Enjoy the video of a Coach Rod pregame talk below from 2005, thanks Coach for seven great years at West Virginia... you'll be missed in Morgantown. Best of Luck in the future, and keep 'spread-in u'm'.

Two Simple Spread Offense Components For Success... Or Maybe Not?

As a coach at the high school level who ran The Spread Offense and hearing from different college coaches who run it at clinics, two very simple components need to be executed properly in order to run this offense.

1. The Center Shot-Gun Snap
2. The Bubble Screen QB Throw

1. The Center Shot-Gun Snap

The center shot-gun snap is the 'ignition' point for every spread play, this is what sets everything in motion, allowing the perimeter skill players to 'see' the start of the play as hearing a snap count is impossible from those distances.

The actual snap of the ball itself is what I feel is the most important, because a bad or inaccurate snap can really throw off the entire flow and continuity of the play. What I mean by inaccurate is that the quarterback prefers the shot-gun snap to be between their number on the front of the jersey, allowing them to securely catch the ball, then go through their play flow, whether that is a zone read, triple option, straight hand-off, QB sweep/draw/wrap/counter/ISO, bubble screen, or straight pass.

I've heard Rick Trickett (O-Line coach at Florida State, formally at West Virginia and Auburn) say that he demands that his centers get 100 shot-gun snaps in 'a day' in the off-season (are your centers doing this?), that's how important mastering this simple yet extremely important element of the spread offense.

2. The Bubble Screen QB Throw

The bubble screen is one of those components of The Spread Offense that really makes things hard on the defense, placing them 'between a rock and a hard place' in trying to decide on perimeter support for the run (especially against the zone read or triple option), and how many players to commit to 'the box', as your outside linebackers and strong safeties need to cover receiver #2 (the inside twin receiver), taking them out of the box.

The other component of the bubble screen that has become even more interesting is when offenses 'fake or act out' the bubble screen, making the perimeter defense freeze (if only for a split second), which may be the difference on an inside zone read run going to the house, or for a 6 yard gain as the 'box' defenders are all covered by blockers and perimeter help cannot support the inside play.

Now, looking at the above scenarios you're likely saying, 'lets put this great play in', again easier said then done. Just like the shot-gun snap above from the center needs to be executed correctly, the bubble screen pass and catch need to do the same.

I've heard coaches at clinics describe the bubble screen throw by the quarterback as like 'turning the double play' in baseball between the second basemen and shortstop. The quarterback first has to catch the snap cleanly, rotate his body correctly, whether to his throwing arm side or his backside. Usually some kind of zone fake hand-off precedes the throw, so a clean fake between the QB and Super-back must occur (no 'dislodging' the ball during the fake) if the case requires it.

I mentioned above how centers in Coach Trick's programs are required to do a lot of 'off-season' work, well I would strongly suggest the same with the 'pitch and catch' of the bubble screen. Rep's, rep's, and more rep's!

Remember, a bubble screen (based on ball placement on the field, hash-marks, formation, etc..) could be thrown as short as 10 yards or as long as 25 yards. All of these distances need to practiced, over and over again.

Receivers or 'athletes' need to be aware of the rules of a forward pass vs. a lateral on bubble screens. I would teach them to always assume the bubble screen is a lateral (thrown behind the line of scrimmage, this also allows for the release of O-linemen downfield, a big part of the bubble screen).

Mastering these two 'simple' components of "The Spread Offense" will go a long way in driving defenses crazy and eliminating costly mistakes on offense.

Coach Rod to Michigan?

Rumors are flying that Rich Rodriguez (The 'Chairman of the Board' around here at Spreadoffense.com) talked with The University of Michigan on friday about their head coaching position.

As we all remember, Coach Rod walked this line with Alabama last year before deciding to stay at his alma mater (WVU).

I know the 'Mountaineer Nation' is up in arms that two years in a row now Coach Rod has 'played the field' or 'tested the waters', personally I think it's great for WVU.

How? Because think of it this way, Coach Rod can learn something from talking to the higher arch's at Alabama and Michigan, two storied programs that have a heck of a lot more tradition then West Virginia (and likely more 'insight' on what it takes to become successful and more importantly for WVU 'stay successful').

I've never been in these meetings, but I would think both sides are doing a lot of 'listening' to each other, both learning about each other.

Did last years Alabama courting hurt Coach Rod's recruiting at West Virginia last year? No way, they had a great class come in, the likes of Noel Devine, Jock Sanders, and Brandon Hogan. Sounds like to me it didn't hurt... it likely helped.

Maybe Terrelle Pryor, the highest sought out 'dual threat' QB recruit will hear this from Coach Rod now: "Terrelle, West Virginia is the place to be, I've had my chances to go to Alabama and Michigan the last two years...two programs with loads of football history, and I chose to stay at West Virginia because we are at the pinnacle of greatness (in addition, I'm the "Chairman of the Board" of The Spread Offense), where do you choose?"

We'll see what happens, but my guess is Coach Rod stays in Morgantown.

The Mountaineer's play Oklahoma on January 2nd in the Fiesta Bowl.

Is it a Hoax, Gimmick, or Evolution?... The Spread Offense

It's amazing how 'change' brings out the best and worst of us, not only in sports, but in life. I love when I read through the college football teams blogosphere's and those fans of teams who run more of a conventional offense calling 'The Spread' a hoax, or "gimmick offense".

So, I decided to look up the definitions of both:

hoax (n.) : subject to a playful joke - something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage

gimmick (n.) : an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, one designed to attract attention or increase appeal - a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal

I think if you look at these two definitions, I would tend to lean towards 'gimmick' over 'hoax', but the "deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage" part of the hoax definition has me intrigued! (Gosh, all these long words... is this English class!).

When I think of 'The Spread Offense', my first thought IS gaining an advantage over the defense based on player numbers (no more 9 blockers vs 11 tacklers scenarios in the running game), tempo (usually in some sort of a no huddle), field or 'grass' (meaning using the entire 53 yards across and the hash-marks to your advantage), and the isolation of skill players or 'athletes' (the need for the defense to tackle well in 'one on one' situations in the open field, making 'gang tackling' harder by the defense).

My mother used to say that 'most trends and styles eventually come back', and I guess in football you're seeing the return of "The Single Wing Offense", but on steroids!! (I know, steroids are a sore subject, you get what I mean though).

The three major changes, two evolutionary of the game and one technological are:

1) The Forward Pass and its complex pass routes

2) The Spread Formation across the entire field

3) On field Headsets linked to the coaches box for real time feedback and play changes

Lets go back to our definitions and now define:

evolution (n.) : development, a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of ...

My vote for "The Spread Offense" is: evolution

Now...join the evolution and spread 'em out!! (and enjoy the show, it's a lot of fun).

Add Auburn to 'The Spread Offense' list

News out of Auburn University's football program is that they have hired Tony Franklin to be their new offensive coordinator, starting immediately.

Tommy Tuberville hired Franklin from Troy on Wednesday to replace Al Borges. Auburn was 8-4 this season, but struggled offensively.

Auburn ranked 101st out of 119 teams in offense, while high-scoring Troy was 17th running Franklin's no-huddle attack.

Troy led the nation with 81.5 plays per game in Franklin's second season as coordinator. He previously coached at Kentucky under Hal Mumme.

Tuberville said that Auburn will still be physical and run the football, noting that Troy had about a 50-50 mix this season. "The biggest difference in philosophy is he's going to set up the run by passing, while we've set up the pass by running the ball."

The spread means that the quarterback has to be multi-dimensional. "He's your main man," Tuberville said. "He runs it, he throws it, he hands it off, he does it all. . . . Everything is built around the quarterback."

Auburn will play Clemson in this year's Chick-fil-A Bowl, and Tuberville didn't rule out a 'sneak-peek' of the spread in that game, though with only about 10 days of practice, it may make it very hard to execute.