KSW's Tulane Power Spread Option - kswgrad2012's Blog

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KSW's Tulane Power Spread Option

Posted on October 22, 2014 at 09:07 PM.

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KSW's Tulane Power Spread Option

I was gonna post this a while ago, but it took a lot of time to write this up. This is the playbook I use in my Tulane Green Wave dynasty on NCAA Football 13. While I play on '13 the playbook will work fine in NCAA '14, but with a few differences. The SimSports link provided below shows the playbook under the NCAA '14 umbrella. While it's not exactly my offense, it is about 90%. Since most of you guys play '14 now I thought to put it there; if anyone still plays '13 like me, PM me and I can send you a link to the playbook under the NCAA '13 umbrella.

Playbook Name: KSW's Tulane Power Spread Option

Base Offense: This offense has varied so much over the years that ANY option- or spread-based playbook will do. When I created it long ago, I used Air Force as the base.

SimSports Link: http://www.simsports.net/viewPlayboo...bid=2685&gid=2

Position Requirements:
QB: Must have good mobility. Preferably someone w/ 85+ OVR Speed & Acceleration. (75-84 Speed will suffice if needed, but some of the option plays may not be as effective. Below 75 will not work. Acceleration must be at least 80.) Passing skills should be decent, but great passing isn't required (the passing in this offense isn't very in-depth). Bryan Higgins ran this offense to near-perfection in my dynasty this past season. Throwing for only 1687 yards & 18 touchdowns, he also ran for 1755 yds & 17 TDs. He won the 2017 Maxwell Award.

Tulane QB Bryan Higgins

HB: HBs can be recruited based on your preference. I prefer larger power runners but speed backs can work just fine. As long as they have good strength & elusiveness, and SOME ability to shed blockers, they're fine. This is one position where you will use Formation Subs a lot, depending on the situation & your stable of backs. In a dynasty, HB is THE FIRST position I look at when recruiting, because they can make-or-break this offense.

FB: Just as the JOKER is a wild-card in most card games, the FB position is the true wild-card in this offense. It is not required to have a FB in the offense, but having a good one can be a great luxury. If you don't have one, a good power HB or even an athletic TE can work. If you don't want one you can simply substitute a HB/TE in the position. The FB should be an all-around player: good running ability, decent hands, great at blocking. In my Tulane dynasty Fred Roach was the greatest at this. He's since graduated; here's his career stat line:

FB Fred Roach:
292 rush, 1582 yds, 21 TD
43 rec, 498 yds, 3 TD
151 pancake blocks

WR: Speed guys are preferred. Especially the slot receiver. The slot receiver is arguably the most important receiver, as he may receive the majority of the jet sweeps & motion option pitches. Nevertheless all receivers must possess decent strength, as they will have many blocking assignments. In the past I've used bigger receivers on the outside to block, with a speed demon in the slot. But all big guys or all speed demons can work, if they all have good running ability & decent strength. If you throw it as much as I do however, they won't catch a lot of passes.

TE: Like the FB, the TE position can be a wild-card in this offense. A big TE can be a great mismatch down the field, while a smaller TE can play in the backfield as a FB sub. But this one fact is important: ALL TIGHT ENDS MUST BE ABLE TO BLOCK. For this reason I recruit primarily "Blocking" TE's, as I personally don't throw it enough to consider recruiting a good receiving threat. A typical TE in my offense may average between 10-30 catches a season, but over 50 pancake blocks. Great strength & blocking ability is a must, but good hands are a bonus.

Offensive Line: The skills of your O-line will greatly depend on how much you like throwing the ball. If you're run-heavy like me, you better recruit "Run Block" O-linemen. Guys who can dominate the trenches at all times are a must. They need to get great push to have success on dive runs, but must also be athletic enough to block downfield on sweeps, outside run plays and screen passes. As I said with HB's, if you're using this playbook in a dynasty the offensive line would be one of the first positions I'd consider when recruiting, because they too can make-or-break the offense. For guys who throw the ball more than I do, "Balanced" lineman will do.

Key Plays:
The playbook has a fair amount of passing plays, but it's a run-first offense. Use the power running game to set up either the play-action pass or the option game. Most of the passing plays are either short patterns, inside routes or screens, meant to catch the defense napping. When they commit to stopping the run, throw a deep one over the middle. Short pass should be the majority of your passing, which is why passing numbers will typically be low. I treat screen plays as extended running plays, so the passing plays I call most frequently are Slants, Curls, and HB Slip Screen. Ideally most of the deep-ball passing will be done out of play action.

The option plays are important too, as it's all about deception in this offense. You always want to keep the defense guessing on every down. Run a few HB/FB dive plays with your HB or FB to start, then have your QB pull out the read option & gash the defense for a big gain. Every now & then throw out a jet sweep or motion option run with a speedy WR, or a speed option with the HB. The defense should never know what hits them. THIS is the primary reason why my playbook has a whopping 26 formations. Though most formations will contain only 9, 12, or 15 plays, you always want to throw many looks at the defense to keep them on their toes.

Recruiting Recommendations:
QB: Scrambler
HB: Doesn't matter (depends on your preference)
FB: Receiving
WR: Speed preferred (though a fast Possession guy can work)
TE: Blocking
OL: Run Block preferred (though Balanced can work)

This offense can also work well with great ATH's. Depending on their skill set they can find many roles in the system. For example, Bryan Higgins was an ATH when I recruited him, and my HB Josh Williams was also an ATH at first.

Strategies:
The base alignments of the playbook are the Ace, I Form, Pistol and Shotgun. These four alignments I feel link together really well, because they're really 4 offenses wrapped into one. You could go Ace-Pistol combo (since a lot of formations overlap between the two), Ace-I Form (for a heavy dose of power football), Ace-Shotgun (for you Pro Style/One Back enthusiasts), or Pistol-Shotgun (for those who love the Spread offense). Ideally you can use any combination of the four base alignments, but I feel those four mentioned work best as a cohesive unit. I run Pistol-Shotgun combo the most, but you should really play to the hand of the defense. In my Tulane dynasty I could run a lot of Pistol-Shotgun one game, then run Ace-I Form the next. Just take whatever the defense gives you. DON'T FORCE ANYTHING. The best way to run this offense is to play "situational football."

On a per-game average, my play-calling is typically about 70% run, 30% pass. I run 9:00 quarters in my dynasty, and I average between 60-80 plays a game. As far as stats are concerned I aim for over 300 yards a game rushing, while only 100-200 yards passing. If I hit my quota it's a good game; if not I need to tweak my playcalling. This offense CAN work out of hurry-up/no-huddle, though I prefer not to play that way. I like to take time & mix up the formation look, sending out a different combo of players every few plays. That being said, if you want to run no-huddle the offense is perfectly set up to do that. I love to utilize match-ups. In the dynasty my current feature back is a Power back, but on some plays I will bring in a smaller, quicker HB. The Speed back is best fit for the 3- or 4-WR sets where I could run option, or throw a screen pass to him. When I want to go full-on power, I'll sub in a FB at RB, and perhaps substitute a bigger power QB for my typically smaller speed QB. Sometimes I'll put a WR or TE in the backfield, sometimes I'll have 2 FB's. Like I said, it's all about match-ups.

Additional Notes: Not much more to add here, everything's pretty much been explained. You can run this offense however you like, and have fun with it. I know it's a large playbook, but it's meant that way. The point is to be able to run whatever you need at any time. With this offense my Tulane team has enjoyed much success. The team won the national title this past season, and is set to defend the title this season. I try to tweak/update the playbook every offseason, so I'll update the above SimSports link as needed. The playbook will also be posted in my "arena." If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Enjoy!