Running the Option Play Out of a Split Backfield

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Sean Hobson, for Expert Village. What we want to talk about now is running the basic option play with the split backfield. Our fullback, this time, has moved off to the right side of our quarterback and our tailback to the other side. When our quarterback takes the snap, he's going to open up to the inside of the play and fake it, again, to the fullback coming through. Our tailback is going to start to release down the side and our quarterback is going to run right up the line of scrimmage. The important thing is, the quarterback has to start picking up the defensive guy on the outside. This may be a corner back coming up, it may be a defensive end coming up or an outside linebacker. He's going to watch to see if this guy is reading to the inside, reading the tailback, or is he reading to the inside shoulder of the quarterback. Then the quarterback will make a decision. If he's inside, he's going to pitch it. If he's outside, the quarterback will keep it and turn it upfield for a positive gain. So, we can run the option in a couple of different ways with the backfield set in a couple of different formations. In this case, we have our backs split and that will give us a little wider running range for our tailback out of that split backfield."