New? HS Offense Schemes Coming

[TampaSteve]

Not sure about the rest of yall, but this Spring, I've seen a few schools running interesting formations routinely.
Basically, they are putting a RB in the guard/tackle gap. - like you sometimes see for punting formations.

But ah, to be a "back" thay can't break the waist of the nearest teammate (7-2-3 ans 2-32-3) so as officials we need to ensure they are certainly a "back" in order to be eligible to be a receiver or even take a standard handoff.

Anyone else seeing this?

[Atlanta Blue]

We don't run it, but when we see it on film, we call that a "sniffer back", because it looks like he is sniffing the backside of the lineman.  If done right, he stays behind the waist of the linemen.

While it certainly could happen, I have never seen a sniffer back take a handoff or go out for a pass.  It's almost always a fullback loading up to one side.

[TampaSteve]

Atl:  agreed.  he SHOULD be behind linemen's waist, but 17 yr old kids and all.

Many folks doing this in Atl area?

I saw it @a Spring game & it caught me off guard the first play I saw it.  Second play, sure enough, he was in no man's land there & went downfield on a pass beyond LOS. 

Figured I would give yall a heads-up.

Heck in addition to what they can't do, already cited, they also cannot BBW since not on the line.

[Atlanta Blue]

Many folks doing this in Atl area?

Not many, but a few.  It's certainly not new or rare.  It's usually in short yardage situations, and 98% of the time, they are going that way.

You would think it would be a pretty big tendency giveaway, but the team that does it most often has won 4 of the last 5 state championships, and lost the other one in OT.  They could have come to the line, told the defense what play they were running, and won anyway.  Sniffer backs were the least of the issues when playing them.

We see it occassionally on film, but as I said above, I have never seen a sniffer back take a hand off or go out for a pass.  It's almost always just a "heavy set", similar to putting both tackles on the same side of the line.

We have had problems with one team putting these backs in the A gap on punts, breaking the waist of the player next to them, and then having them take a side snap on a fake - a snap not through the snapper's legs, but off to one side.  The snap would be legal if it went to a back, but these sniffers aren't backs in those gaps.  We pointed that one out to the officials before the game, the team ran it, and the officials still missed it.  "Coach, we didn't actually see who got the snap until after you had tackled him."

Gee, and you don't think that was a clue that it wasn't legal?

[NorCalMike]

A team I helped coach a few years back used this formation occasionally. We called it Gorilla. Mostly used in short yardage situations especially goal line plays but there are several other ways to use the formation. The RB can become a lead blocker on a sweep or a receiver.

Defense will often load that side of the box so you can run the opposite way.

[GAHSUMPIRE]

Back in my "Al Bundy" days, I used to be that guy. I was mainly used as a battering ram on combo blocks or used similarly to a pulling guard on counter plays. I did actually get to carry the ball a couple of times. To ensure I was lined up correctly, my coach made me line up behind the tackle and extend my arm to grab the back of his jersey, to ensure I was in the back field and then step over into the gap.

I don't recall seeing it much on the high school level, but I see it quite a bit in the youth league I do.