Earlier this week Auburn OC Al Borges resigned (in the same way that cell mates “make love”). Borges was known for running a West Coast offense which in some circles is considered outdated despite the fact that towards the end of it’s heyday, the phrase “West Coast offense” essentially meant “not the wishbone.”
In an effort to get away from an offense predicated on short passes and draw plays like the West Coast, Tuberville hired Tony Franklin, formerly of Troy University where he held the same position. Franklin is considered a pioneer of the spread offense–which is different from the West Coast offense because it is predicated on short passes and draw plays. Of course, being a “pioneer of the spread offense” is like saying “I was at Woodstock.” Congratulations. No one really believes you and even if it’s true you’re only one of thousands.
Franklin enjoyed tremendous success at Troy where in the two years of his tenure, the Trojans succeeded in ranking in the top 20 in offense both seasons, a full 90+ spots higher than Troy had achieved to that point in their brief Div 1-A history.
This is not Franklin’s first stint in the SEC. He was offensive coordinator for Hal Mumme at Kentucky when Coach Mumme resigned under allegations that his coaching staff was engaged in NCAA rules violations. The NCAA would later punish UK for those alleged violations. During his time at Kentucky, his star pupil was Jared Lorenzen.
Of interest is his most recent position at Troy where his current head coach, Larry Blakeney was formerly on the Auburn staff of Pat Dye who resigned under allegations that his coaching staff was engaged in NCAA rules violations. The NCAA would later punish AU for those alleged violations. While at Troy, he coached QB Omar Haugabook to two Sun Belt Player of the Year titles.
This is a good hire for Auburn. Borges benefited from having 3 first round draft picks in his backfield in his first season with Auburn and regressed each season after that. With exception to Kentucky, where he took over for Mike Leach who had just coached Tim Couch to a number one draft pick, Franklin has elevated the play at every stop he’s made in his career. Plus, with Hal Mumme and Larry Blakeney as mentors, he knows what it takes to recruit in this conference. Auburn isn’t going away just yet.
They just won’t ever beat Alabama again.
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Heard from an Aubie friend he is BIG buddies with ex Hoover High coach Propst, also heard same type of coaching mentality. Seems he (my Aubie friend)is not that enamored with the hire. They still have to get the athletes to run the spread but seem to have a decent start with next years QB Banks…
Right now, Auburn has no where near the receivers that it takes to run the spread. Plus it’s a whole different type of blocking mentality. Right now, they look to have a QB that is capable, and a running back, Mario Fannin, that could do well in that offense.
quick correction, geekvol. Their QB next year is Kodi Burns. But you’re right about needed a few more athletes to run it. Not so much because they don’t have talent on their team, but because switching from what they are running now to a spread is not going to be easy for a team already so deeply indoctrinated. They honestly would have been better off making this switch before the current season, as the guys on the team were younger (except for Brandon Cox) and would likely have responded more quickly to it than they will now. Kind of like Florida in Urban’s first season.
Hah…that’s right Burns…
I think it will be a difficult transition for not only the players but the coaches as well. The OC may want to run it, but the coaches have to know how to coach it (I know call me Captain Obvious).
I think the myth about the spread is it’s dependence on the WRs. I can’t name a single receiver for West Virginia. In an attack like that, they can actually simplify things for the receivers by just having four of them out there. Simple routes made complicated for the defense just by sheer number of them. The version of the spread Franklin run supposedly also has a less complex blocking scheme, so there won’t be as much of an adjustment up front. The hardest part for them will be getting the RBs to understand their new responsibilities. The team may spread laterally, but the impetus is weighed heavily on the backfield.
I think calling Burns “Banks” might be the best Freudian slip I’ve ever heard a UT fan give.
Banks could have been special…shame on him for wasting that talent.
This hire is for the long-term; they will need to get a different qb, one who has been running a system like this since high school (unless they’ve got one of those guys right now) because the routes and the reads the qb must make are alien to someone whose been running standard I-formation football. A C-daddy mentioned, they don’t have any receivers who are set up for this type of game.
However, there may be another side to this; as has been noted, Franklin is one of the progenitors of the spread, and obviously has a deep understanding of football strategy; I expect him, when looking at Auburn’s team next year, to adjust his system to match the players. That is to say, some type of hybrid, or maybe just a dumbed-down spread. Of course, with Kodi Burns back there, there is a possibility that he comes in with some W.V. type option-read game. Which, again, takes time to learn.
Also, it bears noting that Alabama HC ran a high-octane offense at Rice; this had very little impact Bama’s offensive potency in his only year thus far. So maybe these spread-em out and pass offenses are picked up by schools in lesser conferences because they work in those conferences. Kentucky wasn’t exactly a world-beater when Franklin was there for the first time.
Incidentally, my high school football team adopted Kentucky’s offense, and we went to a Kentucky football camp as part of the process of learning that. It was like a month before all the NCAA stuff came out. The staff was really friendly to everybody, and even though I’m a Bama fan, I’ve gotta say I’m glad to see Franklin bounce back.
Well people see Harvin for FL and that is what predicates the “must have great WR’s” thinking.
I think to run the spread effectively, a team has to have wide-outs that the defense respects. Auburn has zero that fit that category right now. But they’re easy enough to get via recruiting.
Kentucky’s offense while he was there was fantastic. There defense would have been more effective from the sidelines. That’s why they didn’t win much. Not for lack of offense. I think Franklin will do well, and I’m mostly joking about his connections to NCAA violations. If he was on the supposedly non-existent NCAA watchlist, I doubt Auburn would have touched him.
I would like Tennessee to have a spread package they used often. Rumor has it that’s Cut’s recruiting pitch to Terrelle Pryor.
Well, yeah, Kentucky’s defense was terrible, and a no-huddle spread only gets the ball back in the opposing team’s hands that much quicker…
As far as the makeup of the recievers is concerned, it seems to me the key to a spread is having receivers who have good field awareness - they know what it takes to get a first down. When you’re passing almost every down, you’re bound to have a series of incompletions/sacks/throwaways, and pass first offenses like Hawaii and T.Tech both have success getting a first down through the air when they need it. This means speed, and solid route running, obviously, but mainly it means knowing where the sticks are and getting to them, mostly through YAC yards. Ancillary to this, it would seem, would be a lack of fear of going over the middle.
going over the middle is definitely a big part of it. That’s why a lot of spread offenses work better with tough tight ends than with fast receivers.
My one question, and I wish I could take credit for it, is will they call it the Spread Eagle?
All this talk of “tight ends”, “spread eagle” and “going over the middle”…what kind of blog has this turned into (and where do I sign up…hehehe)