aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 247sports.com Slowing down the hurry-up: Auburn offense faces a different day ByPhillip Marshall 5-6 minutes As the 21st century unfolded, spread offenses tormented defenses in college football. The original concept was simple: Play two-minute offense from start to finish. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was on the cutting edge, implementing his hurryup/no-huddle offense at Springdale (Ark.) High School. He rode it to offensive coordinator jobs at Arkansas, Tulsa and Auburn, to the head coach position at Arkansas State and finally to the head coach’s office at Auburn. Bo Nix will be at the controls of Auburn's offense against Kentucky. (Photo: Auburn University) But defensive coordinators, the highly paid ones who coach in the Power 5, weren’t going to take it lying down. They worked and schemed and changed the way they recruited. One day those offenses stopped looking so fearsome. Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who learned the offense from Malzahn and added his own tweaks and twists, has seen the changes up-close as the offensive coordinator at Tulsa and Clemson and the head coach at SMU and Arkansas. “I have felt this now for probably about the last five years,” Morris said. “Back early on - and Coach Malzahn really started it all - it was all about the tempo to go fast. Push the accelerator down and go, go, go. Now what you’ve seen is defenses evolve to it. They’ve changed their calls. They’ve gone to one-word calls and they’re able to play fast with you.” Morris will unveil his version of Auburn offense Saturday. The No. 8 Tigers open their season against No. 23 Kentucky at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff time on the SEC Network is set for 11 a.m. Malzahn’s way is commonplace in high schools and has also seeped into the NFL. Almost every NFL team has the ability to go fast when it chooses. The same goes for college teams. But few can do it all the time. Phillip Lolley helped Auburn win three SEC championships and a national championship, mentoring defensive backs who still call on him for advice to this day. He spent the past five years coaching in the Canadian Football League. He was defensive coordinator at Edmonton before the 2020 season was canceled and at Hamilton before he was there. Lolley saw spread offenses playing at high rates of speed at Auburn, but he says the CFL takes it to another level. CFL teams have 12 players on the field with six eligible receivers. All of them can go in motion at the same time, even running toward the line of scrimmage. “You have 20 seconds and the ball is going to be snapped,” Lolley said. “We see it every day. The entire season, everybody we play goes by the same rules. Its hurryup effect was faster than any of the hurryup teams I saw in college. “You get used to making calls, get used to getting the calls you can get in fast, give them the checks they need and work it every day.” In the end, Lolley says, it’s a numbers game. Where are the receivers? Where is the running back? Most importantly, where are they when the ball is actually snapped. “The game changes to speed, speed, more speed and mental ability,” Lolley said. “The RPO game in college, they can only send one in motion. Try six in motion. If there are five receivers in the game, who is the other guy? Is a tight/fullback hybrid, a natural tailback or is a kind of a combination of all of it? Is he their guy? Can he go to receiver or running back equally as well? You identify the receivers. I have all kinds of run fits. You have to be able to stop the run up there like everywhere else.” Substitution rules that allow defenses to substitute if offenses substitute helped slow down fast-moving teams. Defensive coordinators have learned to take all the time they have to make those substitutions. Morris says the rules have made a difference, but not as much of a difference as many might believe. More important, he says, is that defensive coordinators have learned how to defend it more effectively. Speed and athleticism have become more important sheer size and power. 2COMMENTS “The game of football just continues to evolve and you have to evolve with it,” Morris said. “That’s what you saw from the time Coach Malzahn came in and started the hurry-up across the country. People evolved. Defensive coordinators evolved to match that, and they recruited to that and called to that. “Now I think the challenge is what’s next. How do you change that up? I think there has been a lot of evolution in it, and there will be more.” ">247Sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
As the 21st century unfolded, spread offenses tormented defenses in college football. The original concept was simple: Play two-minute offense from start to finish. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was on the cutting edge, implementing his hurryup/no-huddle offense at Springdale (Ark.) High School. He rode it to offensive coordinator jobs at Arkansas, Tulsa and Auburn, to the head coach position at Arkansas State and finally to the head coach’s office at Auburn.
bigbird 60,939 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 32 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: “The game of football just continues to evolve and you have to evolve with it,” Morris said. “That’s what you saw from the time Coach Malzahn came in and started the hurry-up across the country. People evolved. Defensive coordinators evolved to match that, and they recruited to that and called to that. “Now I think the challenge is what’s next. How do you change that up? I think there has been a lot of evolution in it, and there will be more.” Hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 4 minutes ago, bigbird said: Hmmm i am going to have to reread that article later. i post what i can find and come back latrer but i took it as saying maybe the hurry up is not that effective now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,957 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 33 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: i am going to have to reread that article later. i post what i can find and come back latrer but i took it as saying maybe the hurry up is not that effective now? Defenses have adjusted to the hurry-up and they've completely evolved their personnel with leaner/faster defensive players compared to the big/strong players thatused to roam on defenses. Lolley pretty much made the same statements that many on this forum have stated for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, keesler said: Defenses have adjusted to the hurry-up and they've completely evolved their personnel with leaner/faster defensive players compared to the big/strong players thatused to roam on defenses. Lolley pretty much made the same statements that many on this forum have stated for years. amen broseph......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeRocket 413 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 6 hours ago, aubiefifty said: i post what i can find I, for one, appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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