Horns247 Board

I think Swoopes style of play can be integrated into our current offense. NU didn't run the spread in their glory days and they ran an option offense.

Harsin's packages could turn us into both a spread offense and power running offense.

I'm just hoping he turns Texas into a nightmare for opposing teams to prepare for and an impossible team to match up with on Saturdays.

If you see Texas offer someone like Thomas then you will see that the strategy is to try and possible offer two QB's every year - one who is pro style and one who is dual-threat so you can build a bit of variety and offer multiple looks. (Like Brewer and Overstreet from this past recruiting class)

Two comments.

1. Harsin isn't about positions, it's about roles. Specifcially, roles needed to execute the variety of schemes he wants to deploy. Think Poehlman at TE, Ash's package of plays, DJ's package of plays, Fozzy at Wildcat, etc...Harsin is just looking at what specifc skills he needs to execute the play desing and scheme, and he's not really worried about "position" it says that you play on the depth chart. So, Swoopes brings a variety of skills that don't exist elsewhere in the program (and very few programs in college football, period), and now Harsin will determine how to optimize those skills in the context of the scheme / play design that he wants to show the defense.

2. Harsin is a run-first OC, period. He uses the run game to set-up the play-action passing game. So, how better than to build a more effective running game than having a talent like Swoopes at QB? Can you imagine how effective the power game and inside / outside zone running plays will be with the threat of Swoopes' feet in the backfield too? And then, once the running game is putting up huge chunks of yardage, the passing game (via play action) becomes that much more effective as the defenses' Safeties are cheating up to stop the run and the defenses' LBs are frozen by the play action.

It may well be that (paradoxically) an uber running QB can make our overall offense more effective than a pure pro-style QB. We'll see.

It's not a spread like we say with Colt McCoy manning the offense but it is a type of spread. With McCoy we could spread it out because we had two outside threats and....wait for it...a TE! well for the most part we did. Anyways we didn't have the personal to run the power-run game we ran like we did with Ricky and Cedric once Jamal and Co. came on campus so you saw us transform from a power run game to a zone-read attack to a traditional passing spread and then to now in our current power-run/play action pass we're running now. It's quite impressive we've adapted so much to be honest and I think we'll continue to see that with the best guys getting playing time for what we're trying to do.

Way too much discussion about Harsin's package here.

Joking aside, some good thoughts in this thread about the development of an offensive identity. Agree that Harsin's primary focus is on development of a inside zone run game with play action (Houston Texans). Harsin uses misdirection as a means of setting up the defense to break big plays but that is not the core of his scheme. Texas may use some spread formations on occasion, but I doubt we will see a version of the spread like was run with Colt. It certainly won't be the base set (at least not at the time of the snap). In my mind the offense will resemble more what it was with Williams and Benson in the backfield than what it was with Colt or Vince in the backfield. Having a real running threat under center (Overstreet/Swoopes/Ash to a lesser extent) will serve only to make the offense more dangerous but I doubt the read option becomes the base.

Somewhat disagree. OU has not run the football as well they would like for a couple of seasons. It was a point of emphasis last spring for them and will be again this spring.

Agreed!!! The personnel that UT is recruiting is for a pro-style offense. Swoopes going to have to develop into RG3 or Russell Wilson to be full-time QB1.

I think fans can get out of control. "They went after Swoopes so they are abandoning everything and going spread". Drop a breadcrumb and a fan will make it into a loaf. BSU coach once said "we have plays, we do not have an offense. That is why we are so hard to defend." I think that will be the mantra. Texas will run the power game and call plays off that foundation play. If it leads to more zone read, so be it. May lead to the bone. Swoopes may never play. He may win a Heisman. Either way, I do not see any evidence currently that Texas is reversing course.

RG3 is not a pro style QB.

The spread can be a power running offense. There was once this guy named Tim Tebow.

Texas is recruiting football players that will fit roles in whatever offense we want to run.

I think RG3 will be fine in a pro style offense, but we won't know until he plays in one.

If Texas was recruiting for a pro-style offense, then they would have recruited Cody Thomas at QB. He looks like a stud for someone's pro style scheme.

Longhorn Scott has an excellent article linked a few posts north of this. You should read it.

Now this is what I was waiting for... Thanks LonghornScott!