Breaking down the modern spread
In part two of our three part series on the spread offense we’ll get down to the nitty gritty so to speak and break down the basics of the spread and talk about the different types of spread offenses that are most predominately seen in college football today.
Most versions of the spread offense begins with a no-huddle approach with the quarterback in the shotgun formation much of the time. The fundamental nature of the spread offense involves spreading the field horizontally using 3, 4, and even 5-receiver sets, as well as wide splits between the offensive linemen. This opens up multiple vertical gaps for both the running and passing game to exploit, as the defense is forced to spread itself thin across the field to cover everyone.
The spread isn’t exactly new to Southern Miss fans. Southern Miss ran a version of the spread offense from 2000-02 under former offensive coordinator Chris Klenakis. The offense that will be employed by Fedora and offensive coordinator Darell Wyatt will look and play much different than the offense under Klenakis. Many spread purists wouldn’t even consider the offense implemented by Klenakis at that time as a true spread because it didn’t take advantage of multiple WR sets enough constantly utilizing a two-TE set thus, limiting opportunities for multiple WR’s to create vertical seams that help open the run game.
biggoldnation.com
7/23/08
Magnolia Tribune
