The Option, Reinvented pt.1

Today, we'll take a short look at how the option has been reshaped in today's modern game. In this post, we will visit a new form of the triple option, coined by former U of Florida HC Urban Meyer.

THE SHOVEL OPTION

By Definition, a shovel pass is when a quarterback pitches the ball to a player in front of him behind the line of scrimmage; since the ball is going forward, it is considered a pass and not a run. The name of this flicking motion has long been disputed, with many people using the terms shovel, shuffle, and scuttle. You say potatoes, I say potahtos, either way it doesn't matter. The shovel was often used as a variation of a draw for a long period of time until Mr. Meyer made it a staple of the option game.


 Just for reference purposes, this is your basic shotgun triple option out of the split

This, on the other hand, is the shotgun shovel option


Notice, instead of having a mesh for the inside option (see B back in upper picture), there is an inside shovel threat with the trailing tight end. The back adjacent to the quarterback then provides the pitch threat, creating a true triple option look.

After Meyer's stint at Bowling Green and Utah, he brought his innovation to the SEC; lucky for him, he had a 240lb bowling ball at quarterback.

Former Gator quarterback Tim Tebow became a superstar perfecting plays like this, leading his team to two national championship games. Unfortunately, his professional career was short-lived, possibly because the ball hit the turf as many times as his receivers (48% career completion percentage). Still, he is considered one of the top college quarterbacks in FBS history, and for good reason.

Here, the defensive end followed Tebow laterally, which left Aaron Hernandez wide open to bullet (pun intended) towards the end zone.

The idea of the shovel has since been tinkered with, substituting pitches with pass patterns, adding pre-snap screens, isolation routes, etc.

Here's using the shovel in the empty formation, using a play-side bubble to take place of a pitch. This variation spreads out the defense; sometimes the most effective running formations are spread out like this. 

This play uses a pre-snap read to the right hash and two post-snap reads to the left hash. If you don't know what that means, look at some of the previous posts. 

Well that's it for today. Maybe later we can explore some other aspects of Florida's (once) juggernaut offense another time. Until then, eat, drink, and be merry. Or be married. Tomato, tomahto.