As Denny Green famously said, “They are who we thought they were.” And after one week of Florida football, Buster Faulkner looks exactly like who we thought he would be.

This summer, Kyle and I joined Locked On Gators to talk about Faulkner’s move from Georgia Tech to Florida and what Gator fans could expect from the offense. Our biggest takeaway was simple: do not expect Faulkner to reinvent himself. Expect him to bring what worked in Atlanta with him to Gainesville.

One game into the season, that prediction looks pretty accurate.

With Aaron Philo at the helm, Florida showed an offense built around the same principles Faulkner helped establish at Georgia Tech. The formations may change. The personnel may change. The window dressing may change. But the foundation remains the same.

One of the biggest staples is G/T Counter.

Faulkner does not simply run G/T Counter and move on. He builds formations, motions, screens and complementary plays around it. The defense is constantly being asked to solve the same basic blocking structure while dealing with a different presentation.

That is what makes this offense fun to study.

Let’s take a look at what Faulkner showed us out of the gate.

Double TE

The Gators align in an empty double tight set with trips to the field, then motion the running back behind the quarterback before running G/T Counter to the right.

I absolutely love the formation and motion here to set up G/T.

The motion helps create the picture Faulkner wants while the double tight formation gives the offensive line plenty of surface area to work with. The down blocks create a clean edge, allowing the guard to kick and the tackle to wrap.

Simple. Physical. Efficient.

Jet Motion

Another double tight set, but this time Florida is in a condensed 2x2 formation from the pistol.

The receiver to the right goes in jet motion away from the call, giving the defense some extra eye candy before the snap.

The edge defender spikes inside and creates some initial havoc, but the running back keeps the play tight and downhill behind the tackle’s down block.

This is an important part of G/T Counter. The back does not need to bounce everything outside. If the blocking gives him a crease, get downhill and let the pullers do their job.

Spread 2x2

Now we get a completely different look with different personnel, but the same basic concept.

The formation is spread out, yet Florida still finds a way to create the edge for G/T Counter.

The play side guard ducks his head and gets beat on his down block, but the rest of the big bodies getting to the edge create enough space for the running back to find the end zone.

Different presentation. Same answer.

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New coach. New offensive staff. New quarterback. New players.

For UCLA, there was no shortage of questions entering the 2026 season.

After a 3–9 season, the Bruins turned to Bob Chesney to change the direction of the program. Chesney brought a proven track record from James Madison with him to Westwood, along with 10 former Dukes, including running back Wayne Knight. Dean Kennedy took over as offensive coordinator, while Chris Smith was brought in to coordinate the offensive line and run game.

Then there was Nico Iamaleava.

The former Tennessee quarterback gives this new staff something every offensive coach wants: a quarterback who can stress the defense without the ball ever leaving his hands. He can threaten the defense with his arm, extend plays outside the pocket and become an extra gap in the run game.

So what would the new UCLA offense look like?

We didn’t have to wait long.

After Cal opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive, UCLA answered with a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive of its own. And while seven plays certainly isn’t enough to define an entire offense, it is more than enough to give us a glimpse into what Kennedy and Chesney wanted to establish on the opening night of a new era.

The Bruins didn’t simply line up and run the ball.

They showed motion. They showed misdirection. They got the ball to multiple skill players. They used Iamaleava’s legs. And, most importantly, they made Cal defend the entire width of the field.

Let’s take a look at all seven plays and the game plan behind them.

Play 1 - 1st & 10; Outside Zone

What better way to start your tenure at UCLA than to start with your base run play. Notice the boot action from Nico out of the pistol set.

Play 2 - 2nd & 6; Zone Bubble (Key #2)

Inside Zone Read with a key screen from the frontside #2 WR. UCLA is giving Nico control and ability to throw the screen or run the zone read. Quick throw immediately lets the defense know they must defend the whole width of the field.

Play 3 - 1st & 10; G/H Counter Reverse

Here is our first squeeze formation, showing 4 strong. The Bruins show G/H Counter into the boundary, but here comes the reverse! Early misdirection to keep the defense on their toes!

Play 4 - 1st & 10; Slot Fade / Snag

UCLA doesn’t dip into a true pass until they cross midfield. Here we have trips to the field who run a slot fade with #3 running the spot route. Into the boundary they use their JMU RB transfer, Wayne Knight for a snag concept. If you saw my recent article about JMU passing to the RB last year, you know they are going to involve him heavily in the passing game.

Play 5 - 2nd & 4; Tunnel Screen

On the first play, the Bruins ran Outside Zone from the Pistol. UCLA gives the same look, but hits the tunnel screen from the slot.

Play 6 - 1st & 10; 4 Strong - Dig/Post/Wheel/Swing

The offense aligns with 4 strong into the boundary. Time to get Wayne Knight involved.

We have a Post & Dig from #1 and #2 respectively. The TE/Wing runs a wheel route and the RB follows with a swing. Knight gets the ball down inside the 10. He will be something to watch this season!

Play 7 - REDZONE - 1st & 9 - Zone Bluff - TD

Nico is able to show off his athleticism on this Zone Read Bluff concept. Straight out of the JMU 2025 red zone offense. The outside release from the TE helps seal the edge along with the bluff from the wing.

A New Identity

It was only seven plays, but UCLA gave us plenty to work with.

The Bruins showed the ability to run the ball, create movement with misdirection, get the ball to their playmakers and use Nico Iamaleava as a legitimate threat in the run game.

There is a long way to go, but the opening drive gave us a clear glimpse of what Bob Chesney and his staff want this offense to become.

Seven plays. One touchdown. A pretty good introduction to the new UCLA offense.

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The first play sets the tone. Facing a five man pressure, Virginia calls a quarterback draw and gets an easy run to get their quarterback going right away. A few plays later, the offense shifts into a quads formation, catches NC State in an under front, and gets a tight end release that arcs outside to seal the corner. Nobody is left to make the tackle.

From there, Virginia leans into what Matt called old school football. Facing five defensive backs on the field, the Cavaliers get into an I formation and run a simple ISO, man on man, and the linebackers hesitate just long enough to open a crease. It’s not complicated. It’s a numbers game, and Virginia takes what the defense gives up front.

The scheme gets more layered from there. A split backfield look with a wing sets up what Matt and Kyle call a bluff play, showing outside zone one way before bringing the quarterback back the other way off a fake, using both backs moving in the same direction to create hesitation. A GH counter out of an empty set attacks a lopsided count on the boundary. A jet motion look sets up a vert swap concept, pulling the running back up the seam while releasing the slot to the opposite seam, a wrinkle that puts the coverage in what Matt called a blender.

One of the more discussed plays on the tape is a screen with an unusual blocking rule. The outside defender goes with the first man to release, and the linebacker pushes behind him. Kyle called it a rule breaker, and it put the middle linebacker in conflict on a vertical route he recognized too late.

Virginia also mixed in zone runs to the boundary out of pre-snap motion, and opened the second half with a flea flicker built around a flooded zone rather than a big arm downfield, an adjustment that fits a quarterback who wins more with his legs and his eyes than his velocity.

The bigger point Kyle and Matt kept coming back to: Virginia doesn’t need to win ten games this year to be worth watching. A quarterback who creates explosive plays with his legs, paired with a defense that held up, is enough to make a program fun again. It’s the same formula that made Vanderbilt worth watching with Diego Pavia last year. Whether Virginia’s quarterback can sustain it past week zero is the question the rest of the season will answer.

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Their offense looked fresh and exciting too. The new attack is led by transfer quarterback William “Pop” Watson, a Virginia Tech transfer who was electric in his debut. Honestly, I will be tuned into UMass football the next time they play, and that sounds wild to type. Offensively, they were creative and fun, but most importantly, they sequenced plays well.

In this article, we are going to break down an early play sequence, just two plays, that set up UMass’s first seven points and likely gave them a wave of confidence heading into the rest of the game.

Pin & Pull

Everyone saw the second play in this sequence all over Twitter over the weekend. I think we have Dan Casey to thank for that one. Offensive coaches loved it, while defensive coaches argued the linemen were downfield. It is fun. We enjoy it, and that back and forth between offensive coaches and defensive coaches is part of what makes this profession fun. But what most people did not see was the play before it, the one that helped set up the play everyone was talking about.

UMass is in the high red zone, or close to it, and they run pin and pull to the field from a 12 personnel tight end wing set. On pin and pull, the goal is usually to pin defenders inside and pull two or more offensive linemen to kick out defenders and create an extra gap. Here, though, Rutgers happens to slant into the call, which turns the whole thing into something closer to outside zone. The pin blocks basically become reach blocks, and the vacating pullers open up massive gaps on the interior. The running back picks one of those gaps, the linebacker triggers a step slow, and UMass picks up a nice gain before the safety has to come down and make the tackle.

So why does this matter? First, it sets up the next play. Second, that linebacker was a step slow, and he likely realized right then that he has to get downhill faster the moment he sees two pullers coming his way.

Pin & Pull Pass

The very next play, the Minutemen come right back with what looks like the same play into the boundary, or at least that is what the defense thinks. This time it is a nub set into the boundary, with the running back aligned that direction as well. We get the same pin and pull look, but this time the running back is leading and the quarterback is carrying. Just as the defender reads run and starts working block destruction on the lead back, the running back slips him and releases on a rail route. The corner is busy setting the edge against the run, the linebacker is trying to overlap, and at the last second he realizes that back is his man in coverage. It is too late. He cannot adjust, and the quarterback makes an easy throw for six to tie the game early.

This is similar to what we have seen from several teams running quarterback counter with the running back leading, then slipping him out on the rail. It is just the next evolution of the concept. Take something proven and apply it to what you do, and that is exactly what UMass does here.

Final Thoughts

UMass is clearly a better team in 2026 than they were in 2025, and they have already won a game to prove it. But more than that, they were explosive and fun to watch. They were creative, and they attacked the defense instead of waiting on it.

The play everyone saw on Twitter was not an accident. It worked because of the play that came before it, the one nobody was talking about. That is sequencing. You do not just call a good play, you set one up with another. UMass understood that Saturday, and it is a big reason they picked up their first win in almost two years.

I do not know where the rest of 2026 takes the Minutemen, but they are certainly a candidate for most improved team in the country, and it is thanks to this kind of creativity, sequencing, and execution.

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From hilarious stories about being accused of recruiting his own son to powerful lessons on intentionality, leadership, and fatherhood, this episode is packed with wisdom for coaches, husbands, and fathers.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Show

01:05 Meet Coach Hank Brown

01:49 Biggest Challenge During Fall Camp

03:12 The Legacy of Plant High School Football

05:08 Raising Kids Around the Football Program

07:52 Coaching His Son and Watching His Children Grow

10:50 Transitioning from Coach to Husband and Father

13:45 Hanging Your Troubles on the Tree

15:20 Family Sacrifices During Football Season

18:04 When Your Family Calls You Out

20:34 The Story of Getting Suspended for Recruiting His Own Son

25:16 Why Coaches Pour So Much Into Other People’s Kids

29:05 Learning to Give Family the Same Attention as Players

31:19 The Impact Coaching Has on a Coach’s Family

33:17 The Things Coaches Handle That Nobody Sees

37:23 The Real Purpose of Coaching

39:10 Understanding Today’s Athletes and Leadership

41:25 Balance vs. Intentionality

43:18 Time Management and Family Priorities

46:33 The Reality of Coaching Commitments

47:14 Making Time for Your Own Children

If you’re a football coach, husband, father, or leader striving to win both on the field and at home, this episode is for you.

Like, Subscribe, and Share with a coach who needs to hear this conversation.

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The 1990s Dallas Cowboys built their offense around Emmitt Smith and a dominant downhill running game. Defenses had to commit bodies to stopping Smith, which created opportunities for Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin through the air. In 1995, Irvin caught 111 passes for 1,603 yards and 10 touchdowns, including six receptions of 40-plus yards. With Smith demanding attention in the backfield, play action gave Dallas another way to create big plays downfield.

Mike Shanahan’s back-to-back Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos of 1997 and 1998 attacked defenses with a similar philosophy. Their bread-and-butter outside-zone running game with Terrell Davis forced linebackers and safeties to flow with the run. John Elway could then carry out the same initial action and attack the defense with play action.

That philosophy never disappeared. Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers and Sean McVay’s Rams are two of the clearest modern examples. Both have built offenses around families of plays that begin with the same picture. For the first few steps, the run and the play action off it can look almost identical to the defense.

That influence continues to spread around the league. Tampa Bay is worth watching in 2026 under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who began his NFL coaching career under Sean McVay and spent five seasons on the Rams’ staff before becoming Atlanta’s offensive coordinator. Now in Tampa Bay, Robinson brings his background in McVay’s system to an offense expected to incorporate many of those same run and play-action principles.

The schemes and formations have changed, but the philosophy really has not.

Tarleton State provides a great example of that philosophy with its H-Iso package.

Old-School Pro-I Iso From Modern Personnel

H-Iso is a downhill run play that requires linebackers to fill their gap responsibilities with aggression. Ultimately, it comes down to who is tougher.

The H-back becomes the old-school fullback. He inserts through the hole as the lead blocker, and the running back follows him downhill. If you grew up around the I-formation, you have seen this play before. The formation may look different, but the basic idea is the same.

The offensive line handles the defensive front while the H-back isolates a second-level defender. The running back hits the hole with speed and looks for a two-way cut off the H-back’s lead block.

The physical nature of H-Iso is what makes everything built off it work. When the H-back inserts, the linebacker cannot wait around to find out whether the quarterback actually handed the football off. He has a gap to defend. The same is true for a safety involved in the run fit. If those defenders hesitate, Tarleton State can keep handing the ball off.

If they start attacking downhill, the play-action game comes into play.

Building the Pass Off H-Iso

Tarleton State’s H-Iso play action is interesting because, on film, it can look like an RPO. The quarterback rides the running back, the H-back shows the same insert action, and the routes attack the space around the run defenders.

It would be easy to assume the quarterback is reading a linebacker or safety, but I do not see enough evidence to say he is making a true post-snap run-pass read. To me, these look more like play-action passes designed to take advantage of how the defense is expected to react to H-Iso.

What I really like is the variety Tarleton State can build into that same play. The X receiver can be tagged on either a slant or a hitch without changing the H-Iso action in the backfield. The slant gives them an answer against man coverage or favorable inside access, while the hitch can take advantage of a corner playing with cushion or soft zone coverage. It gives Tarleton State two different ways to attack the coverage while presenting the defense with the exact same run action.

The slant fits naturally with H-Iso because it attacks the space being vacated by a linebacker fitting the run. The H-back inserts, the quarterback rides the running back, and as the linebacker works toward his gap, the slant can replace him in the space he just left.

The hitch attacks the defense differently. If the corner is playing with cushion, the X can simply settle into that space and give the quarterback an efficient completion.

Tarleton State can expand the package even further with concepts such as Hoss, pairing an outside hitch with a vertical seam from the slot. Now the same H-Iso action can create answers underneath, inside, and vertically.

The routes change. The picture in the backfield does not. You can use whatever routes fit into your system.

Creating the Conflict

The numbers are what tie the run and pass together.

If the safety stays deep, Tarleton State has favorable numbers to run H-Iso. Against an even front with six defenders in the box, six offensive blockers can account for all six defenders.

To get an extra defender involved against the run, the defense has to bring someone else into the fit. Often, that means the safety becomes the seventh defender.

That may help against H-Iso, but it also creates the conflict Tarleton State wants.

A linebacker attacking his gap can create space for the slant behind him. With no safety help over top, the corner tends to play with a cushion which can give the X access to the hitch. A safety becoming aggressive against H-Iso can open opportunities farther down the field.

That is what makes the package difficult to defend.

Stay back and Tarleton State has the numbers to run H-Iso. Add a defender to stop it and the play-action game attacks the space created by that commitment.

The slow ride between the quarterback and running back makes the conflict even harder.

Tarleton State does not rush the fake. The slow mesh allows the action to develop. At times, the running back is so patient that the play almost has the appearance of a draw.

That patience gives the second and third levels another moment to process what they are seeing.

For a safety involved in the run fit, that is a difficult position to be in. Stay deep and Tarleton State maintains favorable numbers to run H-Iso. Trigger downhill and the throwing windows begin to open behind you.

The better Tarleton State runs H-Iso, the harder that decision becomes.

Taking the Shot

The slant and hitch provide efficient answers underneath, but eventually the same H-Iso action can create opportunities downfield.

That is where the slot fade becomes dangerous.

As the defense becomes more aggressive fitting H-Iso, a safety with his eyes in the backfield can lose valuable ground the moment he reacts to the H-back. Instead of throwing into the space he vacated underneath, Tarleton State can attack over his head.

This is where the play action becomes a key breaker. Defenses spend all week teaching linebackers and safeties to read their keys. If the H-back has repeatedly led them to H-Iso, his movement begins to trigger a reaction. Play action gives the defender the same key, they fill allowing us to throw the deep ball.

The Classic Mantra: Build an Offense, Not a Collection of Plays

That is what I like most about Tarleton State’s H-Iso package. It gives the offense answers without constantly adding completely different plays.

Start with H-Iso and make the defense prove it can stop it. If the defense keeps the safety deep, run the football. If the linebackers start attacking downhill, throw behind them. If the X has favorable inside access, take the slant. If the corner gives him cushion, take the hitch. If the safety becomes too aggressive in the run fit, attack him vertically.

The answer changes, but the picture presented to the defense stays the same.

That is the same basic philosophy that has existed in great offenses for decades. The Cowboys built around Emmitt Smith and made defenses pay with Aikman and Irvin. Mike Shanahan’s Broncos built around the outside-zone game with Terrell Davis and married their passing game to it. The Shanahan and McVay coaching trees continue to use the same philosophy today.

Find the run you can hang your hat on. Make the defense stop it. Then make everything else look exactly like it.

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Regular Cover 2

The Bison run Cover 2, Cover 3, Cover 4, fire zone Cover 3, and hot pressures, but they executed Cover 2 particularly well.

In this clip, Jax State gets exactly what they want on paper. A linebacker fits the run, a trap corner fits the quarterback, and they flip it outside to a receiver with the safety fifteen yards away. The only problem is that safety covers an impressive amount of ground to make the tackle for a gain of just a few yards. This might not be how you draw up fits against zone read with an RPO in Cover 2, but the Bison executed it at a high level, and that had to leave the Jax State offense a bit frustrated after this play.

Here the Bison walk the corner up against a tight end and wing set. Jax State runs power read and gives it, and again the safety runs the alley perfectly from his modified deep half and delivers a strike on the ball carrier.

Tampa 2

Here is an example of Tampa 2 by the Bison. The big point here is to watch the corner at the top of the screen. He does a heck of a job playing in between the hitch and corner routes on smash, and when the hitch is thrown, he explodes downhill and makes a physical play on the receiver. This is a textbook play on the smash route by a corner in Cover 2.

On this Tampa call the Bison also pair it with a Tex stunt up front. Watch the technique by the end at the bottom. He doesn’t rush it, he works outside for a few steps before working back inside to pick the guard, then gets vertical. The wrapping defensive tackle needs to aim for the deepest leg, but regardless, it’s a nice stunt up front paired with Tampa coverage that forces a scramble for a few yards.

Simulated Pressures with Roll 2

The Bison love to bring the corner on a simulated pressure path, I call it Carr, and roll into a Cover 2 variation. Here’s an example diagram from when they ran it two years ago against South Dakota State.

And last Saturday that pressure came out early in the first quarter against Jax State on third and eleven.

The result? A check down and a tackle short of the sticks after the coverage blankets the four verticals and the quarterback has nowhere to go.

We see Carr again later, but this time Jax State throws a swing screen to the field. With the corner working to the deep half, the Nickel must set the edge as the flat player, and he does a great job driving through the receiver’s block and forcing a premature cutback inside by the running back, right where help is coming from.

Final Thoughts

The Bison looked mostly sharp in their FBS debut. They have plenty to clean up, and I am sure Coach Olson would agree, but one thing is certain: this Bison defense is still very good whether it is playing at the FCS or FBS level.

What stood out most on tape was the variety. NDSU did not just play one version of Cover 2 and hope athletes bailed them out. They rolled through regular Cover 2 with safeties running the alley to the football, Tampa 2 with a Mike dropping to the deep middle, and Roll 2 out of simulated pressure to disguise where the fourth rusher was coming from. Different shells, different disguises, same base coverage principles executed at a high level. That kind of coverage flexibility is what makes an already talented defense even tougher to prepare for on a short week.

The Bison execute at a high level, play extremely physical, and hustle to the ball every down. They are going to be fun to watch in the Mountain West in 2026. Next up for the Bison is Fordham.

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Youngstown State is always in the mix as a top FCS contender, and their offense runs through quarterback Beau Brungard, who also might have the best name in college football. In their opener, Brungard carried the ball 28 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Let’s break down the run scheme the Penguins used to feature their quarterback.

Q Counter

This is an interesting variation of Q Counter. First, they use an orbit return motion to draw defenders as the “pitch” player, even though there is no realistic threat of a pitch here. It still pulls two defenders out of the box. Second, they run G/R counter with a slight draw look built in. The timing works out perfectly, and it helps the counter hit downhill instead of bouncing outside like we see so often with this concept.

Similar look here, this time it’s G/H Counter with the running back working as eye candy for the pitch or throw. Brungard stays patient, hits it tight to the hole, and makes the safety miss in the open field.

Now we see an empty look paired with G/H Counter. It’s a great way to get a five man box, then run a plus one counter for a solid gain.

Quarterback Power

Not just power, but super power here by the Penguins. Kick by the H-back, pull by the guard, and a bonus blocker from the running back spot, all leading for the quarterback. Super power has a special place in our hearts, and this was a beautiful call by the Penguins. They do catch the defense in a “ton” stunt here, which helps, but the tight end does a great job working to the linebacker, the guard actually works to the safety, which is wild, and the running back kicks the overhang. That leaves a single safety for the quarterback to beat.

Now in the red zone, the Penguins go with power read. The defensive end jets upfield, forcing the pull read, and if the receiver does a better job on his block here, the Penguins get another one-on-one with the safety. One thing to note is the left tackle staying patient, checking his gap, then working to seal the linebacker off perfectly at the second level. That is certainly a plus in his column on this play.

Q Draw

The last quarterback run we’ll cover is Q draw. First, the Penguins burst from a bunch squeeze look into a spread two by two set. Then we see Q draw, and it’s tough to tell if this is essentially a pass run option, since Brungard checks his routes quickly before pulling it down and getting a lead block from the running back for a nice gain. If it is an option, it has clearly been practiced and well timed by the receivers, running back, and quarterback. Either way, they get the defense into its pass drops, the Mike works to the weak curl and flat as they spin into cover three, and the running back has such an open lane that he actually hesitates on whether to block the free safety or the pursuing defenders. Great design by the Penguins.

Final Thoughts

Youngstown State built their opener around Brungard, and it showed why. Between Q Counter, quarterback power, power read, and Q draw, the Penguins gave him a variety of ways to hurt a defense with his legs while still keeping the threat of the pass attached to nearly every look. The counter variations used motion and blocking angles to manufacture space instead of relying on athleticism alone, and the power calls leaned on physical, well coordinated blocking up front. If Brungard stays healthy and the Penguins keep building on this foundation, they will be tough to deal with in the FCS ranks all season.

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Kyle Dougherty runs an athletic department, coaches a football team, teaches, and has three kids at home. He’ll tell you balance is the wrong thing to chase.

Dustin Whitlock and Ryan Grow sit down with Coach KD, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Yulee High School. He gets into what fall camp really costs a family, the midnight practices, the wife who keeps him honest about it, and why he stopped trying to split his time evenly and started being intentional with it instead.

There’s a lot of laughing in this one. Booger Beans. Detailed practice plans for 6U flag football, because of course there are. Reality TV and Twilight as marriage time. And underneath it, a straight conversation about bedtime routines during the season, protecting your coaches’ family time while you’re asking them to give up their own, and what it takes to actually be home when you’re home.

If you are stretched across more jobs than hours, this one is for you.

Presented by the Board Drill Network.

This episode is brought to you by Sideline HQ.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to Episode 5
01:04 Introducing Coach Kyle Dougherty
02:01 Fall Camp, Midnight Practices & Family Sacrifices
04:39 Life with Three Kids
05:32 Funny Parenting Stories & “Booger Beans”
07:29 Transitioning from Coach to Dad
09:36 Balancing Athletic Director, Head Coach & Teacher Responsibilities
10:24 When Your Wife Keeps You Accountable
12:48 Coaching Your Own Kids in Flag Football
15:16 Why Coaches Never Really Turn It Off
16:31 The Detailed Practice Plans for 6U Football
19:44 Balance vs. Intentionality
21:09 Being Present When You’re Home
22:34 Supporting Coaches While Protecting Family Time
23:24 Lessons Learned from Starting a Fatherhood Podcast
24:32 Family Time, Summer Workbooks & Being Present
25:19 Reality TV, Twilight & Marriage Time
27:02 Family Routines and Bedtime Traditions
28:44 How Coach KD Met His Wife
29:18 Why Bedtime Matters During Football Season

Coaching is what we do. Fatherhood is our legacy.

Follow From Field to Fatherhood wherever you listen, and send this to a coach who is trying to win in both places.

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Playing from an Even Front

While we’re going to see a shift from odd to even, the same theory applies, we’ve got to get six defenders to the line of scrimmage to defend the run, and on pass, we’ll find a way to drop extra defenders. Think less “hot” or “eyes” coverage and more fire zone quarters variations.

Here we get a cross dog double A gap pressure from the Vikings, something I’d assume every Defensive Coordinator has somewhere in their playbook. The Vikings build that six defender line of scrimmage, and on pass the two edge players now become the underneath “vision break” zone players with quarters coverage over the top. When this was taught to me, someone called it “spot” coverage, so we’ll go with that for now. The underneath players deter a quick throw, and the quarterback has to scramble away from the rush. And once the QB escapes the pass rush, the vision break players are right there to corral him out of bounds near the original line of scrimmage.

We get linebackers through the B gaps here to build that six man front with hot quarters behind it. This is a great example of how they’re still able to build that 6-1 front and defend the run out of nickel, and the result is another tackle for loss for the Vikings defense.

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We had several games go down to the wire and a handful of upsets in Week 0. West Florida came in as a 19.5 point underdog and knocked off Southern Illinois in their FCS debut, and three D2 teams walked into FCS stadiums and left 1-0. We also got our first fake punt of the year, a handful of gutsy two point conversions, and a few scrambles and catches that had no business being completed. We are back, and it feels good to sit at the desk and watch nothing but college football for four hours straight.

Without further ado, here are our top 5 plays from Thursday night.

*We tried to watch every game, but we only have so many screens.

5. Magic Stunt by West Florida

This is one of my favorite pressure paths, and West Florida uses it for a sack here.

4. Argos Pick 6

With 4:51 left in the second quarter, the Argos brought a 6 man pressure with blitz coverage behind it. Watch the corner’s patience and burst on the in breaking route. This is a great example of why you play man coverage at different levels and understand what the offense is trying to accomplish. The corner breaks, intercepts it, and takes it to the house to extend the Argos lead to 14.

3. The Catch

Early in the UT-Martin versus Central Arkansas game we got this catch on a shot play. The defensive back gets away with tying up one of the receiver’s hands, but he somehow comes down with the catch one handed for a huge gain.

2. Converting 4th & 12

Ohio Dominican played out of their minds at Morehead State, but got conservative late in the game and let Morehead come back from a big deficit to force overtime. In overtime, the Panthers faced 4th and 12 with the game on the line and came up with this play to save it.

The Panthers did not convert their two point conversion to win it, but they cash in on the next possession to win the game. If you missed this one, you might be kicking yourself today.

1. The Fake Punt

Our number one play is a fake punt from Southern Illinois. Why? It came in the second quarter, down 14, from their own 22 yard line. The Salukis needed a boost, and this call showed they came to win a football game. They ultimately fell to the Argos on the road, but this call takes nerves of steel at that point in the game. If they do not convert, the game might be out of reach before halftime.

It is a simple enough design out of the spread punt. Let the line release and throw what is essentially a screen pass, which must stay behind the line of scrimmage, to the personal protector. The Salukis execute it flawlessly and pick up a much needed first down and a swing of momentum.

Bonus: Swinging Gate

It is not football season until you get the first two point play off the swinging gate. Such an iconic formation in the history of football, and we love it.

Final Thoughts

There were plenty more fantastic plays from last night, but these are the ones we saw and captured. The main takeaway here is that college football is back, and with it comes the crazy plays, the huge upsets, and the most entertaining sport on earth.

If you saw a play last night that we missed, send it over and we will take a look. Also follow us on Twitter/X for live posts all throughout the football season.

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If I were to break this defense down, it aligns out of two personnel groupings for our purposes here. An odd, 3-4 look with two walked down overhangs, and an even nickel look similar to a 4-2-5 with walked linebackers. I’m assuming most high school staffs have the personnel to align in both, we did when I was coaching. Out of both groupings you’ll see a mix of cover 2, 3 and 4, along with fire zone pressures paired with different underneath coverage rules. For part 1, we’ll focus on the 3-4 odd look.

Playing the Run from Odd

The Vikings spend plenty of time in their base 3-4, which presents as a 5-man front almost every snap. A lot of it is traditional over or under fronts, mainly under, with five defenders down on the line of scrimmage. What’s the goal? Get a minimum of six defenders in the fit at the line of scrimmage on every down against the run.

The Vikings certainly have a favorite run stopping pressure out of this personnel grouping too. They align in an under front above, then bring a linebacker while slanting the defensive line, which creates a six defender fit at the line of scrimmage along with movement up front.

Here’s an example of exactly what we talked about above. The Vikings bring six and play 2 under, 3 deep “eyes” or “hot” coverage. On early downs, here it’s first down, this is a great run pressure that builds an eight man box in a hurry. The Giants run power and the linebacker works right through the open gap for a tackle for loss. This feels a lot like the “Tilt 4” the Patriots used against the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

A series later we get the same pressure against a slightly different look from the Giants, same result, a tackle for no gain.

One more time, and again, it just makes it tough to run into the teeth of that defense.

Similar pressure here, but a slightly different path. This time the linebacker works inside off the center. He gets a little excited here and decides to take the center on instead of reading the block and crossing his face, though I don’t know their exact rules on that, but he recovers nicely off the spin and makes the play anyway. This defense is fun to watch because of the mentality Flores has instilled in this group. They refuse to quit on a play.

Attacking the Quarterback from Odd

The Vikings also attack the pass from their odd set by bringing linebackers, but they pair that with dropping edge players into coverage, whether it’s 3 under, 3 deep fire zone, or “Deuce” or “Spot” fire zone, which is 4 under 2 deep or 2 under 4 deep.

Here the Vikings bring an interior linebacker and drop their edge player to the field. They’ll play what I call “Spot” coverage, which is 2 under, 4 deep. The Ravens QB does a good job getting the ball out, but the Vikings have a 2 for 1 rush at the bottom on the right tackle.

This is essentially the same pressure, but the Vikings get run action, so the field side OLB stays home in the fit and they still get that six man front we’ve shown throughout this article.

Final Thoughts

In their base 3-4 the Vikings find ways to get to that 6-1 box in the run game through a handful of different presentations. And when they smell pass, they’ve already got a built in five or six man pressure dialed up to create havoc in the backfield. I absolutely think this is something you could install for Friday nights, and it fits well into a lot of Defensive Coordinators’ 3-4 defenses across the country. But your kids have to match that Flores mentality play in and play out.

So where does this ultra aggressive defense struggle? The main issue with playing fire zone coverage is against an offense willing to max protect, especially with max protect full slide. By the numbers, the secondary has holes, so if the offense can protect long enough, good quarterbacks will find them. How do the Vikings guard against that? They lean on their Nickel and Dime packages, and we’ll get into that in Part 2 of this series.

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Coach Steven Stanley took a head coaching job in a new state, moved his family, and still had to figure out how to walk through the door at night and be a dad.

Dustin Whitlock and Ryan Grow sit down with Stanley, head football coach at Silver Creek High School in Indiana. He talks about the road from Warner University quarterback to running his own program, what the move to Indiana cost his family and what it gave back, and what it looks like raising a three-year-old daughter while building something from the ground up.

Along the way: the sacrifices a coach’s wife makes that nobody claps for, why your players need to see you be a father, how to actually be present when you finally get home, and the leadership lessons Stanley picked up from the coaches who shaped him.

If you are running a program and raising a family at the same time, you will hear yourself in this one.

Presented by the Board Drill Network.

This episode is brought to you by Sideline HQ.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to Episode 4
00:58 Introducing Coach Steven Stanley
02:39 Transitioning to Indiana Football
05:05 Family Time Before Fall Camp
07:50 Life as a Girl Dad
09:28 Funny Parenting Stories
11:41 Transitioning from Coach to Dad
15:40 Being Present When You Get Home
19:05 Intentionality at Home and in Your Program
22:54 Family Traditions and Life Away from Home
26:12 The Sacrifices of a Coach’s Wife
30:06 Building a Program Together as a Family
34:48 The Reality of Being a Head Coach
37:07 Leadership Lessons from Football
40:13 “The Secret Is in the Dirt”
42:42 Why Players Need to See You as a Father
48:06 Favorite Coaching Memories
51:23 Coaching Tough Love and Accountability
52:51 Two-Minute Drill
53:02 Coffee or Energy Drinks?
54:01 Morning vs. Afternoon Workouts

Coaching is what we do. Fatherhood is our legacy.

Follow From Field to Fatherhood wherever you listen, and send this episode to a coach who is trying to win in both places.

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Anthony Campanile’s first year in Jacksonville produced a unit that finished 8th in points allowed at 19.8 per game, fielded the No. 1 run defense in football at 85.6 yards per game, and ranked 2nd in the league with 31 takeaways. That is a defense that wins games. It is also a defense with an obvious hole in it. The Jaguars finished with 32 sacks, 27th in the NFL, and ranked 29th in sack rate and 20th in pressure rate. Elite against the run, elite at taking the ball away, bottom third at getting the quarterback on the ground.

Year two is where that gap is supposed to close. Campanile has never been a volume pressure caller. He builds off split-field shells, picks his spots, and asks the coverage to do a lot of the work. The 2025 tape backs that up. Jacksonville ranked 8th in the league in average time to pressure at 2.62 seconds, meaning when the rush got there, it got there in a hurry. It just did not get there often enough.

So the question in 2026 is not whether Campanile will call pressure. It is how he is building it, where he is bringing it from, and what he is playing behind it. In this article we are going to break down exactly how the Jaguars have pressured the quarterback through the 2026 preseason, starting with the opener in New Orleans.

Build a Bear

Plenty of defenses run pressure paths that arrive as something other than what they showed. The Bear front is one of the most common destinations. Cover both guards and the center, take away the interior double teams, and force the offense to block with tackles and backs on an island. What makes it a pressure concept rather than a front call is that the defense does not have to line up in it. It can walk into it, twist into it, or blitz into it, and the offensive line does not know which until the ball is snapped.

That distinction matters for what the protection can and cannot do. A static Bear look gives the center a clean ID and lets the offense slide away from the problem. A Bear that assembles itself after the snap forces the line to reset gaps on the move, and it puts the back in a block he did not expect to have.

Here are two examples of the Jaguars doing exactly that against the Saints in Week 1 of the preseason.

The first example is the simple version. Jacksonville aligns in the Bear front before the snap and rushes five, playing three under and three deep behind it. No games up front, no late movement, no disguise. What the Saints see is what they get.

New Orleans gets it wrong anyway. There is a miscommunication on the half slide, and the overhang into the boundary comes off the edge completely unblocked. The quarterback makes him miss on the first attempt, which is a credit to the quarterback, but the havoc in the backfield has started and it only gets worse for the offense. The overhang stays on his feet, works back through on the pursuit, and finishes with the sack and the forced fumble.

This time the picture moves. Jacksonville walks the free safety down and shows a Cover 3 shell. At the snap the safety comes and the opposite overhang drops out. The rush count stays at five, but the direction changes, and the front builds into that same Bear look on the way to the quarterback.

New Orleans has the answer. The Saints run curl/flat into the side the overhang vacated and find the hole in the coverage. That is the cost of dropping the overhang. Somebody has to run to the flat, and the curl defender gets stretched. The pressure still stands as a clean example of what the Jaguars are building toward in the rush.

This one has become a popular call. The linebacker has a read blitz on the center, and the rule is simple. If the center turns toward me, I cross his face. If he turns away, I am off his butt and through the gap. One defender, two paths, and the center decides which one he gets.

The Saints handle it. New Orleans passes the pressure off cleanly and the rush never gets home. That does not make it a bad call, and it is worth adding to the inventory. Just know what it beats. Against a max protection, full slide team, the center is not making a decision, and there are extra bodies waiting on whichever path you pick.

Overload Pressures

This pressure is set weak and overloads the protection. The 3-tech stunts all the way across the center while the linebacker and safety come through the A and B gaps. Even with the half slide called toward the pressure, the center would have to give up the 3-tech working across his face, and that is not happening in a half slide. Behind it the Jaguars play a Deuce coverage variation. The result is a free rusher working to the quarterback. New Orleans still finds the one-on-one matchup on the back end and completes the throw, which is the trade you accept when you send this many. You are betting the rush arrives before the isolated receiver does.

This is a max pressure. The Jaguars bring seven, and somebody is responsible for the running back if he flares out immediately, most likely the safety. The back stays in to protect instead, so the pressure holds at seven and the safety comes through unblocked.

New Orleans completes the ball again, but the pattern is the point. Across all of these clips, Jacksonville is attacking the protection from a different angle each time to scheme a free hitter on the quarterback. The timing is a step off, which is what preseason looks like. If they can speed it up, there is real havoc available in the backfield.

Here is one more rep of that weak overload, this time with the safety and the Will linebacker as the two extra rushers.

Here is another rep of that max pressure with blitz coverage behind it.

Exotics

This one has a lot going on. The structure underneath is simple, but everything sitting on top of it is not.

The coverage is a three under, three deep fire zone Cover 3. That part is standard. What makes it work is the rotation. The post safety works to the strong flat after the snap while the other safety, aligned at the line of scrimmage, rotates all the way back to the post. Two safeties swapping jobs, and the quarterback has to sort it out on the move.

Up front there are two pop out players and the remaining five run one of my favorite stunt paths, Magic. The wrinkle is that the wrapper is a coffee house rusher. He gives the same look as a pop out player, sells it, then works back to rushing the passer.

The result is a free hitter against a max protection full slide look. That is the part worth sitting on. Max protection full slide is the answer to most pressure, and this one still got home clean.

Final Thoughts

Every one of these pressures produced a free hitter. The Bear builds got one. The weak overloads got one. The seven-man max pressure got one when the back stayed in to protect. The fire zone with the coffee house rusher got one against a max protection full slide look, which is the answer offenses reach for when they want to be right about everything.

That is not luck and it is not the Saints being bad. That is design. Campanile is attacking protections from a different angle on nearly every rep, and the offense keeps ending up with an unblocked defender it did not plan for. Getting a free runner once is a good call. Getting one this consistently, off this many different structures, is a coordinator who knows exactly where protections break.

What has not shown up yet is the finish. The free hitter arrives late on most of these reps, and a beat of daylight is all a quarterback needs to get the ball out. New Orleans found the curl behind the vacated overhang. They found the one-on-one when Jacksonville sent the overload. The pressure was schemed. The pressure just was not there in time.

That is a August problem, not a scheme problem, and it is the exact problem preseason exists to fix. The reads have to speed up, the paths have to tighten, and the guys running them have to stop thinking about the call. When that happens, the free hitter that shows up a half second late in the Superdome shows up on time in September. And a defense that already knows how to break protections becomes a defense that finishes.

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But when you look at who led the team in receptions, you might assume the stat sheet has a typo.

It was not a wide receiver. It was running back Wayne Knight.

That number tells us something important about how James Madison approached the passing game. Knight was not simply catching check downs when the quarterback ran out of options. The Dukes consistently built concepts that created space for their running back, isolated him against linebackers, and forced defenses to account for him in ways that opened opportunities for everyone else.

That is the part that really caught my attention.

James Madison found multiple ways to get Knight into the passing game without making the offense feel like it was forcing the ball to a running back. They used formations, motion, protection, route combinations, and defensive manipulation to create favorable matchups.

Let’s take a look at how they did it.

Post Wheel

This is one of my all time favorite route combinations, but James Madison puts a great twist on it.

If you told me JMU was in a 4 strong formation to the field and was running Post Wheel, there is almost no chance I would assume the wheel was coming from the boundary.

But that is exactly what the Dukes do.

The running back releases directly through the offensive line and into the boundary on the wheel route. The solo receiver runs the post while the tight end works a delayed cross underneath.

Suddenly, the quarterback has a clean and defined read with multiple levels of the defense being stressed.

Field side, JMU runs a simple slot fade.

The beauty of the play is not necessarily the route combination itself. It is how the offense creates the space for the running back to operate.

The pulling guard and quick play action from the quarterback immediately put the defense into chase mode. The running back then uses the gap created by the pulling guard to get into his route.

That accomplishes two things: First, it declutters the area where the running back is releasing. Second, it gives the linebacker a run action key before he has to transition into pass coverage. That small detail makes a major difference.

Here is another example, this time with orbit motion. The motion helps occupy the backside safety while the rest of the concept develops. That leaves an inside linebacker essentially isolated against one of JMU’s best receiving threats.

Even when the Ducks account for everyone in the formation, they still have a problem. Who is covering the running back? The linebacker.

That is the constant challenge when the running back is a legitimate receiving threat. The offense does not necessarily need to scheme him completely open. Sometimes it just needs to force the defense to cover him with the wrong player.

Y Cross, R Rail

One of the biggest themes this offseason here at Board Drill has been the use of Y-Cross across every level of football and from a variety of offensive systems.

James Madison gives us another version worth studying.

Instead of using the traditional running back flat route, the Dukes incorporate a rail route from the backfield.

The running back immediately attacks the edge while the tight end stays in protection. That gives the quarterback an easy access throw while keeping additional protection in the box.

It is a simple formula:

Increased protection.
A playmaker attacking the edge.
A familiar concept with a different presentation.

The rail route also gives the running back an opportunity to work vertically rather than simply catching the ball and turning upfield from the flat.

For a defense, that distinction matters.

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Case built the space around flow. Ten Sorinex racks run in a single line, giving coaches clear sight lines across the room and letting athletes move efficiently between rack work and turf work during the contrast training pairings that define his programming. Every rack is set up identically, from dumbbells and adjustable benches to pull up grips and triphasic hooks, so athletes always know where to find what they need and coaches never lose a set of eyes on the room. The back wall carries the same logic, with dumbbell racks bookending a slam wall, iron necks for concussion prevention work, and Franken hypers for posterior chain training, mirrored on both sides of the room.

The technology layer is where the conversation goes deep. Case walks through how his staff uses Rock Daisy to program and collect data in real time as athletes train, Gym Aware for velocity based training on barbell work, Dasher lasers for speed and agility, and Titan sensors that carry over from the weight room onto the field. He spends real time on how he actually reads the Titan dashboard day to day, starting with player load and the acute to chronic workload timeline he calls the single most important metric he tracks. From there he breaks down how he sets targets for sprint distance, acceleration, and deceleration by reverse engineering what athletes are already doing in games, then builds the week backward from those numbers.

Case also draws a clear line between how he trains incoming freshmen with no prior weight room experience and the veteran athletes who have been in the system for three or four years and are using this technology daily to chase college opportunities. It is a look at what a modern high school performance program can look like when design and data work together from the ground up.

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In Episode 3 of From Field to Fatherhood, Dustin Whitlock and Ryan Grow sit down with Coach Jake Coulson, current Linebacker’s coach at Georgetown High School (TX). Coach Coulson shares lessons learned from years of coaching, raising three children, balancing football with family life, coaching his own son, and the importance of being intentional as a husband and father while leading a football program.

This conversation is packed with practical advice for coaches, parents, and anyone trying to build a strong family while pursuing excellence in their career.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome & Introduction of Coach Jake Coulson
01:25 Fatherhood, Family Life & Coaching Background
05:56 Locker Room Check-In: Summer Workouts & Family Updates
07:54 Raising Athletes and Helping Kids Reach Their Goals
11:10 When Family Says You’re Not Present
15:32 Transitioning from Coach to Dad at Home
16:56 What Intentionality Looks Like in the Coulson Household
20:29 The Challenge of Finding Balance as a Head Coach
22:40 Choosing a Program That Values Family
24:30 Family Traditions, Birthdays & Holidays
29:43 The Unseen Sacrifices of a Coach’s Wife
32:12 Leadership Lessons Learned from His Wife
36:35 Coaching Your Own Child and Avoiding “Daddy Ball”
40:27 Separating Coach and Dad After the Game
43:26 Apologizing to Your Kids and Learning as a Parent
45:18 Advice for Coaches Coaching Their Own Children
49:31 Why Players Need to See Coaches as Husbands and Fathers
51:10 Building Relationships Through Family Involvement
52:00 Closing Thoughts

If you’re a coach, parent, or leader striving to win both on the field and at home, this episode is for you.

Like, Subscribe, and Share with a coach, dad, or mentor who needs to hear this conversation.

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Tarleton State averaged over 42 points and 457 yards per game, while averaging 6.6 yards every time they snapped the football. They finished the season with 77 offensive touchdowns and a 12–2 record.

Naturally, I wanted to see what they were doing. To my surprise, the offense isn’t all that flashy. If I had to summarize it, Tarleton State blends old-school gap-scheme runs with the modern RPO game. They aren’t reinventing offensive football; they’re taking concepts that have been around forever and pairing them with answers that make those concepts harder to defend.

The next thing I wanted to figure out was simple: What run play do they hang their hat on?

Pretty quickly, one play kept showing up.

I’ve been calling it G-Wrap. I don’t know what Tarleton calls it internally, but it’s a gap-scheme run with the backside guard pulling.

What you’re seeing is a pretty clean gap scheme structure. The backside guard is pulling, the line is working down blocks and double teams, and the back is reading the puller rather than just hitting a predetermined hole.

The Core Idea: Gap Scheme With a Read Element

At its core, this is a simple gap scheme run. It’s the kind of play most offensive lines can install without a ton of stress. You’re not asking linemen to reach everything or handle wide zone rules. You’re asking them to down block, create movement, and let a puller insert.

That matters, especially when you’re dealing with different pressures.

Gap schemes are naturally good versus blitz because they create immediate answers inside. If the defense adds bodies, the run still has a defined structure. You’re not chasing defenders horizontally, you’re creating a vertical crease and inserting a blocker into it.

But what Tarleton does well is they don’t treat the run as static. G Wrap isn’t 36 Power, where we are trying to hit the C gap every single time. There is much more built in freedom for the pulling guard and the running back. This is why I love this play. The defense might be able to stuff the C gap on 36 Power by reading the guards pull, but now the offense has the freedom to simply bounce the play outside.

The running back is not just following the guard blindly. He’s reading the puller and reacting to his block.

The Two Ways It Can Hit

This is where the play becomes more than just a standard gap scheme.

The back has two real options based on what the pulling guard does:

• If the guard kicks out the edge defender, the run hits inside of that block.

• If the guard logs the defender and turns him in, the back can bounce outside.

G Wrap turns a traditional power play into something that behaves more like a zone concept.

You’re still blocking gap rules up front, but the back has the ability to make the linebackers wrong in their run fits.

Why It Works

The reason this concept is so effective is pretty straightforward.

First, it’s easy to install. Offensive linemen understand gap scheme rules quickly. Down blocks, double teams, puller—there’s not a lot of ambiguity.

Second, it handles pressure well. If defenses try to add bodies or blitz the interior gaps, the structure of the play still holds. The puller becomes the answer.

But the third piece is what really separates it.

The running back doesn’t have to be perfect. He’s not guessing pre-snap. He’s reacting post-snap to one key block—the puller. That simplifies the decision-making and keeps the play efficient even when the defense is moving.

So you get:

• Simple blocking rules for the line

• A built-in answer for blitz

• A read element for the back that adds flexibility without complexity

That’s a hard combination to defend consistently.

Where It Starts to Stress Defenses

Once defenses start fitting the run, Tarleton State uses a tagged RPO system off their G Wrap play. The most often used RPO is “glance” which I call Slant RPO. They also tag quick screens off G Wrap run action and pre-snap read the single WR side out of trips to go vertical off run action.

Slant “Glance” RPO

With the guard pulling towards the TE, the middle linebackers naturally have to react to the pull. This opens up the backside slant, if the outside linebacker hangs with slot WR’s slant, we have a dig behind the 1st slant, in the second window.

What you’ll notice on this clip is how quickly the linebackers trigger downhill. That’s exactly what the offense is trying to create. The run action forces a reaction by the linebackers opening up a nice throwing lane.

Fade RPO

When I think of an RPO I think of short quick routes: Sticks, Arrow, Glance. Tarleton State uses a vertical route in their RPO, which really stresses the defense. They will align in trips, isolating the X WR and pre-snap check to a fade ball, everything remains the same upfront. What a great way to hit big plays!

The Bigger Picture and Final Thoughts

When you put it all together, G-Wrap isn’t just a run play.

It’s the cornerstone of what Tarleton State’s offense is built around.

You’ve got:

• A base gap scheme run that is simple and physical

• A running back read that adds flexibility without adding complexity

• RPO answers that punish overcommitment

What stood out most watching Tarleton State was how traditional this explosive offense actually is. Pro-I teams build their systems around ISO, Wing-T teams build their system around Buck Sweep, Tarleton State builds their system off of G-Wrap.

The run is the foundation. The running back read element gives it flexibility. The RPOs turn it into a modern system.

When everything is tied together you have something that is challenging to defend, and you end up leading the NCAA in scoring.

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The Hall of Fame Game kicked off the preseason last Thursday night in Canton, and it gave us our first NFL look at two rookie quarterbacks, Carson Beck and Haynes King. Neither one arrived with much fanfare. Beck went to Arizona in the third round, and King was not drafted at all before catching on in Carolina. That is exactly why I wanted to watch. When you are calling plays for a rookie who is not the franchise quarterback, you have to decide how much of the offense you are willing to hand him on his first NFL series, and these two staffs answered that question in very different ways.

One caveat before we get going. Beck started and King did not. Kenny Pickett took the first snaps for Carolina, and King entered early in the second quarter and played the rest of the way, so the situations are not identical. What we can compare is the menu each staff handed its rookie. Both teams simplified the passing game, and that part was the same. The difference was in the mix. One staff balanced run and pass to keep the rookie on schedule, and the other put the ball in the air nine times on the opening series, which is a lot to ask of a quarterback taking his first NFL snaps. It ended in a touchdown, so what do I know.

Beck’s First Drive

Beck’s first play is a stick concept, and we will see the same call show up early in King’s drive as well. That is not a coincidence. Stick is about as friendly a first call as you can make for a young quarterback. It is quick game, the read is defined, and the ball comes out on rhythm. Give the rookie something simple, let him complete an easy one, and get him going. Beck handled it exactly that way, made the read and got the ball out fast.

On the second play of the drive, Arizona comes right back with a zone run for a short gain. It did not do much on the stat sheet, but that is not really the point. The staff wanted the run game working alongside their rookie quarterback rather than leaving him to carry the drive by himself, and that is a choice Carolina will not make with King.

Here Beck shows some ability to create and scramble, which is the trait we usually expect from King. This is also the second route combination we will talk about with both quarterbacks. Beck has a Hank combo frontside and a high-low dig concept backside. He works the Hank first, comes back to the dig, then feels an open lane and takes it with his legs.

This is a good combination for a rookie or any young quarterback. The frontside read is simple and gives him a place to start. If it is not there, he works back to the dig, which tends to come open a beat later once the void shows up behind the underneath coverage. It gives a young quarterback a clean progression instead of asking him to solve the whole field at once. We will see King hit this same concept later.

Arizona goes back to the run on the next snap, this time with outside zone. Four plays into the drive, and the rookie has already handed it off twice. The Cardinals want to keep it balanced.

The Cardinals come back with boot off that same outside zone action. Most boot concepts are built the same way, a deep route to clear out, a flat route, and some kind of over route. What I like here is that Arizona has the playside tight end hook up right over the quarterback as a safety outlet, and that is exactly where Beck goes with it. That is smart design. Boot can get a young quarterback in trouble when he runs out of grass and has nowhere to go, so giving him a built-in check down right in front of him keeps a bad play from turning into a worse one.

On the last play of the drive the Cardinals call slants on third and two. Simple read, simple throw, though the Carolina defensive back makes a nice play on the ball to break it up. The result was not there, but the formula was. Give the rookie a quick read and let him get rid of the football.

That is the whole Beck drive in one sentence. Six plays, two of them handoffs, and every pass call built around a defined read that comes out on time.

King’s First Drive

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