Author: James Taglienti

Baylor tight end Ben Sims is 6’5, 258 lbs. In a team workout two days ago, Sims power cleaned 365 lbs, or 1.4 times his body weight. https://twitter.com/BU_Strength/status/1549063672164765696 His teammates are a little excited over his weight room achievement. When you’re throwing up 1.4 times your body weight on four fingers, it’s pretty obvious you’re doing some work in the weight room. Patience Pays Off Sims was a 3-star recruit out of San Antonio Clark HS when he signed with the Bears in 2018. After redshirting and two years as a backup, Sims started 13 games last season and totaled…

As we get closer and closer to the beginning of the 2022 season, you start to look at the depth chart and speculate on who will fill holes in the roster. A&M lost RB Isaiah Spiller to the 2022 NFL Draft (4th round pick, #123 overall, Los Angeles Chargers) and the expectation is for Devon Achane to be the new starting RB for the Aggies. Earnest Crownover is a third year backup RB who played behind Spiller and Achane last season. Crownover totaled 5 rushes for 17 yards last season, with his longest rush coming on inside zone against Kent…

Marshall University lost to Louisiana 36-21 in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl. The game was a mismatch as the 13-1 Cajuns rolled over the 7-6 Thundering Herd. Marshall was outgained 498 yards to 286 yards as the Ragin Cajuns blew open a close game with three touchdowns in the 4th quarter. A bright spot for Marshall was the performance of RB Rasheen Ali, who scored all of the Herd’s three touchdowns in the game. Ali rushed 20 times for 160 yards, averaging 8 ypc. Today we’re looking back at Rasheen Ali’s three scores in the game. First Quarter Trailing 10-0,…

In breaking down Jimbo Fisher’s pro-option offense we’ve already discussed various forms of counter plays like CG Counter Read and Hammer, but today we’re looking at the ‘traditional’ counter, which some call GH Counter. Because of the various iterations of counter plays run today, coaches need a way to identify each play. Naming the play by who is pulling is an agreed upon format, so GH Counter simply means the backside guard (G) and H-back/TE (H) are the pullers on the play. Play Concept Like other counter plays, GH Counter is a fairly simple play design. To run GH Counter…

The 2022 Big 12 Media Days wrapped up on Thursday last week. With the head coaches of ten programs, each program bringing four to five players to represent their team, and two conference commissioners in attendance, there were a lot of quotes made and comments recorded. Two tweets reported following media days show the difference between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns. Texas OLB DeMarvion Overshown had this comment about the Texas Longhorns: https://twitter.com/BobBallouSports/status/1547669723290017792 Just a reminder, Texas finished 5-7 last season with six consecutive losses stretching from the October 9 Oklahoma game to the November 20 West Virginia…

Dart is a foundational play in the modern college football running game. In the late 1980s-early ’90s, many coaches were running pass-heavy offenses out of 10 personnel. The challenge of operating a one-back offense was developing a successful running attack.  Rich Rodriguez at Glenville State revolutionized football when he came up with the zone read in 1992.  Rodriguez augmented the zone read with Dart, which is simply a power play from a one-back set. Play Design Dart can be run from a variety of formations and personnel groups, although most common would be 10 personnel. It is possible to run…

The Shallow Sting concept is a combination of an Air Raid concept, Shallow Cross, with a deep passing concept, Double Post. Credit for the Shallow Sting concept is attributed to Lincoln Riley, although other Air Raid teams utilize the concept. Alabama, who is the farthest thing from an Air Raid team, runs Shallow Sting as part of their offense. Play Design Shallow Sting can be run from a variety of formations but 3×1 and 2×2 are optimal. As long as there is a solo receiver on the boundary side of the field to run the shallow cross route, you can…

If you want to put a smile on the face of an old-school football coach, ask him about Iso. Iso is pretty much the definition of ‘grown man football’. Like inside zone, Iso is a straight line run right through the heart of the defense. While inside zone uses zone blocking, Iso is a man-on-man, brute force play where size, brutality, and technique win the day. Iso takes football back to its primitive roots of football in a phone booth. Iso ignores any concept of misdirection, it is just a blocker, a defender, a ballcarrier, and the best man wins.…

Yesterday we looked at Iowa State’s version of Power Toss Read, today we’re looking at Kentucky’s take on the play, which is Hammer Toss Read. Readers recall Hammer simply refers to a backside guard-tackle pull playside. Hammer Toss Read simply means you’re running a toss read playside and pulling the backside guard and tackle to run a backside counter. Like power toss read, hammer toss read stresses a defense inside and outside. Play Concept Kentucky ran Hammer Toss Read out of 10 personnel. The four wide receivers spread the field and lightened the tackle box. If the defense is using…

Texas A&M runs various different concepts as part of their pro-option offense, but the Inside Zone/Glance RPO is unique in its design. Many RPO concepts attack a second level defender like a LB or nickelback, but the inside zone/glance RPO also attacks a third level defender, the deep safety. Play Concept Inside zone/glance is a simple play. The offensive line blocks inside zone and the RB runs his zone path. The playside WR runs a five-step skinny post. Inside zone/glance attacks a linebacker against one safety looks and attacks the playside safety in two-safety looks. In inside zone/glance RPO, the…