The spread option arrives

The spread offense comes in many forms, from Texas Tech’s and Missouri’s pass happy schemes to Oregon’s and West Virginia’s run-heavy attacks.
Now, the spread is coming to Charlottesville and one of its most innovative technicians, Gregg Brandon, will breathe life into it for Virginia’s Cavaliers.
Brandon, the former head coach at Bowling Green, has been influenced by some of the game’s greatest offensive minds. On Tuesday, the 52-year-old Brandon was officially announced as UVa’s new offensive coordinator, perhaps the worst-kept secret on the planet.
Excuse Wahoo fans if you happen to see them dancing in the streets. They have pined for a day when Virginia’s offense will be feared around the league and that day may be around the corner. Brandon brings a laboratory of offensive tinkering to town.
For a three-year stretch at Bowling Green when he was offensive coordinator for then-Falcons head coach Urban Meyer before then taking the reins himself, the offense averaged 500 yards and 40 points a game.
That begged the question: So, if your players are executing the offense as designed, it’s almost impossible to stop?
“Pretty much,” Brandon said Tuesday before catching a plane back to the Midwest for Christmas. “You still have to block. You can’t trick ‘em. The coaches are too good and too smart at this level. You can fool them once, but ...”
While the quarterback is the key to any offense, he is particularly important in the spread.
“You’ve got to be able to complete passes,” Brandon said. “You can win games running the football and playing great defense and all the rest. But to be a great offense you have to have the ability to throw the football. If your quarterback can complete throws, then you’ve got a good chance.”
Brandon’s spread, which evolved over years of studying myriad offensive concepts, is a bit different than some others. It was basically developed at Bowling Green when he and Meyer did their best mad scientist impressions to create an offensive monster that could win by throwing or win by running the pigskin.
“Our ability to run it is really based on how the defense defends the formations and the passes within those formations, because we really spread people out to run [the ball],” Brandon said. “That has intrigued me about the running quarterback, something you can get carried away with. You don’t want to run that guy too much because of the physical pounding.
“The thing we did at Bowling Green that I felt was unique was that we did a good job of the quick passing game. Throw and catch, throw and catch. That’s what I really want to get done in the spring here is to get the ball out, so that if opponents want to blitz, that’s fine. They can do it, but they’re not going to get him. I want quick and decisive throws.”
In a way, that’s the same concept of the old Bill Walsh 49ers’ West Coast offense with Joe Montana, throwing short passes and letting the receiver make a play.
“Turn six into 60,” Brandon laughed. “You need guys on the perimeter who can do that.”
That’s what the new OC will be looking for in the spring and even in winter workouts before spring.
“We can do some skill work and drill work to find out who can do what we need and to get an idea before we get into spring football,” Brandon said. “But until you put the pads on and throw the football out, well, everybody’s good in their underwear.”
Brandon’s plan could be boosted by the return of wideout Cary Koch. University officials plan to appeal for an additional year for Koch based on a medical hardship during the 2006 season when he played two games and had one catch while battling numerous injuries.
Coach Al Groh, who was a major part of the lure to landing Brandon, toyed with some spread concepts last year when his son, Mike, the former UVa coordinator (now a finalist for the Towson State head coaching position) had invested a great amount of time in studying the offense. However, when starting quarterback Pete Lalich was dismissed from the program by the athletic administration, most of it was shelved.
Still, the transition from Virginia’s 2008 offense to the space-aged Brandon version of the spread in 2009 will offer its challenges.
“We won’t get it all in (during the spring), but we’ll get the meat and potatoes in,” Brandon said. “There will be a learning curve on this coaching staff with new guys coming in, which I’m one. I’ve got to get a feel for the players, so I’m going to depend on Dave Borbely (offensive line), Wayne Lineburg (running backs) and Bob Price (tight ends) because they know the players. They’re good football coaches, too.”
Virginia will be the only team in the 12-member ACC that runs a pure spread offense, although Clemson has run a version of it off and on over the years.
Brandon said that coming to Charlottesville was a no-brainer.
If there was one factor that swung him toward UVa, it was his boss.
“Al Groh,” Brandon said. “The respect I have for him and the job he’s done here. As soon as I got let go at Bowling Green, boom, Al was the first guy to call. He said, ‘Hey, you want to come out and talk some football?’ And I said, ‘Shoot yeah.’
“I came out, talked some football and loved it,” Brandon said. “It’s a good situation I think. I believe Virginia has talented players, it’s a great academic school and a great place to live. I’m looking forward to it.”
So is Wahoo Nation.