Utah's Physical Short Yardage Package
Under offensive coordinator Jason Beck (now at Michigan), the Utah Utes football team made a clear commitment in short yardage and goal line situations. Instead of staying in the shotgun, Utah frequently brought the quarterback under center and leaned on downhill football.
Too often offenses try to gain one yard from the shotgun with the running back aligned five yards deep. Utah eliminated that problem. Getting under center allowed the ball to hit the line of scrimmage faster and put immediate vertical pressure on the defense.
This approach also maximized the strengths of Utah’s offensive line and allowed Beck to build a simple but effective short yardage package.
There are several advantages to operating under center in these situations.
Immediate Vertical Pressure
The running back receives the ball quicker and can attack the line of scrimmage with downhill momentum.
Better Offensive Line Angles
Utah’s offensive line, one of the better units in the Big 12, could fire off the ball and create natural angles for gap schemes.
Play Action Opportunities
Once the defense commits to stopping the run, the offense can attack with boots and quick play action concepts.
The plays below show how Utah built a short yardage package that stresses the defense with physical runs and simple complements.
Kick
Utah lines up with seven offensive linemen in an unbalanced formation. The tight end aligns in the C gap with his hands on the belts of the offensive linemen in front of him. He becomes the kick player and blocks the first defender outside the C gap.
The seventh offensive lineman aligns as a fullback in the B gap and leads on the linebacker inside the kick block.
This is essentially a fast hitting version of Power that uses heavy personnel. The offensive linemen on the line of scrimmage all execute down blocks to create a wall for the running back.
This is an excellent short yardage concept. You get the kick out on the edge defender, isolate the playside linebacker, and avoid the risk that can come with pulling a guard in tight spaces.
Coaching Points
• The kick player must take a tight path and strike the first defender outside the C gap with inside leverage.
• Down blocks must create a vertical wall. Emphasize low pads and movement at the point of attack.
• The lead blocker should stay tight off the kick block and track the playside linebacker.
• The running back should press the wall and make a decisive cut off the kick block.
