It’s revolutionized the game of football from the high school ranks to college. It’s a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators to prepare and try and stop.
The spread option offense has made a splash in the past decade of football, creating mismatches for the defense and putting up huge stats and points in the box score for offenses.
Texas students are no stranger to this on Saturdays, watching former quarterback Vince Young and the Longhorns’ current signal caller Colt McCoy find success and wins through the specially designed offense. So whom should we give credit to the architect of this game plan?
Florida head football coach Urban Meyer.
“All things being equal, anybody can stop the run, and anybody can stop the pass,” Meyer said. “But can you stop both?”
Not only has Meyer and Texas’ head coach Mack Brown found success in this strategy, but many other teams have, too. Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez transformed the West Virginia football program to a national title contender while running the offense there.
The whole focus of the offense is to “stretch” the defense, creating holes and mismatches.
It’s all about creating more real estate for the offense to work with, and forces the defenders to stick with their man.
This leaves the defenders over or underprepared for the run or pass.
The offense sets has a quarterback in the shotgun, accompanied by a running back in the backfield. Usually the eligible receivers include two wide outs with a receiver lined up in the slot position and a tight end. Receivers are constantly in motion to exploit the defense or cause confusion in the minds of the defense.
The zone read is a popular play out of the offense, where the quarterback reads the defense and either passes, hands off the ball to the running back or keeps it himself.
Helpful attributes for the offensive players to possess involve speed, athleticism and a knack for decision making. A mobile and agile offensive line helps out.
A mobile quarterback is recommended for the best fit in the offense. Think of all the successful running quarterbacks in this decade: West Virginia’s Pat White, Florida’s Tim Tebow and Texas’ Young. All possess the ability to pose a threat with their legs and arm.
But, you can’t just throw out the best athletes in the world and expect championships. It all comes down to execution.
The Gators have won championships by mixing in some old-school option football— short, high-percentage passes with the new spread.
We’ve seen many quarterbacks find success with the offense in college, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will find that same success in the professional ranks. There is a big gap between making a decision on the field on Saturdays, and making a in-game decision on Sundays.
Is the spread option here to stay in college football?
Yes, unless someone can find the ultimate defense to counter it.
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