Hokies Likely to Use Heavier Looks to Create Mismatch Opportunities

For those familiar with my writing on Coach Scot Loeffler's "multiple" offensive philosophy, you know that the fundamental goal of his scheme is to find and exploit personnel mismatches against the defense. Whether Coach Loeffler is trying to force a linebacker to cover a quick wide receiver or outnumber the run defenders on the perimeter, his goal is to identify a physical advantage and then place his players in a position to win their one-on-one battles. In 2013 those opportunities were found easiest from spread formations. In 2014, Loeffler's offense will have a different vibe.

It's rare for the tight end position to be a major discussion point for fans heading into a football season. However, I'm looking forward to seeing what Ryan Malleck, Kalvin Cline and Bucky Hodges are capable of... Maybe more so than any other position. Everyone knows how much Loeffler loves tight ends (don't we all) and in 2014 he'll have plenty to play with.

Tight End Depth

Rising sophomore Kalvin Cline returns after hauling in 321 yards and 2 touchdowns. For the record, he looked even more dangerous than those numbers suggest. He proved himself to be a reliable route runner and, although he'll probably always be labelled as a "catch-first" tight end, Cline improved as a blocker as the season progressed. As a sophomore Cline will be bigger, stronger, and wiser. He should be more productive as well.

The tight end position may be the deepest on the team. Not only is Cline returning and poised for a big season, but Loeffler is finally going to get the opportunity to utilize Ryan Malleck. Although similar in size, Malleck is projected as more of a prototypical tight end. He's a very capable receiver, Loeffler was planning on featuring him in the offense after all, but Malleck is also a proficient blocker. He is exactly the type of multi-faceted tight end (blocker/receiver) that gives opposing defensive coordinators nightmares. Regardless of what personnel the defense has on the field, there will be a mismatch in either the running game or the passing game for Loeffler to exploit.

This spring few players generated as much buzz as QB turned TE Bucky Hodges. Hodges has as high a ceiling as any tight end at Tech since I've been a fan. He is an exceptional athlete who has the ability to either run past defenders or outleap them. Hodges has surprisingly good hands for a player that spent most of his time in highschool as a quarterback. Although his run blocking technique needs work, his aggressiveness and size makes me think he'll grow into that role.

Getting On The Field

With all these shiny toys to play with, Loeffler has to be anxious to find ways to get the most out of them. A team is only allowed to have 11 players on the field at a time and six of those players are basically penciled in on every down (five offensive linemen and one quarterback). Regardless of the number limitations, the trio of Cline/Malleck/Hodges are too talented and too promising to not get significant snaps. The question isn't if they'll get on the field, but how.

The quickest way to get all these players onto the field is to just... put them all on the field. Recently, Stanford has had a lot of success using heavy formations that feature three or more tight ends. Having all those tight ends on the line of scrimmage can stretch a defense across the face of the formation in ways that they don't regularly practice. With modern offenses often stretching the field horizontally with extra wide receivers, defensive coordinators are also spending more practice time developing their spread schemes. By compacting his formations, Loeffler can create mismatches out of thin air by forcing defenders to line up in ways they aren't used to and employ techniques they aren't familiar with.

Ideally Virginia Tech could use three tight end formations (with Cline/Malleck/Hodges) to help create a consistent run game, and having a ground game which can win in short yardage situations is the first step towards an effective play-action game. After all, Hodges did look dangerous all spring running right past linebackers and safeties peeking in the backfield. Loeffler can't just line his unit up with three tight ends all game long though, the law of diminishing returns applies to football too.

The H-Back

There are going to be times when Loeffler will only want two tight ends on the field at a time. When he goes that route, us Hokie fans can expect to frequently see him use one tight end and one "H-Back".

The H-Back is a hybrid position, partially tight end and partially fullback. It's one of my favorite positions in football because when used correctly can create havoc along the front-seven in the running game. The most recognizable difference between a tight end and an H-Back is the alignment of the player.

Tight ends have their name because they are the end man on the line of scrimmage, allowing them to be an eligible receiver, and are located tight to the tackle. (This is also how split ends earn their name. They are the eligible receiver on the line of scrimmage, but are "split" away from the tackle). Unlike a tight end, an H-Back will be flexed away from the line of scrimmage.

The H-Back's alignment allows him to motion pre-snap, giving him a lot more flexibility than a tight end has. A tight end, being on the line of scrimmage, is locked into his position once he becomes set. The defense has time to set themselves and recognize their run responsibilities based on the tight ends alignment. With an H-Back, the coordinator has the option to quickly motion him from one side of the formation or another pre-snap, changing the defenses rules and roles on the fly. This forces them to realign themselves in a hurry, increasing the odds that the defense will drop an assignment in the confusion.
The power of an H-Back isn't limited to pre-snap flexibility though. Being off the line of scrimmage also makes it easier for the player to come across the formation and attack the end opposite of his original alignment. This is one of the traits of an H-Back that Loeffler used heavily in the later parts of the 2013 season.

Cline starts the play on the left side of the formation. The play fake in the backfield forces the linebacker lined up over Cline to stay at home, leaving Cline free to run across the formation. Cline had a full head of steam by the time the linebackers on the right side of the formation see him coming and they don't have time to turn and run with him. Logan hits the uncovered Cline and he's able to turn it upfield to pick up the first. The alignment of Cline is what allowed him to get open on this play, being free to run behind the line of scrimmage instead of in front of it was key. In 2014, expect to see H-Backs targeted in this fashion often. Bucky Hodges is an athlete that no defensive coordinator will want to see with the ball in space and I'll be shocked if he isn't used to threaten the width of a defense on play-action passes.

Cutting behind the line of scrimmage post snap allows the H-Back to do more than just go and receive a pass, the H-Back can threaten the either perimeter of the defense as a lead blocker. Here's Cline pulling across to lead the way for Logan Thomas on a keeper.

At the top of the screen you can see a safety drop down to help with the threat that Cline presents as a run blocker right before the snap. After the snap, the safety has to stay at home to protect against the RB bouncing it outside. Cline is going to cut across the face of the formation and read the defensive end. If the end tries to come under his block, then Cline is going to run past him and lead block for Thomas (who will be making the same read) on the edge. He manages to get just enough of the OLB to allow Thomas to cut it up and pick up good yardage.

To keep a defense honest Loeffler can use the H-Back as the lead blocker to the side that he's aligned to, rather than exclusively pulling him across.

The outside linebacker does a fantastic job of recognizing his responsibility and getting up field to make J.C. Coleman hesitate, but the play design itself is nice. Cline and Edmunds are leading the way for J.C. running full tilt, if they can execute on their blocks they should have the numerical advantage on the edge. The point here is that, unlike a tight end, the defense isn't capable of accurately predicting where the H-Back will be used as a lead blocker or flat receiver pre-snap.

Personnel Decisions

As I said earlier, the question isn't if Loeffler will use multiple tight ends through the season. The real question is who he chooses to pair together and how he chooses to highlight their skill sets. For example, having Cline and Hodges on the field would be a potent receiving duo. If the defense responds with an extra secondary defender... the chess game will be on. Would Loeffler choose to trust his personnel skill sets and throw the ball or would he choose to run against the soft defense?

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Sam Rogers when talking about the H-Back. Rogers was used as an H-Back last year quite a bit. He did a good job as a lead blocker and even as a receiver off of play-action last year. Rogers knows the playbook and is familiar with the correct techniques to use with that position. Having a tough and versatile player like Rogers allows Loeffler to turn a two tight end/one fullback formation into a three tight end one rather quickly. With Malleck/Cline/Hodges/Rogers on his roster, Loeffler won't be hurting for ways to out scheme his opponents.