 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
Over the years, the spread offense has evolved in ways unimaginable. The latest concoction, coming out of Piedmont, Calif., is the A-11 Offense.
The basic theme of this offense is that there are two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. Sound familiar? This offense, however, is nothing like the package Texas has shown with quarterbacks John Chiles and Colt McCoy in the ball game at the same time.
The two quarterbacks are both in the backfield lined up 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive line is composed of two tight ends and a center in between them. The receivers are lined up at each end of the field in pods, according to an ESPN.com article. Every player on the field wears a jersey number that makes him an eligible receiver.
The formation is legal because it is a scrimmage-kick formation and normal rules don’t apply. That only works in high school. The rules would eliminate running the offense altogether in the NFL, but college teams can use the formation in obvious kicking situations, such as fourth down or in goalline scenarios.
According to creator Steve Humphries, the general philosophy is that the ball is quicker than the man. Piedmont went 7-3 while running the A-11 Offense.
There’s a Texas tie to this crazy offense though. Piedmont’s coach Kurt Bryan told EPSN.com he was contacted by an extremely wellknown coach in Texas.
That coach would be Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis.
“I got a thing in the mail about it, so I responded to it,” Davis said. “But I respond to everything I get in the mail.”
The question is whether Davis either doesn’t buy into the offense, or is saving it and could potentially use it in game.
One thing that the coaches have said is that they plan on using both quarterbacks on the
field at the same time this season in a package known as the “Q” Formation.
Unlike the A-11, this would only have one player playing at quarterback and the other lined up in the backfield or at receiver.
“The package with John and Colt, which last year was something we just dabbled in, we’ve
had more time [this year],” Brown said. “We actually had three real good plays in a scrimmage out of that package of plays with those guys in there.”
As an athlete with a lot of speed, Chiles poses a big problem for opposing defenses.
“We’re just kind of working ondifferent things,” Chiles said. “We’ve got a lot of different things to work with right now. Coach is doing a good job of mixing them in.”
Until they run it in a game, there’s no telling what the Q-Package will look like, or whether it will even be successful.
“We’ve got to continue to build the John Chiles and Colt McCoy package, and not let it be a distraction, but make sure that it’s something we will use,” said head coach Mack Brown. “I think the fact that [John]’s on the field more now in different packages has helped him as a quarterback because he’s getting more confidence and he stays in tune with the game. So we’re excited about his play and seeing him play quarterback some and throw the ball.”
And if Texas is ever in a fourthdown situation and Chiles and McCoy are on the field at the same time, then the A-11 Offense may have had some effect on Davis after all. More so than a standard reply.
Be the first to comment on this article!