How to Run the Spread Offense in College Football

Video Transcript

"Hey, it's Coach Rudy, Big Ten alumni, hearing a lot about the Run and Gun, Run and Shoot, Run and this, Run and that. You know what? The bottom line with the quote-unquote West Coast Offense is you have to have the personnel. Let's talk about specifics. You've got two receivers on both sides. Is that four receivers? I don't know. It could be. It could be the running back. It could be a slot back. It could even be a D-back if you wanted to. The key is can they catch the football. You want to create a nightmare for a defensive coordinator. Then put on the field your four fastest guys that can run and catch the football. It's a shotgun formation. Typical situations to do this is, I think anytime. I really am a fan of using this offense earlier in the downs; more earlier than later. The thing that I love to see created based on the defensive adjustment is the crossing of the route. For instance, this guy runs a post. This guy runs the wheel. He's gone. So now you've got the corner and the safety trying to cover these guys. What it does is eliminate man-to-man completely. You cannot play man-to-man against the spread. You have to play zone. Things to be concerned about: it's not for everyone. It's not for everyone. You have to have the personnel that can execute what the directives are. Your quarterback has to be really smart, be able to get a pre-snap look, understand what safeties and corners are doing, be able to make adjustments, call audibles. And you have to have the protection of your offensive line. If you don't have that, you can't run this offense."