Coaching the No-Huddle Offense:By the Experts

Edited by Earl Browning

Coaching the No-Huddle Offense:

By the Experts

Edited byEarl Browning

2

©2013 Coaches Choice. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Coaches Choice.

ISBN: 978-1-60679-262-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2013932800Book layout: Cheery SugaboCover design: Cheery SugaboCover photo: Getty Images

Coaches ChoiceP.O. Box 1828Monterey, CA 93942www.coacheschoice.com

3

Chapter 1: Rob Blount, Oceanside High School, New YorkThe No-Huddle Tempo Passing Game (2012)

Chapter 2: Tommy Bowden, Clemson UniversityThe Hurry-Up, No-Huddle Offense (2003)

Chapter 3: Tom Craft, San Diego State UniversityLogistics of the No-Huddle Offense (2005)

Chapter 4: Larry Fedora, The University of North CarolinaThe No-Huddle Run/Pass Option (2012)

Chapter 5: Josh Floyd, Shiloh Christian High School, ArkansasA Fast-Paced, No-Huddle Offense (2005)

Chapter 6: Todd Graham, University of PittsburghA No-Huddle Football Team (2011)

Chapter 7: Bryan Haggerty, Kirkwood High School, MissouriApplication of the No-Huddle Offense (2005)

Chapter 8: Bryon Hamilton, Foothill High School, CaliforniaNo-Huddle Spread Offense: Fly Sweep (2011)

Chapter 9: Rob Hoss, Sayville High School, New YorkExecuting the No-Huddle Spread Offense (2012)

Chapter 10: Mick McCall, Bowling Green State UniversityThe No-Huddle Spread Offense (2005)

Chapter 11: Chris Moore, Appalachian State UniversityThe No-Huddle Spread Offense (2008)

Chapter 12: Ralph Munger, Rockford High School, MichiganThe Two-Minute, Hurry-Up, No-Huddle Offense (2009)

Chapter 13: Brad Paulson, Anderson UniversityThe No-Huddle Offense (2004)

Chapter 14: Gary Pinkel, University of MissouriThe No-Huddle Spread Offense (2006)

Contents

5

15

28

38

50

61

70

85

95

105

119

132

148

157

4

Chapter 15: John Rodenberg, Roger Bacon High School, OhioNo-Huddle, One-Back Offense (2007)

Chapter 16: Rich Rodriguez, The University of ArizonaInsights of the No-Huddle Shotgun Scheme (2012)

Chapter 17: Brad Scott, University of South CarolinaThe Shotgun and No-Huddle Attack (1996)

Chapter 18: Rob Zimmerman, DeWitt High School, MichiganThe No-Huddle Shotgun Offense: Why and How (2010)

About the Editor

173

184

196

207

217

5

Rob BlountOceanside High School, New York

2012

Thank you, coaches. I am glad to be here. I want to talk about some of the things we have done with our offense for the last couple of years. The things I am going to talk about are things that I have collected over the years. There is nothing too original, and we stole most of it from somebody. I am going to talk about our tempo package. I will show you what we do in it and how we do it.

The first thing we want to do is define tempo. Tempo is the pace at which the game is flowing. All teams have some type of tempo depending on their style of offense. Teams that run at a slower-paced tempo are offenses that play a pro-style offense with 21 personnel, wing-T teams, power-I type teams, and huddle spread teams. All those types of teams have to huddle before they run a play.

The difference between a spread offense that huddles and a spread offense that does not huddle is how you communicate the plays. How do you get the play into the game? You must have a system that allows you to do what you need to do in 25 seconds. In high school, when you consider when the play ends and when the official marks it ready for play, we have about 32 seconds to run the next play. It takes most teams 17 seconds to get the play into the game, call it, and get out of the huddle. That leaves somewhere between 7 or 8 seconds to adjust that play. You can adjust all those

1

The No-Huddle Tempo Passing Game

6

variables with the play of the officials. Some officials are slow and deliberate with their style, while others take care of business and get the ball spotted quickly.

Teams that play at a faster-pace tempo are teams that run the no-huddle spread offense. You do not have to be a spread team to have a no-huddle offense. I had a power-I, no-huddle team. However, when people think about the no-huddle offense, they think about spread teams. You can play any offensive scheme with the no-huddle system. The thing that speeds up the tempo is how the plays come into the game.

When it comes to winning and losing, there is no right tempo! Just because you run a play in 10 seconds does not mean you will win the game. Tempo does not win games; players do. When people talk about tempo, they talk about going fast. That is not all tempo does. You can go fast, but you can slow down.

If you plan to play tempo football, you should understand why you are doing it. If your defense is not very good, playing fast does not necessarily help you win. When you play fast and have no success offensively, you give the ball back to the other offense while not allowing your defense to rest. Whatever your reason for going to a tempo offense, make sure you understand why you want to play at a speed.

Benefits of TempoCan drastically gain control of the gameSmaller package of playsGood vs. unconditioned or inexperienced teams Good vs. better athletes (usually don’t like to think)Can change other teams’ tempo Can make a drastic rhythm change in the gameAlways a home run loaded in the pistolCan make other coaches do “uncharacteristic” things

When you consider the package of plays you have in your playbook or on your call sheet, you need to see what you actually run. If you have a big call sheet but you do not run all the plays on that sheet, you need to reduce it. Playing with tempo allows you to play with a smaller package of plays. As a younger coach, I wanted to have something for every situation. When I was an offensive coordinator, I had a play sheet that made it almost impossible to practice all the plays. As you get older and more mature, you run what you are good at running.

The receiver on your team may want to run 50 different pass plays. Or the running back wants to run 20 different running plays. When you play tempo football, that converts to maybe four running plays and six pass plays. Having that limited offense makes the players and coaches feel more comfortable.

7

If you are going to play with a fast tempo, you must practice the same way. You do not walk out to practice. Everything you do in the practice is at a fast pace. When your players go from drill to drill, we tell them this is Ferrari pace to get to the next drill. The players must get used to those situations.

You have to train your players as to what goes on within the game as far as the referees are concerned. It is like muscle memory when you train your players about the tempo of the game. When the official marks the ball ready to play, the players know what to do because they did it in practice.

When we play teams early in the season, we try to push the heck out of them. We want to push the envelope in relationship to the speed of the game. Early in the season, teams are not in the type of shape it takes to play a high-tempo team. We want to jump on them and push hard with the tempo. It really tells on a team in the second and fourth quarters. An inexperienced team has trouble dealing with up tempo because of the confidence factor in inexperienced players. They are uncomfortable in what they are doing and tend to play too cautious.

We play teams that have many more and better athletes than we do. However, when we speed up the tempo, it slows down those athletes. When a player is athletic, he depends on natural instincts and natural talent. If he has to think about what he has to do, it neutralizes his natural ability and slows him down. The better athletes do not want to think; they only want to play.

By playing at a high tempo, we can change the other team’s tempo. It does not matter whether they are a slow- or fast-tempo team; they have to decide if they are going to try to match our tempo. If we score in 25 seconds, the opponent’s coach has to think what he wants to do. Is he going to try to control the ball when that is not part of his game or is he going to try to score quickly to match our tempo? It puts pressure on the opposing coach to do something.

The biggest thing I like is there is always a home run loaded in the pistol. Our players know that any play can go all the way. It could be a simple hitch or a zone play. We keep changing personnel and formations. That gives the secondary something to think about every play. Playing at the speed we play means the defense cannot fall asleep at any time or it is the home run. They have to continue to think about the defense but have no time to think clearly. Our players know it will happen, and it could be the next play.

This tempo makes coaches do uncharacteristic things. When we start pushing the envelope, the head coach starts to think how he is going to stop us. If we are scoring quickly, the coach that always plays field position goes for the first down on fourth down in his own territory.

That is what we want to do. We want the opponents to change what they do. We are not going to change what we do. If the ball control offense gets behind, it makes them do things they do not normally do. Can the option team throw the ball if it is behind?

8

Negatives of TempoSmaller package of playsSusceptible to more bad playsMistakes are magnified Must be ready to be second-and-10 or second-and-13 Can often tighten up playersCan often tighten up coaches Get ready to play some defense!

We have to look at the negatives of tempo, and there are some big ones. There is no way to carry a large package of plays with this offense. Because we go so fast, we are susceptible to bad plays. There are more chances for the wide receivers to be in motion or not on the line of scrimmage. The quarterback gets lackadaisical and makes the wrong read. Mistakes are magnified in this offense.

The coaches must prepare for any situation. They have to be ready for the next play. The results of the previous play cannot slow down the coach. He has to be ready to call the next play. If the first down play was an incomplete pass, he has to be ready for second-and-10. If we lose three yards on first down, he has to be ready for second-and-13. You cannot have a big play every down. He cannot slow down because the play did not work.

If you want to play up tempo, it does not matter what system you use. What does matter is whether the players are comfortable in the system. If you have a quarterback, running back, or receiver who is not comfortable within the system, you will have problems.

We had a situation on our team this year related to that point. We play with a running back and two slotbacks who are good players. When we went to our tempo game, two of those players had to come off the field. We did not play with our best players, but they were not comfortable playing in the tempo game.

This system has a tendency to tighten up coaches. If you are a coach who gets a little nervous making a big call, when you go to a fast tempo, every play is a big call. The coach has to feel confident in his players but also himself. He has to be confident in his preparation. If the coach is not confident in what he has to do, this system will not work. If the coach gets tight, that transfers to the players.

In this type of system, the offense does not hold the ball for long periods. You had better have a good defense. Your offense may be on the field for 45 seconds and the defense has to go back in and get the ball back. If your defense is not good and stable, you do not need to play tempo football unless it is slow-tempo football. A quick three-and-out is always a possibility with this type of offense.

9

BoardsOriginated

University of Oregon DucksPurpose

Another way to send in plays Quicker way to send in plays Alternate to signals Alternate visual with excessive noise Kids like it

We use sideline boards as our communication devices. We got the idea from the Oregon Ducks. I was like everyone else that watched Oregon’s games. I was wondering what the board meant. I wanted to know how they used them and if we could do something similar. The purpose of the board is another way to send in a play. This is a quicker way to send plays into the game.

This is an alternate to hand signals. When you used a hand signal, it was susceptible to interpretation by the opponent. We were running out of different signals. It eliminates the noise factor. What we do is visual. If they can see it, they can understand it. The noise in the stadium is not a problem.

The most important thing is the players like it. It builds interest in what we are doing. The designs and pictures that go on the cards are player driven. They are the ones that read the cards, and they have to remember what the symbols mean. It has to be something they know. The coaching staff is involved, but they make most of the decisions as to what goes on the cards.

Code to the Boards

Four categories:

Play Play or formationDirection or protectionDummy or cadence

You should consider these options if you are going to make up the sideline boards. When we mention direction or protection, it makes sense to the players who read them. If you decide to do something similar, you may have a different idea. The information on the boards must be germane to the players. I want to show you how we call a play.

10

Following are the four different ways we have to call the plays using the boards:

Scenario #1: Eugene Coach signals (dummy) Single board is put up with play

Scenario #2: Eugene last Coach signals (dummy) Multiple boards are put up (last one up is ”hot”)

Scenario #3: Eugene first Coach signals (dummy) Multiple boards are put up (first one up is “hot”)

Scenario # 4: Eugene 1, 2, 3, 4, hot Coach signals which board is ”hot” Multiple boards are put up #1: head, #2: nose, #3: chest, #4: hip

We have four ways we can use the sideline board and get the plays into the game. The first scenario has Eugene listed. Eugene is a tempo, which comes from Eugene, Oregon, where we got the idea for the boards. Eugene is one of the designated sign holders. He has the hot sign. The coach makes a hand signal, which is a dummy signal. After the dummy signal, we put up four coded boards with the play on it. We run the play board held by Eugene. That is one way to do it.

In the second scenario, we flash Eugene last in our sequence. That means of the multiple boards displayed, the last one is the hot board. The coach’s signal is still a dummy signal. If we flash two boards, the last one up is the hot board.

In the third scenario, we flash Eugene first, which denotes the hot board. The coach gives his signal, which is a dead signal. We show multiple boards, and the first board is the hot board.

In the fourth scenario, Eugene is 1, 2, 3, 4, and one of those numbers is the hot number. The coach’s signal tells the players which board is the hot board. We have four board holders that stand in the same place each game. If the coach goes to the head, that is board #1. The other signals are nose, chest, and hip. We have four board holders. They each have two boards. Both sides of the board have different codes on them. That means each board holder has four boards.

Following is an outline example of one of our boards. The top-left corner is the play. The picture is of Will Smith, who played in the movie Hitch. The play is a quick hitch to the single receiver side of the trips set. The symbol in the bottom left is the coat of arms for a Ferrari car. That meant we were using quick set protection. The fighter jet in the top-right frame meant we were in jet formation, and the tornado in the bottom left was a dummy call.

11

Play Formation/Play

Picture of Will Smith; starred in the movie Hitch

Picture of a jet fighter

Direction/Protect Cadence or Dummy

Ferrari car logo Cartoon picture of a tornado

The next board shows a man sitting on top of his house with water up to the roof. That means a flood route. The bottom left is a picture of Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter. That means it is a sprint out to the formation side. The upper right is a picture of a scuba diver, which means flood three. The bottom left is a dummy call.

Play Formation/Play

Cartoon of a man sitting on top of a house surrounded by water

Scuba diver

Direction/Protect Cadence or Dummy

Picture of Usain Bolt running

Cartoon character Road Runner

We have three phases of tempos. When we run the Ferrari, we want to go as fast as possible. We want the snap in one to five seconds. That means one to five seconds added on to the seven seconds it takes to get the play. We want to snap the ball between 8 to 12 seconds after the referee spots the ball and marks it ready for play. The thing about this tempo is everyone on the sideline must be ready for a change of personnel. We practice that so we can stay within the game plan using Ferrari tempo and still change personnel.

Van is our regular tempo. We want to snap the ball 6 to 15 seconds into the play clock. The 6 to 15 seconds is the add-on time to the 6 to 8 seconds the referees takes to spot the ball. In high school, you cannot go a hundred miles an hour every play.

Tank tempo is our slow tempo. We played a team in 2006 that played slow. We kept watching them and wondering why they were taking so long to snap the ball. We finally caught on to what was happening. One of their coaches had a stopwatch. When the referee mark the ball ready for play, he snapped the stopwatch. When the time reached 17 seconds, they gave the quarterback the signal to go. They snapped the ball around 23 to 24 seconds every time. You take that time and add the six to eight seconds it takes during the play, and they ran four plays and took over two minutes off the clock. They could keep the ball for six to seven minutes with one first down. We developed our tank tempo after that experience.

12

This year, we did not have the athletes that we usually have. We played a lot of tank tempo at the end of the season. The team we played in the playoffs had four extremely skilled athletes. We did not feel we could match point for point against them. We decided to take the air out of the ball and use the tank tempo. It was 7-0 at halftime. We started the second half with an onside kick, got the ball, and scored, and we were right back in the game. However, I go back to the original statement: tempo does not win games; players do.

“Check With Me”Designed to be a good playQuarterback gives a fake cadence and players look to sideline Coach sends in plays via signals or boardsPlay is snapped between 7 to 12 seconds

We use this check system at the line of scrimmage. The quarterback gives a dummy signal so we can get a look at what the defense is doing. After that, the team looks to the sideline. The coach sends signal or uses the sideline boards to call the play. The quarterback snaps the ball between 7 and 12 seconds. This allows us to get into a better play and out of a bad one.

If you have a high-level quarterback, this is a system you might want to try. You must feel comfortable with your players to do this. In some games, it got out of hand.

Three-Point PlaysAllows the quarterback to make checks at the line of scrimmageQuarterback is given three to four plays based on that week’s game planBased on a particular formation, which you get with a routine base defense

Benefits:

Allows you to have a quicker “check with me” systemQuarterback has the best view at interior box

Negative:

The quarterback has the power!

The coach gives the quarterback three or four plays based on what we have seen in game planning. We run the three-point play out of one formation. The formation generally gets a based defense from the opponent. This is a quicker system than the “check with me” system. The quarterback does not need to look to the sideline; he makes the checks at the line.

13

If the coach is comfortable with it, trains the quarterback, and keeps it simple for him, it is a good system. The quarterback has the best view of the interior box. If the quarterback is a Wild West gun fighter, you do not want to use this system with him.

We call this next point “even baseball.” Baseball has taught us three things: H, B, P. The quarterback has three plays he can choose. He can run hitch, bubble, or power. We point at the quarterback and give him the hit sign like a batting coach. The coach swings his arms as if he were swinging a bat. We are telling the quarterback, you have the plays so you make the call. We may do this twice in a game.

The quarterback has to read the box to come up with the play. If the quarterback reads six defenders in the box, that amount of defenders equals the power play for us (Diagram 1-1). If we align in a 2x2 set with six in the box, we run power. The last two years, we have been good in the power game. From this set, we run the one-back power or the quarterback power.

Diagram 1-1. Six in the box = power

If the quarterback reads six in the box with a soft or hard corner, he runs a hitch/fade combination (Diagram 1-2). If he reads six in the box, that is a run key for us.

Diagram 1-2. Six in the box = hitch/fade

14

However, if he sees the corner nine yards off the wide receiver, that is an easy pitch and catch on the hitch. If he see our #1 receiver with a pressed corner aligned on him, that converts to a fade pattern. This is a confidence type of play. If he is confident that he can make the throw, he throws the hitch or fade route. If he is unsure of what he is seeing, he runs the ball.

The last one is an easy call (Diagram 1-3). If the defense aligns with seven or eight in the box, we want to throw the bubble screen. When the defense tries to tighten up and stop the run, we want to throw the bubble screen to the outside.

Diagram 1-3. Seven in the box

Tempo is great, but it depends on how you use it. For teams that do not use the spread, you can still be a high-tempo team. The thing that makes you a tempo team is how you get the information into the game. It does not have to be boards. You can use signals. You can take the sideline boards and use them a different way.

You can use anything to change the tempo of the game. If you are a good team, it can make you a better team. If you are a struggling team by using tempo, you can put pressure on the good teams in your conference.

15

Tommy BowdenClemson University

2003

Let me assure you I had a hard time convincing my wife that I had to speak here on Friday night, Valentine’s Day. Are any of you here tonight married? Let’s see a show of hands. Well, you were married. You will be sleeping on the sofa when you get home Sunday, I will promise you that. Being here on Valentine’s Day is a tough act. I have spoken at this clinic before. I was a former assistant at Kentucky and I knew you took football very seriously. We have always had a good crowd when I lecture here.

I want to go over the shotgun offense. When I first started using the shotgun in 1988 I was an assistant at Alabama. I was working with Homer Smith who had been in coaching a long time. Since that time I have always been involved with some aspect of the shotgun.

When I went to Tulane to be the head coach, we played in the Superdome. We did not have a lot of good players. We knew we had Astroturf and we knew we would have a fast track for our games. We wanted to be able to win some games and win with big scores. We favored the high scoring games over the close, defensive games. I have just finished my sixth year with this offense.

I have just finished my fourth year at Clemson. A lot of high schools have gone to this offense. Lou Holtz went to South Carolina the same time I went to Clemson. He was an I-formation and I-over type team. He had used the option game when he was

2

The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle Offense

16

at Notre Dame. After that first year we had some success with the shotgun at Clemson. In the second year South Carolina started running some of the shotgun. So we had both big state schools of South Carolina using the shotgun offense. A lot of the high schools around the state of South Carolina started using the shotgun offense.

Some of the things we try to do with the shotgun offense are similar to what most offensive teams want to do. First of all, we want to be able to run the football. It is our priority. Every time we go to the line of scrimmage we would like to run the ball. In the six years as a head coach, we have gained over 2,000 yards a year in five of those six years running the ball. This past year was the first year we did not run for 2,000 yards. A lot of people think the shotgun offense is a passing offense, but we consider it a running offense.

You do not need a big back to run the ball out of the shotgun. The first two years I was at Tulane we had Shawn King as our quarterback. He set the record in the NCAA for passing efficiency. He was only 6’1” and played quarterback for us. When I went to Clemson, the quarterback was about 5’10”. His name was Woodrow Dantzler. He made it as a running back with the Dallas Cowboys. In the 2001 season, Woodrow Dantzler was the only player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000. I think the Iowa quarterback may have broken that record this past year.

I know the high schools are limited in personnel. You have to take what comes to you in your school. But most of the time coaches take their best athlete and put him at quarterback. If you only have one player that has speed and agility, you can still have success with this type of offense.

We move the pocket to give our quarterbacks a better view on the plays. We move the pocket for the short players so they can see the field. So, you do not need a 6’3” quarterback to run this offense. With Kentucky running the shotgun, many of you are familiar with the shotgun offense.

The first place I want to start in talking about the shotgun offense is with communications. If you have run this offense you know you must signal plays in by hand. The opponents will be able to pick up your signals. I want to give you some ideas that will help you when teams do get your signals on the offense.

I will cover some of the problems we have encountered over the last few years. If the opponents get the signals, what do you do? First is the snap count. We like a rhythmic cadence. We also go on a silent rhythm with our quarterback. We will change the rhythm to draw the defense offsides.

Several years ago we taught our center to make a soft, dead-floating snap to the quarterback in the shotgun. If it was a bad snap the ball would not go very far. If the snap was off center it would not be too hard to handle when it’s the soft floating snap. This was back in 1988, which was some 14 years ago.

17

I think Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills was one of the first to take advantage of the shotgun attack. He had a lot of success in the shotgun.

We wanted that soft, dead-floating snap to come back between the waist and the top of the numbers inside the quarterback’s body frame. Now, after 14 years in the shotgun, I know it is dangerous to float the ball back to the quarterback. Those players on the end will time it and come hard at the quarterback and get their about the time that floating snap gets back to him. So we have tried to speed up the snap now from the center to the quarterback. Now we want a loose, but somewhat tight spiral on the ball. You may want to know what a loose but somewhat tight spiral snap is. It has a little zip on it but it is not a hard snap like a punt or extra point snap. The ball has a little rotation on it.

If you are going to start the shotgun as a new formation, I would start with the dead floater. This will give your center more confidence and it will allow the deep back to handle any snap that is off center.

Here is our communication on the shotgun. The center will get over the ball and look between his legs. He looks at the quarterback. Our quarterback will raise his foot to indicate to the center when to snap the ball. By using the foot we hope to keep the signal from the safety. Hopefully, the foot will be low enough so the deep defenders will not see it. The center will snap the ball on the movement of the foot of the center or he will wait until the quarterback raises his head.

Another way to get the center to snap the ball is to have the quarterback lift his foot, then raise his head, and then have the center silently count to himself, “One thousand one, one thousand two.” It is on a silent count.

The guards do not have a problem with this because they can sit there and see the snap. Some teams will hold hands on the snap. We do not hold hands. Most linemen can see the snaps out of the corner of their eyes. If you run this a lot of the time the linemen will get the feel of it and it will not be a problem.

Next I want to cover the communications from the sideline. Remember we do not huddle with this offense. We have not huddled in six years. We do not have a huddle in our notebook. We just do not huddle. We communicate to the offense when we want to milk the clock, short yardage, and goal line offense. It may be a key play in the game. Everything is done at the line of scrimmage.

We take the person that is going to send the signals to the offense and put him on the sideline. We are going to signal in the formation or the play. We signal this information to the quarterback. The players responsible for reading the signal include the wideouts, the backs, the tight end, and the quarterback. The quarterback does not have to communicate the information to the other receivers. They must get the information on their own.