Austin Herink on QB Influence and Third Down Success
What do the best offenses in college football and the NFL have in common on third down? According to UCF Senior Offensive Analyst Austin Herink, the answer is simpler than most coaches think: they understand the situation, trust their quarterback, and build a package around who they already are.
In this episode, Coach Herink walks Kyle and Matt through the self-scout study he ran at the end of last season after UCF finished 118th nationally in third down conversion. Rather than just collecting data and moving on, he built a layered research process: first, evaluate what UCF was doing and where it was breaking down; second, study the best offenses in the country; third, study the worst; and fourth, bring back specific, drillable takeaways to improve.
What came out of that process is a film-room breakdown of Indiana, Vanderbilt, Utah, USC, and the Chicago Bears, each representing a different kind of quarterback and a different approach to third down. Fernando Mendoza ran a system built on trust and anticipation. Diego Pavia won with athleticism and situational awareness. Devon D’Ambure kept the Utes in manageable conversations with his legs. Caleb Williams grew into a play caller’s system in real time. And in each case, the through line was the same: make the game easy for your quarterback, limit variance in your concepts, and rep what you believe in.
Coach Herink also gets into the practical side of what separates good from bad third down offenses: distance to gain on first and second down, the value of condensed splits and motion in forcing defensive communication, chip route design, and why throwing to your biggest guys on third and extra long might be the most underrated concept in football.
The episode closes with Coach Herink’s answer to the Board Drill signature final question, a story from his time coaching football in Vienna, Austria, and a reminder that the best teams are not built in the film room alone.
Timestamps:
0:00 Welcome and introductions
2:13 Why Herink ran this study and how he built the methodology
5:30 UCF self-scout: 34% conversion rate, distance to gain, and what the data revealed
10:04 Drop eight, run efficiency, and what third and long actually looks like for most offenses
16:48 Best offenses compared: the full table, QB archetypes, and what Indiana, Vanderbilt, Utah, and the Bears did differently
21:45 Short yardage principles: identity concepts, personnel, and planning around your weaknesses
26:00 Third and medium film: Vanderbilt’s run-pass marriage, Belly G lead, and plays on plays
33:53 Condensed splits, stacks, and bunches: forcing defensive communication to create easy throws
39:00 Indiana’s deep ball philosophy, Fernando Mendoza throwing into the teeth of the defense, and trusting your reps
44:50 Three level floods, Bird 3 screens, and how the best teams approached third and extra long
50:38 Key takeaways: situation, personnel, and why first and second down decides third down
53:01 Studying the worst offenses and what bad third down football looks like in reverse
1:09:11 Identity in game planning, Mike McDonald’s Seahawks, and coaching technique over assignment
1:13:27 Mind Time at Washington: cross-unit connection and building the tightest roster possible
1:15:45 Playing football in Vienna, Austria, closing thoughts, and sign-off
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