POWERSPREAD

1ST QUARTER

OSU GREAT AGGRESSIVE START!

1ST QUARTER

All LSU EARLY

PS Pro Ready to Go!

Everyone’s moving to the PS Pro. Joe Brady has made a big splash as CO-OC of LSU this year and his work with Joe Burrow, but it’s not just him. Ryan Day of OSU has also implemented his own version of PS Pro. Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma is running a sort of PS 2020 hybrid of PS AR/Bone/Pro, which is heavy on the Power, but still big on the Spread. Finally there’s Jeff Scott of Clemson, who runs a version of old school RichRod PS with Tony Elliot, but has implemented some pro concepts from his roots.

For me it’s been a full 10 years of Power Spread. Actually maybe 12. I’m not sure when Kurt and I started to use the term Power Spread on a regular basis. Sometime between 2007-2009. The original concept was simply the ability to spread the field horizontally to power the ball straight up the gut.

The most beautiful play design for us was the 4 WR Spread with 11 or 10 Personnel (1 TE or None and 1 RB) with the Read Option straight up the middle. The defense would collapse on either the RB or QB. A good ball handling QB would either keep it or hand it to the RB, depending on what the Defense chose. So you let the Defense commit themselves right out of commission! Beautiful. And in a Spread alignment either the RB or QB ran straight up the middle 50 yards for a TD.

For me, this simple vision and idea had far reaching implications, which I have developed over the last 10 years. Synergy is a big one. Dynamic Opposition is another. I came up with 3 Precepts Aggressive Flexible Variety. I mimicked the E=mcc equation. I put the PS=stt into the m as the Game is a Microcosm of the Life we live … the Universe in which we exist. Except in that microcosm, we get to look in and observe.

Well, the game of football is evolving rapidly and for the first time in 80 years the Pro and College game is coming back together. In other words, the game you watch – be it the NFL or College – is starting to look the same again. A reuniting under one umbrella I call PS Pro.

What happened in 2015- 2016 and why so successful now?

IF you guys look back at my 2016 Michigan Email you will see my infuriation at the horrible pass route design and wr execution of these routes. You will see me blaming our WR coach – which was spot on, but this wasn’t just bad teaching by the WR coach – it was a breakdown in scheme. I knew that as well. I knew the what, where and when, but misunderstood the why.

Meyer’s Power Spread Offense of the 00s was ahead of its time, but others caught on. When Urban came to OSU, after his short break from coaching, he knew he needed to evolve his Offense.

The struggle to evolve was real, but the Power Spread was still a much more powerful Offense than that of Ohio State teams of the past. Setting records and maximizing player talent covered up some issues that were brewing. After winning the National Championship in 2014, the Offense really had some struggles – a first for Urban in all his years as a Head Coach.

Now, only a couple of years removed from a lowpoint in Meyer’s career – the shutout vs Clemson in 2016 – Meyer’s Offense is as powerful as it’s ever been. So what’s the deal?

Back to the Future

I love looking back. Hindsight really is 20/20.
It makes me wonder if Teams should start hiring people for just this concept. I don’t think this is a popular idea yet as our technology driven society is obsessed with the “what’s next” mentality.

Interstingly we have seen this concept work with coaches who have taken time off from the profession and looked around to gain a broader perspective, before forging ahead with a new creation. Four examples immediately come to mind in Frank Solich, Morris Watts, Troy Taylor and Mack Brown.

Here I go as I review the Franklin Era of PSU vs OSU in prep for the 6th version of this game.