June Jones' offense that took Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl is very similar to Mouse Davis' playbook used in Portland State back in the '70s. There is motion pre-snap in almost every play, mostly to help the offensive players read the defense. Now the read must be of the defensive coverage and not of the defensive linemen. The receivers are taught to read the defense, find the open area (if it's a zone coverage), and trust that the QB made the same read. Sound familiar?ДЄs the offense evolved, the receivers started going out wide and the formation became more spread out and complex.ДЄs you can see, the Run and Shoot is unique-now not only does the QB have to read the play, but the receivers do too. The formation, as you can see, is still not spread the way the Run and Shoot is run nowadays, but what made the formation so unique was that it counted on the QB and the WRs reading the defense both pre and post-snap. The Quarterback usually rolled out, and the tight Slotback to the roll-out side stayed to block. The formation started during the early '50s when Coach Glenn 'Tiger' Ellison used a balanced formation that had the QB under center, a single Running Back, two Wide Receivers, and two tight slotbacks. The Run and Shoot was popularized by head coach Darrel 'Mouse' Davis at Portland State University. It is used nowadays only by the Air Force Academy, Georgia Tech, and Navy.Дuring the 1970s, another unorthodox formation surfaced. But more teams started to adopt the West Coast Offense during that time period, and the Triple-Option became less of a common formation. While the Triple Option diminished in users, it was still very successful during the '80s and early '90s (See: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oklahoma Sooners). It takes time and the right personnel to run it, and the defense doesn't always play it the way the offense wants it to, leading to much confusion in the backfield. But the Triple Option is one of the most complicated offenses to run. The QB then pitches the ball to the HB, who now has blockers downfield and a chance to break open a big run (Option 3).ДЄs you can see, all three options, if executed to perfection, lead to big gains of yardage. The third Option is used when the DE squeezes down and takes away the QB's running lane. If the first fake was convincing, the linebackers will jump the FB's run and the QB may have open field to run (Option 2). If he takes away the option man (The Halfback), the QB keeps the ball and runs downfield. The Defensive End on the Tight End side is not blocked and the QB's job is to read him. However, if the Defensive Tackle goes inside, squeezing to the 4 hole, the QB fakes the handoff and keeps the ball. The FB is now one-on-one with either a safety or a linebacker and the play has a great chance of gaining at least four yards (Option 1). If he goes straight downfield, the QB gives the ball to Fullback and now fakes the option to the Halfback. The Quarterback's job is toВ read the Defensive tackle (T). This play is from the University of Houston's playbook during the 1960s, from coach Bill Yeoman's tenure, and it's called the Houston Veer, one of the variations of the Triple Option.ДЄs the ball is snapped, the fullback (back to the right of the QB) goes straight through the 4 hole (between the Guard and Tackle). The Quarterback has to read the defense both pre- and post-snap and decide which option is the best depending on the defensive alignment. The Triple Option has its name because of the three possibilities in one play.

Spread option football playbook