It’s no secret that the QB running was a big part of Arkansas’ offense last year. QB KJ Jefferson accumulated 664 yards on the ground, which was second amongst SEC QBs in 2021. In order to get Jefferson into favorable running situations, the Hogs would often create numbers advantages in the box.
Outside Zone Read is a play that allows an offense to create numbers advantages by effectively taking a defender out of the play. This means even when the offense in outnumbered in the box, they can still run the football.
Arkansas Outside Zone Play Breakdown
Against Texas A&M, Arkansas had to run against a 4-2-5 alignment that would sometimes stack the box. In the play diagram above, there are seven defenders in the box pre-snap, which means there’s not enough offensive players to block everybody. The apex defender is in the box because WR Treylon Burks is next to the QB. Burks was a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and its very unlikely any LB can stay with him. Therefore, A&M likely wanted the apex defender (marked as LB/S) in the box to guard Burks if he goes out on a route.
The solution to the numbers problem is to effectively take one of the defensive lineman out of the play. At the snap of the ball, the QB will read a selected defensive lineman. If the read scrapes to the right, the QB will hand the ball off. If the lineman instead decides to stay in the C gap, Jefferson will take the ball and find a crease inside.
The offensive line is zone blocking to the right side. The offensive tackle and left guard double team the 3-technique before the left tackle moves up to the backside linebacker. The center and right guard double team the 2-technique before the center makes his way to the front side linebacker. The 5-technique is sealed out by the strong-side offensive tackle.
During this play, the defensive end stayed in the C gap and tackled Burks. Seeing this, Jefferson decided to tuck the ball. The center and right guard do a good job of pancaking the 2-tech, and the center subsequently makes his way up to the strong side linebacker. The offensive tackle also does a good job of holding off the strong-side edge defender. This gives Jefferson a big hole through the strong side B gap, which he exploits.
The weak side offensive lineman don’t do as great of a job, as the tackle isn’t able to get his hands on the linebacker. However, since Jefferson is going the opposite way, it doesn’t matter too much. Overall the result of the play is an 18-yard gain that went for a first down.
Hopefully you begin to see how Arkansas utilized the QB run last year, and how it will use it going forward!
To read more about the Arkansas Razorbacks’ upcoming 2022 season, click here.