Jet Power Read Series: Building a Shotgun System That Actually Fits Your Offense

One of the biggest challenges I have as a football coach is developing a true shotgun offense.

We are an 80% under center football team, and everything we do is built around a Pro-I series system. That is where our offense has always made the most sense. When we are under center, our play calling has a clear purpose. If a defense is stopping Iso and Trap inside, we can attack the perimeter with Sweep and Option. Once the safeties start fitting the run aggressively, we can come back with play-action and throw over the top.

That is what makes a true offensive system valuable. The plays are not random. They are connected. One play sets up the next. Every defensive adjustment creates an answer for the offense.

Our staff understands our under center system. Our players understand it. We can call plays with confidence because we know how each piece fits.

But for a long time, our shotgun offense never felt that way.

When we went to the gun, it felt like we were just calling a collection of plays that we thought were cool. Maybe it was a QB run. Maybe it was a Jet Sweep. Maybe it was a screen or a shot play. But it did not always feel like a true system. The players could feel it too.

Every time we lined up in shotgun, it almost felt like we were running a trick play instead of simply executing our offense.

That changed when we were introduced to the Gun Wing offense at a coaching clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The biggest takeaway was simple:

Your shotgun offense can be built with the same series philosophy as your under center offense.

That idea changed the way we looked at our gun package. Instead of just having a menu of plays, we started thinking in terms of answers. What happens if the defense loads the box? What happens if they set the edge hard? What happens if the safeties start flying downhill?

That is where the Power Read Series became such an important part of our offense.

The series gives us a shotgun package that has rhythm, structure, and answers. Let’s break it down.

Play #1: Jet Power Read

The first piece of the series is Jet Power Read.

This is the play that forces the defense to defend the width of the field immediately. The Jet motion puts stress on the edge before the ball is even snapped. Linebackers have to communicate. Safeties have to adjust. The defense has to decide how much attention it wants to give to the motion.

If the defense chases the Jet motion too hard or widens to protect the edge, the quarterback can keep the ball and run behind Power blocking. If the defense squeezes inside or tries to take away the quarterback run, the Jet motion has space on the perimeter.

Play #2: Power Read

The next piece is the traditional Power Read concept.

For us, this fits because it gives the shotgun offense the same physical identity we want under center. We are still running Power. We are still creating angles. We are still forcing the defense to fit the run. Not having the Jet motion to start the play eliminates the timing required to run Jet Read. If it’s cold, raining, your center’s snaps are off, etc. You might want to just run the play, instead of the jet motion, you simply run a wide zone path to hit the perimeter.

Play #3: Play-Action Toward the Jet Motion

Once the defense starts reacting aggressively to the run game, the next answer is play-action.

The first play-action concept works toward the Jet motion.

This is a natural complement because the defense has already been trained to react to the Jet. When they see that motion, they start thinking about the perimeter run. Safeties rotate and come down hill creating wide open throwing windows.

Play #4: Play-Action Away from the Jet Motion

The second staple play-action concept works away from the Jet motion.

This is an important answer because defenses will often start over-adjusting to the motion side. Once the Jet motion becomes a threat, the defense may rotate coverage, bump linebackers, or push the secondary toward the motion.

That opens up space away from the motion to the weak side.

Why the Series Works

The reason this series is so valuable is because it gives the shotgun offense a real identity.

It is not a random group of plays. It is not a trick play package. It is a system.

The defense has to defend:

• Jet motion to the perimeter

• Quarterback Power inside

• Play-action toward the motion

• Play-action away from the motion

It is the same philosophy we already believe in under center, just translated into a shotgun system.

Final Thought

For high school football, the best offensive systems are usually not the most complicated ones.

The best systems are the ones players understand and give your coaches a play calling sequence.

That is why the Power Read Series has become such an important part of our shotgun offense. It allows us to stay physical, use motion, create conflict, and build every call off the same core idea.