Tulsa Spread Offense Video Clips

The University of Tulsa has one of the best shot-gun spread offense option philosophies in college football. One of our most popular posts is still our Q&A session with Herb Hand from Tulsa.

Here's some great video clips of The Golden Hurricane offense in action:



--Mark
Spread Offense

Utah 2003 Video Clips - Zone Read Out Of The Spread Offense

Here's some good video clips on the Utah inside zone read from 2003, the Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen days at Utah.




--Mark
Spread Offense

Florida Gators Spread Offense Run Game Clips

I thought you guys would enjoy this... The University of Florida spread offense run clips from the national championship game vs. Oklahoma this past January.





You got to love that inside shovel pass to the TE!

Keep spreading e'm!

--Mark
Spread Offense

It's harder to evaluate spread offense players... PLEASE!

I love football... I've been watching, playing it, coached it, and now have taken it to the internet with this blog and website (www.spreadoffense.com).

That being said, I read a lot about all levels of football... from Pop Warner all the way up to the NFL, and one thing that's really aggravating me is this term being thrown around prior to this year's NFL draft: "It's harder to evaluate players that are from spread offense systems".

Do you really think an NFL team would pass up an elite football player who happened to come from a college 'spread offense' system??

You hear this term a lot with the quarterback's, O-linemen, and running backs more than any other position.

"The O-line in college are never in a 3 point stance in the spread offense so they'll have a very hard time adjusting to a pro style offense"... well, give them a mini-camp and guess what, they'll go right back to being in the 3 point stance!!

I remember hearing last year that Steve Slaton coming out of West Virginia would have a hard time adjusting to a pro-set I formation coming out of the spread offense. All those lateral movements in the shot-gun zone read and triple option would make for a hard transition to the 'down hill' I formation... HAHA!! 1,282 rushing yards later with a 4.8 per rush average his rookie year with the Houston Texans... tough transition to the I formation Steve... you really had a hard time figuring it out in the NFL.

Come on analysts.... give the spread offense a break, because in a few years you may be saying... "This XYZ player out of X University will have a difficult time transitioning from a pro-style, two tight end college career to the NFL shot-gun spread offense".

--Mark

Spread Offense

Congrat's To Chip Kelly - Another Spread Offense Head Coach In Major College Football

With the recent move of Mike Bellotti to Athletic Director starting July 1st at Oregon, Chip Kelly was promoted to head football coach effective immediately. Coach Kelly is a true spread offense coach, with his offensive philosophy being one of the best in the college spread game.

Here's some video clips of the Oregon Ducks from this past season, they can execute the spread run game with the best of them:




--Mark
Spread Offense

Using Motion In The Spread Offense Running Game

In the spread offense, wide receiver or slot motion can be used to open up the running game. This article will cover three types of motion, motion to a pistol set, motion to a two-back set, and speed sweep motion. Many of these plays use motion to provide different types of zone read style reads and they are all easy to flip.

To read the entire article, with diagrams please go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/spread_motion_offense

--Mark

The Spread Offense

Bootleg Pass Series Out Of The Spread Offense

My offensive philosophy is that we utilize our pass and screen game to set up the run. This has worked well for us and we always outnumber the defense in the box. Once we start running the football effectively, obviously our play-action is much more effective. One of my favorite play-action looks in the spread offense is the bootleg. The concept of the play is simple and you can run multiple variations of the play without changing the core concepts.

To read this entire article with play diagrams, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/bootleg_pass_spread_offense

--Mark

Spread Offense

The Jailbreak Screen In The Spread Offense

One of my favorite plays in the spread offense is the Jailbreak Screen. It is an integral part of the offensive system that we run. To me, there is never a bad time to call this play. I believe the Jailbreak Screen is indicative of what the spread offense is all about - getting the ball into your athletes hands out in space with room to make a play after the catch.

To read more on this article with play diagrams, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/jailbreak_screen

Pat White Open To Playing Other Positions

Pat White announced at the NFL combine that he's open to other offensive and special teams positions at the next level other than quarterback. White, who broke the NCAA QB rushing record out of a predominate spread offense at West Virginia University posted an unofficial 4.50 40 yard dash at the NFL combine. With the wildcat formation being introduced in the NFL this past season, White's style of play is being called the next progression of the shot-gun spread offense in the NFL.

West Virginia’s White open to playing other positions

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Pass Protection Techniques In The Spread Offense

One of the best attributes of the spread offense is that its formations limit the amount of defensive fronts by forcing them to walk out linebackers to cover receivers. This simplifies pass blocking, because there are only so many things the defense can do without leaving players unaccounted for. It also allows other aspects of the passing game to "assist" the linemen, such as a quick passing attack and easier "hot" reads.

To read the entire article with diagrams, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/spread_pass_protections

--Mark

Spread Offense

Jon Gruden Intrigued By The Spread Offense

Jon Gruden, the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently mentioned in an interview that he's very intrigued by the spread offense run in college and high school, and also had some encouraging words for Tim Tebow and his future in the NFL.

"He's like Brandon Jacobs playing quarterback," Gruden said. "Tim Tebow is 250 pounds, and he's the strongest human being that's ever played the position. He can throw well enough at any level."

Gruden went on to say that Tebow could 'revolutionize' the quarterback position in the NFL running a spread offense, once his chance arrives in 2010.

Gruden said he plans on returning to coaching and didn't rule out a job at the college level. He is also interested in working as a TV analyst next season and would like to attend some college camps to expand his knowledge, especially in the shot-gun, dual-threat QB spread offense.

Tackle Trap: An Alternative To The Zone Read

In the majority of spread offenses at the collegiate level, the zone read is a cornerstone of the offense. What do you do if you don’t have the personnel to be successful with a zone run game? I have found that the tackle trap is a great alternative to the zone read in the shot-gun spread offense.

To read this entire article, with diagrams, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/tackle_trap_spread_offense

--Mark

Spread Offense

Super Bowl Preview - The Spread Offense Will Be On Display

The big game is one week away in the NFL, The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. The Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl forty three.

One thing we know for sure is that on the offensive side of the ball, both teams will be 3, 4 or 5 wide, with a lot of shot-gun sets. You'll see the classic spread offense passing game with Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger both looking to exploit the other's defense by spreading the field sideline to sideline in the passing game.

I found it interesting when a TV commentator doing the NFC championship game said on numerous occasions: "How is it possible that Larry Fitzgerald is SO wide open out there" - well, I'll tell you how.

It's the spread formations and offensive sets that the Arizona Cardinals execute on offense. They do a masterful job getting Fitzgerald spread across the field in numerous positions. When you add in Anquan Boldin as a major threat on the other side of the field, the defense can only do so much.

Now imagine this... take the arm of a Kurt Warner, throw in the legs of a Terrelle Pryor and blend it into one QB... How would the Steeler's (or any team) defend that!

--Mark
Spread Offense

NFL Teams Listen Up... Draft Tim Tebow and Pat White

The days following the national championship have opened up a lot of discussions on this years upcoming NFL draft. The big networks have their experts making predictions on who will be drafted, who will leave college early, etc...

Tim Tebows name has come up numerous times, and all I have heard is "He'll be a situational player", "He'll be an H-Back or Tight End", "He's not a NFL quarterback, a third round pick at best...." and so on.

Bottom line in football.... who are the winners who come together as a 'team' and how will they help you win games.

Tim Tebow in this instance is a first round draft pick in my opinion, an easy top 5 overall pick.

If I was starting the "Hawaii Sharks" in 2009-2010 and had the first pick this year... it would be Tim Tebow.

Another guy I would draft.... Pat White from West Virginia. Again... a winner!!! 4-0 in bowl games (2 BCS games) meaning he's a big game player that raises peoples talents around him.

Offenses in the NFL are moving to hybrid styles, I'm not claiming the spread offense seen in college will be dominating the NFL anytime soon, but a variation or complemental (is that a word?) portion of it will continue to grow.

Wait till you see how many NFL offensive and defensive NFL coaches (especially the ones who've been in the league for over 5 years) flock to college campuses to talk spread offense shop.

I found the Miami Dolphins so interesting this year... not just for the 'Wild Cat' and Ronnie Brown, but also take a look at their coaching staff.

We know David Lee from Arkansas, but what about George DeLeone and Paul Pasqualoni (together at Syracuse during all those years they played Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia).

They've been in the spread offense and defending it for almost 10 years.... I'm sure the offensive staff would keep the door open for Coach Pasqualoni to give some feedback, even though he was the DC.

George DeLeone, I've been at many high school clinic's he has spoke at and he's a spread u'm out junkie... learning a lot from trying to defend Coach Rod at WVU in the Big East.

Back to my point... this will ALL keep evolving in the NFL, college coaches with spread in their blood being hired as Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano have. It's a natural process.

Back to my point point: Tim Tebow and Pat White.

Winners, winners, winners, period. And GM's and Coaches in the NFL get fired if they lose, that's a fact no one can deny.

--Mark
The Spread Offense

Disclaimer: We're not sure Tebow is going pro this year (he's only a junior and has one more year of college eligibility), but Pat White is a senior and will enter the NFL draft.

Inside Shovel Off The Speed Option - Spread Offense

Congratulations to the Florida Gators ! If you watched the game last night, you saw a great play that Urban Meyer has used for some time now even before coming to Florida, but last night might have been the first time some of you may have seen it.

It's off speed option action to the perimeter... but the backside TE (or H-Back in a different formation) runs the inside shovel pass, with his backside guard pulling or folding up into the hole for a gut or kick-out block. If the defensive end knifes down for the shovel pass, the quarterback keeps the ball and attacks the outside with his pitch relationship to the running back. If the defensive end square shoulders the QB or keeps outside leverage, the shovel pass is executed to the TE.

--Mark

Spread Offense