The Spread Versus The Pro-Style; A Look At The Florida Gators Future

I’m not going to lie; most of my knowledge of football formations comes from EA Sports NCAA Football. I watch college football religiously, but I’m not always analyzing defenses and what set the offense is in. I’m usually holding a beer and hoping my team gets to the yellow line in four downs. That’s the goal, right?

Now that the Gators are entering the Will Muschamp era of Florida football, fans needs to be prepared for the switch from the spread to the pro-style offense and understand how it works. Personally, I don’t know what to expect other than a lot of I-formation plays and more usage of the tight end.

Let’s start with a look at what Florida fans prefer. I took a poll on Twitter (it’s scientific and always correct, sort of like Wikipedia) to determine which fans preferred which style. The results are below:

The spread was preferred, which means one of two things: 1) they aren’t too happy with the direction the offense is headed, or 2) they just want to be reassured the pro-style with bring positive results. Since we all could use a look at the offense, I’ve put together a quick guide.

The Spread Offense

The spread offense is used across all levels of football in one form or another. It is primarily run out of the shotgun formation as opposed to under center. The main concept of the spread is to “spread” the field (did you see that coming?) horizontally to spread out the defense and open vertical seems and running lanes for the offense. Usually the spread is run with three to five wide receivers. Tight ends are used, but spend a lot of time lining up in the slot and not always right alongside the offensive line.

I like my quarterback in shotgun formation so he can survey the field and read the defense. I also want him to have time to make decisions while he is being rushed. I feel like the shotgun offers these advantages. I am also a huge fan of the triple option as long as my QB is smart enough to run it. I love the chess-like matchup determining which player will get the ball.

To counter the spread offense, defensive coordinators have been running the 3-3-5 stack formation or sometimes the 4-2-5 formation. Five defensive backs used to be a passing down occurrence. In recent years, we’ve seen it with constantly rising frequency.

The Pro-Style Offense

The pro-style offense is used in college football and the NFL. It is rarely, in its truest form, used in high school. When I think pro-style, I immediately think power Big Ten football with a bruising fullback and running back. I imagine two tight ends in a power I formation with lots of HB dives (the play the Gators tried to make work in the spread over and over and over and over again) and counter plays. It will be interesting to see how Charlie Weis utilizes this system for the Gators given that so many of the players on the roster were brought into the spread.

This system also requires an intelligent QB that can balance the pass and the run with an effective offensive line. Weis has said that John Brantley will have zero option plays under his offensive regime. This could be something that pleases every fan.

Comparing the Two

Weis was hired as the offensive coordinator this offseason in part to bring his NFL knowledge and experience to the Gators. One of the main things fans are wondering is what this new offense will look like in comparison to the old. In my opinion, we will see a lot more usage of the tight end in the traditional sense of the position; especially double TE sets. This will obviously mean there will be fewer receivers on the field due to having more blocking options – tight ends and fullbacks.

Sidebar: An Early Look at the Urban Meyer Spread

This is Notre Dame against Stanford in 2000 (you may remember this clip from EDSBS or Smart Football). Meyer was an assistant coach with the Fighting Irish at the time. If you don’t think Meyer had a hand in this offense, you are either completely insane or hate Meyer. This would give birth to his spread offenses. Who would have guessed that it all started with Matt LoVecchio?