13 is the New 11

The Wisconsin offense is an “NFL style” offense in that it borrows heavily from NFL schemes while still holding on to aspects that can be run more often and more successfully at the college level...not to mention there aren’t 9 figure QBs playing in college (yet).

It can also be said in football nothing is truly new and anything “new” that is added to any offense is usually “borrowed” or at least inspired by the work of someone else. That’s actually something I love about coaching this sport is that I can study, be influenced, and inspired by the greatest minds in the sport and still find a way to make it my own.

So with the idea of nothing is new every year there is a trend, and the next season everyone is quietly finding ways to follow that trend while searching for the next one. And sometimes you find trends that just make sense and fall in line with your own personal coaching philosophy.

So when I look at trends in offensive football coming into this season and think to myself what would make the most sense for Wisconsin football one stands out as obvious both from a schematic and personnel point of view.

Wisconsin runs an NFL style offense the offensive scheme that it most resembles is that of the Shanahan/McVay system. Lots of wide zone with lots of bootlegs built off of play action to take shots all while using a ton of motions and shifts. Two offensive systems that started in different places but finding the same conclusion.

McVay has been finding a clever way of taking advantage of defensive personnel adjustments. As NFL defenses have been getting faster and more in line with the offensive trend of using more speed on the field McVay has found by going the opposite direction and bringing more size on the field with 13 personnel that he is basically giving defenses the opportunity to tell him how to beat them.

So instead of the traditional fall camp preview going position by position or asking the same questions that dozens of more qualified people have been asking all off season I’m going to be taking a look at this offensive trend and how it could be used to bring Wisconsin football “back”.

Video coming soon…