Swing into Action: A Deep Dive on the Hokies Most Effective Pass Concept

Quarterback Kyron Drones was the big story in the 30-13 Hokies homecoming victory against Wake Forest. Throwing for a career high 321 yards, Drones consistently found holes in a wide variety of coverage schemes to extend drives. Despite a mostly ineffective running game, thanks in large part to a dominant performance by Wake Forest defensive tackle Kevin Pointer, Drones used the threat of the run to create space for his receivers. Jaylin Lane had a long touchdown and Benji Gosnell popped a long completion on an inside zone RPO. Dae'Quan Wright and Stephen Gosnell were on the receiving end of solid reads off bootleg action, but Tyler Bowen found gold with one passing concept, and he went to that well time and time again.

Establishing the Swing Pass

Bowen has featured the swing pass as a prominent weapon in his offense. Starting with the Rutgers game, not coincidentally Drones' first start, Bowen also added the toss sweep look using almost the exact same action by the receivers to set the edge for the runner. Using the same fundamental blocking movement as the toss, the swing pass forces the defense to stretch laterally while providing an easy RPO read. Bowen has established the swing pass as a threat to both the boundary and the field, using a variety of pre-snap alignments and motions to make it very difficult for the defense to anticipate.