Identity Crisis: Another Offensive Makeover in Blacksburg

During spring football, hope "springs" eternal. Hope and expectations for the following football season abound, and any struggles can be dismissed as the learning curve that every college football team must endure as seniors graduate and future NFLers head to the draft.

That is all well and good, but a dark cloud has slowly crept over my spring football experience. The biggest Hokie problem on offense last season was a lack of an identity. One series, they were a spread team. Next series, they are in the I with twins to the power. Next series they are in one back running zone plays. No substitutions. No variance. They could have been even more difficult to play against, but the lack of commitment resulted in shaky offensive line play, busts in blocking coverage, and poor execution of key down and distance situations by erstwhile Superman David Wilson.

Now here we are, eagerly awaiting drops of information from spring practice. While multiple beat writers and several bloggers have provided a small window into individual performances, both good and bad. However, little did we realize that once again, the Hokies are trying to change their offensive philosophy. This is a huge story in my opinion, and it has received no traction. And, it is the continuation of a disturbing pattern that we have seen in the Virginia Tech football program since 2002.

Let's go back in time if we can. The Hokies rose to the upper echelon of college football in the early 90's on the backs of hard working second tier recruits and a very basic philosophy: control the game offensively with power I running and vertical play action passing, while dominating defensively with an 8 man blitzing front and creating additional scoring through blocking kicks and punts. Those building blocks coupled with the infusion of a once in a lifetime talent named Michael Vick lead the Hokies to within 12 minutes of a national championship. Then, the 2000 season saw the Hokies denied an undefeated season after Vick rolled an ankle and couldn't play against Miami. The Hokies continued to have powerful running games that kept them in contention in the Big East, but opponents began to find holes in the wide-tackle six defense and the antiquated passing game struggled under Grant Noel.

There were two major events took place from 2002-2004. First, perhaps caving to the demands of their first "super recruit" Kevin Jones, the Hokies offensive coaching staff changed their run blocking scheme from a two back eye that featured power, option, and trap plays, to a one back, zone blocking scheme similar to the NFL flavor of the moment Denver Broncos. Second, after two seasons of being lit up by good passing teams (Larry Fitzgerald, Javon Walker nightmares anyone?) Bud Foster adapted the unique gap defense in order to better adjust to more sophisticated passing attacks.

Since that moment, Virginia Tech's defense has returned as the dominant unit and the face of the program. For whatever disadvantages the gap defense has to recruiting, the unique scheme is incredibly difficult for opposing teams to prepare for (almost like the wishbone of defenses.) The Hokies recruit to the defense rather than recruit pure talent and try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Meanwhile, we have seen the Hokie offense reboot. First, we saw the zone scheme. Then under Sean Glennon, we heard how the Hokies were modernizing their passing attack to a more pro-style look. Last season, we heard about how they were going to spread things out to get David Wilson in space and to use Logan Thomas in the running game. Now, we hear about coaches traveling to Texas to learn Boises offense and the Pistol.

What do all those prior reboots have in common? Each time, the Hokie coaches changed the offense as a response to another team's success, or to fit the skill set of a particular talent on their team. Not once was there a full philosophical commitment to adopting the full offensive package for each look, where each play serves as a counter action to another and where you can create tendencies that make a defense react instead of act. As result, the Hokies offense has turned into a mismatched garbled mess, where one series the offense runs spread, the next they run power, and each on requires different fundamentals and different muscle memory to be successful. The players often lack confidence in the scheme, and every year, the same thing happens down the stretch. The Hokies offense starts to clique when it returns to a power running game and vertical play action. The common thread since the early 90's is Frank Beamer, which tells me he believes that a power running game and play action wins games, and he takes the reins back from his offensive coaches as games start to matter more in conference play.

So, now we hear that the Hokie staff learned Boise’s offense, the pistol, and the counter action of the single wing/Hback spread, trying to take advantage of the Hokies unique talent with Logan Thomas and perhaps compensate for a young running back corps and an offensive line that struggles. It stinks of the Hokies jumping on a bandwagon and adopting techniques that were used to beat them. Unfortunately, the teacher always knows more than they teach the student, and because of the Hokie track record I just don't buy into the changes.

First, if the coaches are going to make this change, they must commit to it long-term and recruit to the offense. You can't learn the nuances of any offensive system by going to a 3 day clinic and taking bits and pieces of it. If the Hokies are going to be a spread option team, or a spread single wing team, your player have to be taught the fundamentals at a core level. It is difficult to explain here, but the blocking philosophy and backfield movement and footwork of a spread team like Baylor or Texas is not remotely similar to the blocking and footwork required for a single wing style like Clemson, Auburn, or the Urban Meyer Florida teams.

Second, if they make the change, Frank Beamer must stick with the system even if the offense struggles. Time and time again, we have seen the #NewHokies offense, and time and again, we get back to what works to win the ACC. This year, it finally backfired in the Sugar Bowl.

Third, if the change is to maximize Logan Thomas, I would only incorporate spread option and stay away from the pistol and the single wing. Both the pistol and single wing require unique footwork fundamentals. The Hokie coaching staff has invested a significant amount of time changing Logan from an athlete that can throw to a quarterback. He learned well, and they should build on that approach. If anything, they should take their bread and butter lead option play that includes a jet sweep and a counter, and then add the counter option (dive right, QB left) that Vince Young excelled in at Texas. They should work to create more layering in the passing game to give Logan quick throws in the face of pressure, and they should continue to build different looks into the wide receiver screen game where DJ Coles can really be a unique weapon. If the Hokies tighten up what they did last year, Logan Thomas will be excellent. You don't take the tires off a Bentley just because the 20's looked nice on a Honda. Go spread, stay in it, recruit to it, and make it work.

The spring game is going to be interesting. If we see pistol and single wing featured this spring, you can bet your bottom dollar that offensive identity will be my number one theme for every game film review next fall. Until then, hope "springs" eternal.