Spread offense will ensure Texas Tech goes bowling

Sporting News, The, July 3, 2000 by Tom Dienhart

The balls are flying around Mike Leach's head, but he's used to it. In fact, he wouldn't have it any other way. Leach, conducting his first football camps in his new post as Texas Tech coach, is a practitioner of the trendy spread offense that features four and five receivers and one running back. He has an eye for passers and catchers.

Some of what he sees makes him smile. Other things cause him to shrug. But not even an undersized quarterback prospect's 20-yard out pass that travels 17 yards dampens Leach's spirits this day. Not when he has a chance to spread the gospel of the spread.

Leach, 39, can talk down-and-outs, slants, fades and go patterns all day. Not even the west Texas heat slows his words. He's officially a spread expert after helping rehab Kentucky (1997, '98) and Oklahoma ('99) as offensive coordinator. And he has similar plans to soup up Texas Tech with the spread, which has revived its share of lost causes.

Texas Tech isn't in the same dire straits as Purdue, Hawaii, Oregon State and Louisville, other programs that enjoyed immediate turnarounds after a spread attack was installed. But the Red Raiders can bet they will no longer be passed over for a bowl if they go 6-5, which happened last season. The offense is a ratings hit. But more important, it brings instant gratification and should be the attack of choice for moribund programs.

A school doesn't need blue-chip talent to execute it.

"Unless you are better than someone," says Leach, whose team will benefit from playing eight home games, "I think you want to put the ball in as many hands as possible and feature your best players. It spreads the defense out and forces it to defend everybody."

To run a more traditional, line-'em-up, knock'em-down Michigan-style offense, you need behemoth linemen and a great tailback. But similar to the option attack Air Force runs, the spread doesn't require overstuffed linemen.

Because the spread is quick-hitting, defenders don't need to be blown off the line, and blocks don't have to be sustained for more than a few seconds. Most of the passes Leach has installed at Texas Tech feature three-step drops and quick reads by the quarterback. It makes sacking the passer difficult.

The quarterback doesn't need to be a strong-armed, 6-4 golden boy. Instead, the required traits are an ability to read a defense and to look off a receiver. Decisions have to be made quickly. And the quarterback must be nimble to take advantage of the running lanes that typically open because the defense is spread around the field.

Tech appears set at quarterback with Kliff Kingsbury, a coach's son who has good arm strength.

Size also doesn't matter at tailback. The 6-2, 200-pound studs will go to Notre Dame, not Texas Tech. But there are lots of small, speedy tough guys who can exploit the seams created by the spread. That's a perfect description of the Red Raiders' Ricky Williams.

"Defenses see a lot of things moving at them, and it appears more complicated than it is," Leach says. "It makes everybody a threat. The attack is designed for a lot of people to touch the ball. That spreads a defense thin."

The spread also is successful quickly because it's easy to install. (Yes, a Neanderthal, ground-oriented set is simple, but it's easier to prepare to defend.) In addition to the blocking schemes being basic, the routes are rudimentary. Against a zone defense, a wideout is instructed to "find grass" and "sit down" on that spot to await a pass. No sense continuing to run toward a defender in another zone. Against man defense, a wideout is told to keep running from the coverage. The onus is on the quarterback being at least a semi-competent passer (see Kentucky's Dusty Bonner last year).

A defense, in addition to worrying about so many receivers dissecting the field, can be confused by multiple formations. Leach also can run the same play from three or four different formations.

"You want to stress them at as many points possible," says Leach, which is a far cry from the ground-bound offense former Tech coach Spike Dykes employed. "You stretch them horizontally, which we do with formations. And you want to stretch them vertically. Every play we have has a long, medium and short option."

Another reason the spread is an instant hit is because it's fun to run. Players get excited about practicing it. More people are involved, allowing an offense to take maximum advantage of its personnel.

"It's about packaging," Leach says. "It's most important to attack a lot of the field. Have a play that addresses every area. Most teams have too many plays rather than getting really good at the ones you run. Going into a game, we'll script and practice about 70. But there's some crossover-like same play, different formation. We have around 22 formations. Some offenses have about four."

But the spread has its shortcomings. The biggest is an inability to operate with consistency in short-yardage situations. The lack of a fullback makes short-yardage runs dicey. The offense simply doesn't instill a tough mentality that is needed to succeed in fourth-and-inches territory.