By Kyle McKenna
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Mercer Island High School (WA)
Twitter: @CoachMcKenna

Many up-tempo offenses have moved to one-word calls to package plays and move as fast as possible.  One-word calls allow an offense to combine all aspects of a play into one trigger word but can also limit the versatility of an offense.  To keep the speed of the one-word call but expand the versatility, we created a system of “triplets” that contained a run, play-action and a tagged RPO.  Each triplet contained up to seven play options for the offense at a very high tempo.

Evolution of the Triplets

The concepts that I will talk about here were developed over about three years with the members of the Brooklyn Tech High School coaching staff.  I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the collaboration and these concepts were a group effort.  The installation was a tiered approach that involved implementing one aspect at a time over several seasons.  There were basic concepts that had to be mastered first. However, some aspects can be implemented quite quickly and effectively and expanded later. Now at Mercer Island High School, we are in a similar setup where we are looking to implement the aspects as we master them.

At Brooklyn Tech, we had always been a multiple offense that was heavy in formation options but used limited concepts within those formations. We wanted to find a way to create mismatches, put our players in good situations, and highlight the skill sets of our most talented players. Our goal was to create an offense that could vary tempo, implement RPO’s and use them to create favorable matchups.

We always focused a great deal on keeping verbiage and concepts simple and easy to remember.  Early on, we transitioned from numbers-based calls to concept-based calls in order to make it easier to go without a huddle.  Word groupings replaced numbered sequences in both the run and pass game.  We wanted to create high percentage throws for our QB and began to implement Run-Pass options around 2012.  We started very basic and built upon that foundation, always keeping in mind who our best athletes were and how we could best get them into space.     Like option football, RPOs give you multiple places to go with the ball and they take advantage of numbers, leverage and conflict players.  In 2012, we were about 20% RPO and by 2017 we were up to about 80%.  

This increase started first with tagged RPOs that were schemed from week to week in the game plan. For example, we could tag a pop pass for the Y with our inside zone or power runs if we saw that the Y wasn’t being accounted for. We also tagged a backside slant by the Slot with one back power.  These early RPOs worked well for us and our players became comfortable with the decision-making process of reading the conflict player.

Y Pop Pass:

For our Y pop RPO the quarterback is reading either the Back side ILB (in a 2 LB box) or the back side OLB (three LB box).  While performing the mesh with the running back, if the read stays put, the QB will give the ball to the running back.  If the read inserts on the run, the QB will throw to the Y on the pop pass.  Pop pass cannot be run too deep and should go in the area that the read vacated. We are trying to manipulate where open space will be and take advantage of it. Over the years, we have run this play from different movements and formations. It easily attaches itself to most of our base run concepts.

To study game film of this concept, click on the video below:

By William Clay
Offensive Coordinator
Halsom High School (TX)
Twitter: @brandonclay88

The Run Pass Option, RPO, has been a staple in many high school and college offenses for a while and it’s made its way to the professional level. You will hear many defensive coordinators with tongue in cheek, call it “cheating”.  If you were to query defensive coordinators what drives them crazy and most of them will say, “multiple formations” add on top of that not changing personnel and you get an added element of surprise and deception that makes it difficult for opposing defenses to pick up tendencies as you are not shuffling in players to change formations.  Therefore, changing formation without changing personnel and using RPO’s can create a frustrating offensive game-plan for the opposing defense regardless of your level of play.

At Haltom High, over the last two seasons, we use multiple formations and focus on using a TE/HB player that allows us to manipulate defensive fronts. The main formations we use for this are:

“Black”: Twins with a sniffer or H-back

“White”: Pro Twins with a TE

“Blue” TE Trips

“Black”

“White”

“Blue”

For this article, we will focus on RPO’s that we run regardless of the formation and can be tagged on many different run plays.  They are:

1. Crawfish: WR Bubble Screen
2. Lobster: Bubble/Slant combination. To a single WR it just a slant. 
3. Flat: an arrow route.

In terms of general mechanics, we are a signal/one-word team.  Our coaches signal formation and play to the skill kids, and the QB uses one for the OL. We require our TE/HB to know the signals.  We do not give specific alignment signals when are in an H-Back formation.  He lines up based on the play. Any checks or audible are always signaled in by coaches on the sideline.  We also are a no-huddle team and play with multiple tempos in order to keep the defense on their toes. 

QB Read: 

In order to simplify the reads, our QB will look from High safety to the Flat/Backside defender.  This decision “flow chart” is consistent throughout all our reads.   The default is to always give the ball to the RB if you are ever unsure. 

1. Is the Safety 9 yards or deeper? If yes, then read the flat defender on the snap. If no, give the ball.
2. Does the flat defender play the run on the snap? If yes, then throw the RPO. If no, give the ball.
3. Are you unsure? If yes, ALWAYS give the ball. You can never go wrong by handing the ball off. 

Crawfish: WR Bubble

We like to tag Crawfish to the play side of Counter. We run regular counter (GT) and counter stay (GH) depending on formation and RPO. The QB will go through his RPO progression read. When we are scouting film, we will always note where the flat defender aligns between twins and trips, where his eyes are and how fast he usually decides on run or pass.  Remember, we want to run the ball so if he plays pass quickly, that is always a plus for us.    The key to this RPO is putting the OLB or flat defender in conflict.  

Black Formation: (Twins with H-Back)

Out of our Black formation, our TE/H-Back aligns away from the play, we usually run GH with him, and he seals on the playside backer. 

Here you can see the OLB aligns tight to the box and the safety is deep enough that the QB will proceed with this RPO read.  However, based on the OLB alignment, the QB can pre-snap note that he is probably playing run.

Here at Mount Saint Joseph HS, we as a staff adapt our version of the Gael Attack to what our personnel dictates every year. However, one of our newer concepts just installed this year, developed off a similar concept developed after much film study of the University of Hawaii’s offense during the off-season. We have seen a large uptick in the number of man coverages to combat our RPO game or not allow us to threaten defenses vertically. We were looking for answers and found what we refer to as our “Rub” concept. We use this concept to counteract those teams who try to play us in 1 high to stop the RPO or 2 high man to negate our vertical pass game.

The “Rub” concept is a very inexpensive way to threaten a defense with the RPO and has answers for both zone and man coverage. Our preference is to run it out of 3×1, but we can run it from 2×2 as well. From 3×1 we place the single WR on a “Gift” and the “Rub” to the field. Out of 2×2, we place the “Rub” on one side with a quick game concept to the other.

Out of 3×1, we place the single WR on what many refer to as the “Gift” throw. He runs a 6yd Hitch by default but can convert to a Fade, Quick Out or Slant based on CB depth and LB leverage pre-snap. We do not post-snap adjust the “Gift” unless we are running the Fade and the CB press bails. In this case, we look for the back-shoulder throw.

To the 3-receiver side, we are running our “Rub” concept. The assignments are as follows:

#1 – Hitch Read: Push to 6 slam your foot and turn. If they press convert to a fade. If it is a tight man from an off position, roll corner or a buzz Alley player situation break inside on an “Under” route that does not cross the hash. 

#2 – Rub: Delay-off the line. We teach our WRs to attack the leverage of the cover down defenders and use his reaction against him. We spend a lot of time in our passing game in general teaching WRs coverage, leverage, etc. He will use a delayed, “skippy” release to technique to set the defender up for the “Rub” and to turn his hips as well as freeze his feet. After we break hard inside on an angle off the butt of #3. We like to stay as steep as possible to keep us away from any inside LBs reacting to the throw.

#3 – Seam Fade: Our #3 will force the outside release on the cover down with speed. His job is to attack and run through the outside shoulder of his defender, clear his hips, then turn his head for the ball. It is very similar in technique to our route on our Go concept, which is a version of the old Run and Shoot concept.

Our QB is trained to view this the same way every time we run a 3×1 RPO regardless of run concept or RPO attachment. I “borrowed” this from Coach Pat Murphy at Rhode Island. We tell our QB “Find 2, Find 3, Run the Ball”. What this means to him is to look at the single WR. Where is #2 from the boundary is, he in the box or is he out. If he is in, throw to the single, can hand signal adjust the route. If #2 is out of the box, we ask ourselves the following questions:

How far?

How deep?

Can he affect the route?

If he “kills” the single WR we move on to finding #3 to the 3 WR side and his relationship to the #2 man. After that we ask ourselves similar questions about #3 starting with is, he in or out of the box? If he is out of the box, we have a 5-man box that dictates hand the ball off. If he is in, he becomes the “give/ pull” key.

If #3 gives us a pull read, we and we pre-snap read #2 and 3 in man or 2 high zone we are going to take the “Rub”. If #3 gives us a pull read and pre-snap #2 is up with 1 high, we peek the man over the seam before throwing the “rub”. Sometimes we catch the defense in 1 high and the man over #3 cheats to jump the “rub” resulting in a big play to the seam.

Lastly, we always keep a close eye on how the defense is playing the #1 field side. If they are playing off, we will remind the QB in-game about the field side hitch. If they are pressing and we like the matchup, we take a shot. If it is man, we check to see if we can tag #1 on an Under route and have the QB read Rub to Under like our Levels drop back concept. However, this is a long throw so it depends on our QBs arm whether he can make that throw.

To study game film of this concept, click on the video below: