In the lead up to the BCS National Championship Game theme tonight, and following the review of Jimbo Fisher’s excellent presentation at last year’s AFCA Convention, here are some of Gus Malzahn’s favorite run schemes.
Chris Brown has a great piece up on Grantland right now about Malzahn and the evolution of his offense since his days as a high school coach.
POWER FLOW
This is one of the signature plays of this offense. Instead of running a traditional power scheme, the QB will read the frontside end. If he closes, the QB hands it off to a back running a track to the perimeter. If the end chases the sweep, the QB can follow the guard up the middle and gain some good yardage.
COUNTER SERIES
Gus Malzahn has wrinkles upon wrinkles upon wrinkles in his offense, and everything builds off of something else. You’ve got old-school counter, a read off of the counter, designed QB runs, and more.
ZONE SPLIT
This is one of the most common variations on the zone read, and the success of Malzahn’s offenses are a big reason why. The play involves sending a man, usually from the opposite side of the formation, to block the end man on the line that is away from the play, and who is left unblocked by the O-Line.
TRICK PLAYS
Anyone who’s familiar with Malzahn’s play calling style can tell you that he is capable of throwing anything at a defense at any time. His use of trick plays is a perfect example. (There’s even a ‘Fumblerooski’ in this clip)
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