The spread offense has quickly become one of the most common schemes in Texas High School football. I have always maintained that scheme is secondary to execution. The scheme really is less important than the players who have to execute the system coaches put into place. The spread gives coaches hands on control right to the snap of the football. But to really be efficient at the spread, personnel is critical.

Like most offenses the quarterback is the key. But in no offense is it more important than the spread. The offense relies on the quarterback to read pre-snap as well as in many cases post-snap. There are two ways to run the spread huddle and no- huddle. The no-huddle really gives coaches more control but places an additional burden on the quarterback.

The spread also can vary as to whether it is designed around the run or the pass. Most people think because it is designed to “spread” people out that it is a pass first offense. That is not necessarily true though. Often the ability to spread people out can be just as important to the running game.

Let’s talk about the no-huddle spread. First of all in a perfect world you would love to have an athletic and intelligent quarterback. One who can throw the ball but also make plays with his feet. Intelligence is important too. There are certain things though that can be taught to a quarterback of average intelligence. Usually the coaches and quarterback will count the number of players in the box, seven means I need to throw, six means I can run or throw, and five means run it till the cows come home!

Secondly, the quarterback receives formation, motion, and the play from the sideline. In some cases the coach may send in a “no play” signal that gets his team lined up just to read the defensive alignment. Then the QB will check and relay the play to his teammates. And while most people think of no-huddle teams as being fast paced this is not always the case. A good team will vary the speed of the game. Sometimes it is fast break style sometimes in will work the clock.

After counting the box and a run or pass is selected the quarterback will generally get a pre-snap read on the secondary to identify where the soft is or will be. If it is a run play the quarterback may read on the run. If a defensive end closes then the quarterback will keep it and can make big plays out the back door. This also prevents the backside from closing and making plays on inside run plays.

In my opinion the two most important skill positions are the quarterback and running back. If your team is average or below at either position then the spread offense may not be for you. Most of the time the offense line must be able to execute three different schemes, inside zone, outside zone, and the counter trey. Again if you have an undersized offensive line that does not move well the spread can expose that and the scheme may not fit your personnel. By nature when zone blocking offensive lineman can end up absorbing much of the contact. If you don’t have a few big boys up there that can maintain the line of scrimmage then penetration will kill the spread’s timing.

There are many facets to the spread offense that I won’t cover here today, three-step passing, five-step passing, the jet sweep and so on. While this offense has enjoyed much success I think slowly there will be a migration back to some of the other schemes as coaches learn that personnel is so critical. As defense coordinators continue to see the spread and no-huddle they will become more proficient at handling the scheme as well. Texas High School football continues to change and adapt and nothing has marked that change more than the spread offense.