• Kentucky Offensive Staff • Coaching Clinic • Wednesday • January 13 •

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University of

Kentucky

Guy Morriss

QuarterbacksCoach

Tony Franklin

Chris Hatcher

Offensive Line

Coach

Lexington, Ky.

RunningbacksCoach

Kentucky's Air RaidOffense

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Diagram 3

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The X is responsible to run an up route

and get deep as fast as possible. He will be

the quarterback's first read, and 3-5 times

a year, we will hit this for a big play.The V works under the Sam linebacker

and climbs over the Mike linebacker. If he

were to reach the opposite hash, he would

be at a depth of 17 yards, and if he made it

all the way across the field, he would be

approximately 22 yards deep. Once he

climbs over the Mike linebacker, he may

settle in the open "grass" vs. zone cover­

age, or continue to run and snap off his

route vs. man. He is the second read by thequarterback.

The H will release outside the defensive

end and press up the field to 3-4 yards and

run an option route. He will stick his toe in

the ground and break hard outside or

inside vs. match-up zone or man, and he

will settle in the "grass" vs. zone. It is crucial

to have a great option route runner. We've

been fortunate to have Anthony White for

two seasons to run option routes, and wehave him back one more season in '99. He

has caught 59 and 78 passes the last twoseasons.

The Z will run a post-curl at 14-17 yards

on the backside. He will settle in the open

grass vs. zone. He is our fourth option onthe V-cross route.

The F will check release and run a

swing as he did on the mesh route and will

be the fifth option. Both backs will check on

all our 5-7 step drop back passes.

The quarterback will read X on the upfirst, V-cross second, H-third, Z-fourth, andF-fifth.

The last play today is one of our quick

screens. This screen is good versus press

or soft coverage. The University of Montana

has been great at running this for years,

The quarterback reads high to low: cor­

ner (Z) NO.1, mesh NO.2, backs NO.3,

while taking a 5-7 step drop.

Another great play for us has been our

V-cross play (Diagram 3). We use this play

several times a game from a variety of for­mations.

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4-7yds.

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30th backs will check-release the Sam

::.:-j the Will before releasing. If they blitz,

'=' Nill stay and protect.

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The "z" will run a corner route to a depth

- somewhere between 13-23 yards

Jspending on where the best "grass" is. He

ust read the coverage on pre-snap, and

~s the route develops, be on the same

:,age as the quarterback.

The "F" will run a swing route, and must

;8 as wide as the numbers. If the ball is on

:.~s near hash, he should get a little wider::-an the numbers. He must work hard to

:: .'lays get to the numbers or he will clog up--9 mesh area. The F should also work

-;, d not to gain ground upfield as he runs

-8 swing.

he "H" runs a shoot route to a depth of= /ards when he reaches the numbers. He~ must widen if the ball is on the near

The "X" will be responsible for the

"mesh" with the V and will go under V at thecenter. When X crosses V, he will settle in

'he open grass. X and V both will continueo run if they feel man coverage and slight­

ly bend their route up field (Diagram 2).

Diagram 2

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It'san honor to speak in front of you~today. I would like to discuss three of the'

b-;;stplays in our offense.

The first play is our Mesh play that is

diagrammed for you (Diagram 1). The "V,"

which can be a tight end or a wide receiver

is responsible for working to a depth of no

deeper than six yards when he reaches thecenter. As he crosses the center, he will

settle in the open area which we call

"grass," and face the quarterback ready toreceive the ball.

Diagram 1

• Proceedings • 76th AFCA Convention • 1999 •113

• Kentucky Offensive Staff • Coaching Clinic • Wednesday • January 13 •

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This drill is done at one-quarter speed,

and allows many things to be accomplished

while warming up. In a ten-minute period,

our receivers are catching balls while loos­

ening their legs. Our quarterbacks are

working on the quarterback/center ex­

change, drops, and accuracy.

The quarterback will work with the cen­

ter on the exchange, and then take his

specified drop (e.g. three-step, five-step,

and seven-step). Once he hits his last step,

he will step up in the pocket waiting for thereceiver to face him. When the receiver is

ready, the quarterback will release the foot­

ball aiming for the receiver's number that is

farthest away from the nearest dummy. Thistells the receiver which direction to turn.

(Diagram 6) This process is continued with

each receiver taking turns. If you have more

than one quarterback, several stations can

be going on simultaneously.

Diagram 6

Settle/Noose Drill: This is the first drill

that our quarterbacks, receivers, tight

ends, running backs, and centers partici­

pate in once they run onto the field. Placing

two dummies ten yards apart on the side­

line sets up this drill. The receivers will line

up behind one dummy while the quarter­

back and center line up on the line per­

pendicular to the sideline. (Diagram 5) The

receiver will start in a good stance, and

release on the quarterback's cadence. He

will proceed to settle closer to one dummy,

than the other. He will then face the quar­

terback with his hands in the noose posi­

tion (thumbs together and index fingers

together) ready to catch the football. Once

the ball is caught, he will then turn straight

up field.

OWR WR WR.

Diagram 5

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Coach Franklin has already discussed a

few of our base patterns, and now I would

like to talk about how we actually teachthese routes and the fundamentals that are

needed to execute them properly.One can describe our offense as a well­

coached backyard team. We firmly believe

in throwing the football short first, long sec­ond, and then run the football when thenumbers in the box are favorable. Another

belief of ours is to keep things simple and

put our players in a position to succeed. Wenever want to ask an athlete to do some­

thing that he is unable to do effectively. In

our offense, the quarterback is the key toour success. Since this is the case, we

keep our schemes very simple because we

can run only what he is capable of compre­hending. So in our dealings with the quar­

terback, we follow four basic objectives:1. We try to be fair with him especially

the way we treat him in front of the other

players. The worst thing one can do with a

quarterback is to destroy his confidence

and the team's confidence in him by

degrading him in public.2. We must also be firm with him. We

allow our quarterbacks to check plays at

the line of scrimmage when needed.

However, by allowing this, we must let him

know that he better have good reason to

check out of plays called from the sideline.

In other words, we handle our quarterback

with an iron fist and a velvet glove.

3. We try to make football as much fun as

possible. We do not stretch or run sprints.

Everything that we do is geared towardsplaying football. In fact, recently I had the

opportunity to hear Coach Spike Dykes give

a lecture. He summed it up in one sentence,­

'We do not work football, we play football."

4. The most important objective is

putting emphasis on the importance of fun­

damentals. We work hard daily on footballfundamentals and feel that our attention to

detail has allowed our offense to be among

the nation's best the past two years.

Our offensive schemes are very simple,

but we try to become very good at the few

things we do. This is accomplished by get­

ting as many repetitions as possible in avery short period of time. The two drills that

I would like to share with you today are the

basic cogs that make our offense go. Boththe Settle/Noose and Routes on Air are

drills specifically designed to make the

most of your time while on the field.

Remember that time is one thing that can­

not be replaced.

This is a great opportunity and privilege

for me to speak to you today about theUniversity of Kentucky "Air Raid" offense.

along with many other screens. Their offen­sive coordinator, Brent Peace, is one of the

sharpest minds in the country.

The play-side receiver (wide) is respon­

sible for driving up the field three hard steps

to sell the vertical route, before sticking and

retracing his steps behind the line of scrim­

mage and back towards the hash mark and

quarterback. He should receive the ball

before reaching the hash and turn up the

field inside the play-side guards kick-out

block (Diagram 4). It is important that he

trusts the guard, set up his block, and get

straight up the field after the catch.

Diagram 4#4

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The inside play-side receiver will drivevertical for half the distance of where the

defender will end up who is guarding theball-catching receiver. He will then stick and

plant his inside foot, break sharp toward the

defender, and kick him out at approximate­

ly the time of the reception.

Both tackles will lock on and pass-pro

the defensive ends. The play-side guard will

pass set for 1001 count, and then release

flat to kick out NO.2 (Diagram 4).

The center will pass-set for 1001 count,and release, to block the Mike linebacker.

The fullback's fake will help hold the Mike

until the center can get there.The backside guard will pass-set to

1001 count, and release to block NO.4 or

attack any lagging "trash" along the way.The Y will check the Sam blitz, and release

to block Sam. The outside receiver away

will fake quick screen, and then release toblock his corner.

The quarterback will flash the ball and

quick fake his fullback; he will glance to the

opposite side, set his feet, and throw on

rhythm. The fullback will fake and block the

man over the playside guard.

This has been a great play for us for two

seasons. Thanks for giving me this oppor­tunity to speak.

Chris Hatcher, Quarterbacks

• Proceedings • 76th AFCA Convention • 1999 •114

• Kentucky Offensive Staff • Coaching Clinic • Wednesday • January 13 •

Routes on Air: This particular drill

involves everyone on offense except the

inemen. Our receivers and running backs

'ine up in a base formation. All five of our

uarterbacks line up side-by-side in a pre­

snap position. If you do not have five quar­

:erbacks, just insert a coach or manager.

cross from the line of scrimmage (35 yard

ine), seven dummies are aligned to repre­

sent a particular coverage that we will see

. the game that week. (Diagram 7) The

",xtra receivers will line up behind their

-espective positions and wait for their turn:0 run the pattern.

Diagram 7

Ask your sports infor­mation director to men­

tion your membershipand involvement in the

AFCA in your biographyin your school's mediaguide.

Improve YourProfessional

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Diagram 11

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H F(F-READS HIS WAY OUT)

H F(H-READS HIS WAY OUT)

The scheme applies to three-step, five­

step, and seven-step protections. The base

rule is the same, the only thing that

changes is the depth of the set by the offen­sive line.

I see that we are out of time. Remember

that any lineman can become a better pass

blocker if he has the courage, determina­

tion, strength, and willingness to work hard.Please allow us to be of any assistance

by calling the University of Kentucky

Yootball Office at (606) 257-3611. 1':9

sive line which tells them whic direction

they block (Diagram 10).

Diagram 10

If the halfback stays and blocks and thefullback is in the route, the halfback makesa "Louie" call to the offensive line which

tells them which direction to block (Diagram

11).

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~ ····,···,.P f? ex ~///~d "0,' "ROGER" CALL

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Diagram 8

If defenses play our base set with six "inthe box" we must define where the Mike

linebacker is. If the fullback stays andblocks and the halfback is in the route the

fullback makes a "Roger" call to the offen-

This drill has been very important in

developing our passing game. In fifteen

minutes, we can run everyone of our plays

at least five times. Again, this drill allows us

a lot of repetitions in a very organized shortperiod of time.

Guy Morriss, Offensive Line

It is a great honor for me to be here

today. Our offensive linemen must develop

a passion to become the very best pass

protectors they can be. Becoming a good

pass blocker requires hard work, study,concentration, dedication, strength training,

and most of all, patience. Repetition must

be accepted as a way of life for the pass

blocker. We spend 85-90% of our time

teaching our linemen how to block, rather

than figure out who to block.The beauty of our system is just how

simple it is. We have only one protection at

Kentucky. We do not slide, turn, or zone

protect. We use a man scheme and strive

to be one well-coordinated unit, as well as

exceptional one-on-one individual pass

blockers. The scheme is easy to learn, easy

to teach, and easy to adjust during the heat

of a ballgame.Our base rule is as follows: The offen­

sive line will block the four down linemen

and the Mike linebacker. The fullback will

check Sam to any strongside edge player,

and the halfback will check Will to any weakside edge player (Diagram 9).

Diagram 9

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Once everyone is lined up correctly, the

ach will then call a play. All the receivers

n their routes while all five quarterbacks

-'" e their drops. Each quarterback will- row to one of the five receivers. Each

-eceiver will catch the ball, turn straight up" e field and sprint to the end zone. Our

-eceivers are taught to never settle behind

2. dummy, and our quarterbacks will never

:;)row over a dummy.

During this drill, the receivers will work

proper alignment, stance and starts,

- d running good routes. Also by makingem sprint to the end zone, the receivers

are being conditioned. The quarterback'splay is probably one of the most important

aspects of this drill. The quarterbacks will

read each route in a certain progression.For example, the quarterback with the firstread will throw his ball once he hits his last

step. The quarterback with the fifth read willlook at the first four receivers before he

releases his ball to that receiver. In

essence, the balls will be released in a

typewriter fashion. (Diagram 8) After this

play is completed, then the next group of

receivers will line up and replace the

receivers who just participated. The quar­terbacks will rotate and throw to a different

receiver. This process will be repeated five

times, so that each quarterback will throw

all five routes. If the balls are not being

released in the proper order, then I know

there is a problem with one of the quarter­

backs knowing his progression of reads.

• Proceedings • 76th AFCA Convention • 1999 •115