ROOTS MATTER.
Why do you do what you do?
INTRODUCTION TO THE SPREAD OFFENSE
“Early 95 Y”
“Ace 68 Rt”
“Blue Lt Stretch Lt”
“Ace Lt Zone Rt 51”
These were base play calls in the first spread offense I was ever apart of. This was in my first two years of coaching and it certainly made me fall in love with the style of offense. There was something really appealing to me about spreading the field and throwing the ball around to your best players in open field. Don’t get me wrong, we would throw that sucker deep from time to time, but we wanted to get the ball to the guys on the perimeter as quickly as possible so they could go make a play in space. In addition to that, the ability to run the football against favorable boxes and having the RPO game built in that always made us right made it even better. Most of the strategies I learned my first 2 years of coaching are still key in the offense we currently run now.
The Spread Offense is certainly misunderstood by most in my opinion (I will write on this down the road) because of the assumption it’s a pass first offense. This is not always the case. My mentors taught me to do what is working. Why would you change what is getting you 5 yards per play? Sure the spread offense gives you the ability to be very versatile and multiple in things you do, but why change what is working? Some set up the run with the pass, others set up the pass with the run. I have always been in the camp of attacking and set up what works NOW. ATTACK and when you find the weakness….. go for the jugular. “Haymakers until the final bell” as Art Briles would say. We might run it 50 times in a game, or we might throw it 50 times in a game. It all depends on how we are attacking the defense and how they respond to the attack.
The first time I learned this lesson as a play caller was in 2017 during a 9th grade football game on a smoking hot day in August. The first series of the game we opened with “Blue Stretch Rt” on the -25 yard line. 20P, Split back, wide zone to the right. We gained 8 yards on the first play. The second play was “Blue Lt Stretch Lt” and we got over 5 yards again. I used this strategy all the way down to the Red Zone. We were averaging at least 7-8 yards per carry on stretch. They couldn’t stop it. Yet, when we got to around the 15 yard line, it was 2nd & 4 and I called “Ace 68 Rt”. The old school stick concept out of 2x2. I loved it vs the defense we were seeing, and I also love to throw the football. Keep in mind, this is 18 year old Coach Smith. Of course, we throw an incompletion and get stuffed on 3rd and 4th down. Turnover on downs after an 80 yard drive to end up with ZERO points, and we lost all our momentum. Even the players showed frustration. No one was more frustrated than Coach Robinson. He was the varsity offensive coordinator and most certainly one of my mentors. He ripped me good right there in front of God and everybody. I’ll never forget him saying, “Why did you change? Do what got you down there!”. It’s very easy to let ego or overthinking get in the way while your calling plays, but never forget your job. Your job is to have a great plan and prepare at a high level for the defense, expose the weakness, and attack it. If the same weakness exposes itself, take advantage of it!
ROOTS
You may not believe it after reading some of the stuff I put out, but I have triple option roots. Yes, it’s true. I’m similar to you defensive guys after all.
Dive, Quarterback, Pitch.
In my high school system, we were a veer option offense. Looking back, it was interesting to see how the offense evolved over time. We always started the spring time or off season workouts with under center veer footwork. I’m a short dude, so I felt like I had to do a split to get to the spot when we ran outside veer to the Tight End. Eventually, we would get to running the veer out of the gun and this was more comfortable and natural. We wanted to mesh with the dive back no more than 1 yard from the line of scrimmage, so at the Quarterback position we had to hump it to get in position and make the correct read. We would run it out of 2 back or 1 back, and pitch to WR’s in motion or set in a certain formation to work into the pitch position. We would throw the ball maximum 8 times a game if we were in a dawg fight. Other than that, we threw it 3-5 times. Usually, for 2 or 3 TD’s. It was extremely effective and over my 4 years of playing in the scheme the offense got better and better. A lot of tackle over and different formations. We had a Fullback. Yes, you read that correctly. While I prefer the spread systems, the veer option offense would be deadly today. Especially in higher classifications in high school ball. Who runs it? How many times a year do you see it? Defensive guys would you be happy if you ran up on a triple option team that used option out of spread formations and then one play later they are in 2 TE running the midline? Now, you lower classification guys are probably laughing because you see this type of scheme every week and then the next week you see every variation of empty know to man. You’re doing more with less because that is all you have. You guys are COACHING BALL. I have all the respect in the world for you guys and know there are a ton of you who could take my job and do it better than me.
No matter your opinion, the veer option scheme was the first scheme I was taught and it had a big impact on how I think about the game. Much like my first two seasons coaching, my time as a player in this offense has influenced how I coach offense now. We still have triple option scheme, we just go about the distribution a little different. You should take a moment to pause and reflect on YOUR roots. Where do you come from? How have those lessons impacted you as a coach? Are there things you learned that you have moved on from? Why? Should you reconsider some things based off who YOU are? No matter the schemes you have learned or the people you have worked for, the roots you come from matter. Your coaching tree matters. Carry the torch. Learn from those who came before you and keep growing from the foundation that was put in place probably before you even existed. If you’ve gotten away from your roots, pause and reflect. Call your mentors. Call formers coaches. Call your high school teammates and reflect. Who you are and where you come from make a huge impact on who you are today. Know your ROOTS and keep GROWING.
GO FASTER
- Coach Smith
If you are enjoying these post please let me know what you would like to hear specifically. College football breakdowns? Call Sheets? Etc.
I will begin breaking down offenses and some of the things we do that make our tempo offense unique very soon.
Subscribe for free or feel free to become a paid subscriber and get even more access. Thanks guys!
GO FASTER.