Editing Option offense (section)

== Types ==
An option offense is any football scheme that relies on option running plays as its cornerstone. There are a variety of such schemes. Some of the most popular versions include:

[[File:Wishbone Formation.svg|right|thumb|300px|alt=A diagram showing the wishbone formation. Starting from the line of scrimmage working into the backfield, there is: the offensive line, the quarterback, the fullback, and two running backs side by side.|The classic wishbone formation and the backfield set that gives it its name]]
; Wishbone option offense: The wishbone offense, whose introduction to Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) college football is credited to [[Emory Bellard]], is named after its base formation of a quarterback, a fullback aligned four to five yards behind the quarterback, and two halfbacks aligned on each side of the fullback and one yard to two yards deeper. The result is a backfield alignment that resembles the shape of a [[furcula|wishbone]]. Also called the '''triple-option''', this base formation allows three basic running options: the fullback receiving the handoff, the quarterback pitching to either halfback, or the quarterback running the ball himself. While the wishbone's success reached its zenith in the 1970s, it remains popular at the high school and small college level but is nearly extinct at major college programs.<ref name=BellardDies>{{cite news |last=Weber |first=Bruce |title=Emory Bellard, Creator of Wishbone Offense, Dies at 83 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 10, 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/sports/ncaafootball/11bellard.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123031717/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/sports/ncaafootball/11bellard.html?_r=1 |archive-date=November 23, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
; Wing T offense: The traditional "[[wing T]]" offense employs many of the concepts of the wishbone offense. It often employs three running back formations, especially in the Bay City version of the offense. The wing T helped change the game of football in its formative years, and changed the traditional role of the quarterback from a blocker much like a modern fullback in the classic "single wing", to the primary distributor of the ball. As the triple-option became prominent, the wing T quickly incorporated the [[veer]] into its arsenal. In conjunction, it tends to employ significantly more misdirection running plays. The traps, crosses, fakes, pulls, sweeps, and counters that characterize the wing T are often supplemented by a heavy dose of option runs—most notably the veer triple option. The veer is well suited to the wing T offense, especially the [[Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football|Delaware]] version. The Delaware version of the wing T, with its predominant two running back sets, gained significant prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was most notably employed by the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] during the [[Ara Parseghian|Parseghian]] era. It continues to be employed by high schools and small college teams.<ref name=WingTUSAToday>Zillgitt, Jeff. [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2007-08-16-wing-t-football_N.htm Defense can't make tackle until it locates the ball]. [[USA Today]]. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2013.</ref>
; Flexbone option offense: [[File:Flexbone Formation.svg|right|thumb|300px|The typical flexbone formation. This variation of the wishbone adds spread-like qualities to the standard triple-option configuration and is popular amongst service academies.]] The "Flexbone" was invented by Emory Bellard at Mississippi State in 1979.  It was called the "Wingbone", a variation of the Wishbone Bellard introduced at Texas.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/college/bellard-remembered-for-vast-footprints-left-on-c-1/nRXS8/|title=Bellard remembered for vast footprints left on college football|website=statesman.com}}</ref> A variant of the wishbone offense, the [[Flexbone formation|flexbone]] came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. The flexbone offense varies from the wishbone in a few fundamental ways. First, and most notably, the flexbone replaces the halfbacks that are aligned in the backfield of a wishbone with one or two "wingbacks" or "slot backs," that align off-tackle or off-end. These "hybrid" players are typically very quick and must be adept at running, blocking (particularly [[cut blocking]]), and receiving. Because of their positioning, they can more easily facilitate the passing game in the flexbone and serve to stretch the defensive alignment laterally prior to the snap. Teams that employ this scheme tend to amass consistently high rushing averages. The name "flexbone" is somewhat controversial and usually reflects the school of thought from which the offense was born. Some practitioners, such as [[Air Force Falcons football|Air Force's]] famed former head coach, [[Fisher DeBerry]], welcomed the name flexbone because the offense was seen as a modification of the traditional wishbone. Still others, such as [[Paul Johnson (American football coach, born 1957)|Paul Johnson]] reject the moniker, preferring instead to call their systems, the "[[spread offense]]".<ref name=OptionsAllAround>Chen, Albert. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112162226/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1162431/index.htm Options All Around]. [[Sports Illustrated]]. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>  To these practitioners, the offense is more related to spread schemes such as the [[run and shoot]], and simply uses the triple-option as a foundation instead of a dynamic passing game. The offense was actually born in the latter school of practitioners, with its origins attributed to Paul Johnson while at [[Georgia Southern Eagles football|Georgia Southern]] in the mid-80s. He brought the system briefly to [[Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football|Hawaiʻi]] in the late '80s and then returned to Georgia Southern, which won a record six [[NCAA Division I Football Championship|Division I-AA national titles]] and eight [[Southern Conference|conference]] titles while using this offense. As traditional wishbone coaches sought to make their offenses more dynamic, they began to mimic the alignments of this "spread offense" and re-dubbed it the flexbone. The name has since stuck, most likely in order to prevent confusion with other spread offenses. By the late '90s, the flexbone was adapted by all three NCAA Division I-A military academies, where it provided strong statistical results. After bringing [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]] to its greatest run of success in decades, Johnson brought the offense with him to [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]], where it has achieved great success.<ref name=GTOptionViable>Viera, Mark. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/13/AR2009101303065.html?sid=ST2009101303280 Georgia Tech's Offense Is Becoming a More Viable Option]. [[Washington Post]]. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2013.</ref>
; I-option offense: Also known as the "Nebraska I-offense," this offense derives its name from its extensive use of the [[I formation]] with its vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back. Though balanced attacks from the I formation have been around for decades, the I-option gained extraordinary popularity with its employment by [[Tom Osborne]] at the [[Nebraska Cornhuskers football|Nebraska Cornhuskers]]. Using this offense, Osborne had outstanding success from the time of its introduction in 1980 until his retirement in 1997, including three national championships.<ref name=TalkingWithTomOsborne>Viera, Mark. [https://archive.today/20130412032354/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hokies-journal/2009/10/option_offense_qa_with_nebrask.html Talking Option With Nebraska's Tom Osborne]. [[Washington Post]]. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2013.</ref> His successor, [[Frank Solich]], continued to have success with the offense until his departure in 2003. The I-option offense offered a more traditional balanced attack. At its core, the offense relies on a devastating combination of power running, the option, and play-action passing, which are easily run from the I-formation and its variations. The concept of a balanced offensive attack combined with the big play potential of the option enticed vast numbers of top-level college teams to include some components of the Nebraska I.
; Spread option offense: [[File:Shotgun Formation.svg|right|thumb|300px|Emerging during the late 1990s and 2000s, the spread option is typically run from any variant of the shotgun formation, as in the example above. The "spread" allows teams to use speed<ref name="Erick">{{cite web|last1=Streelman|first1=Erick (1 November 2015)|title=Speed Option|url=http://winwiththepass.com/speed-option/|website=Win With The Pass|access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> and athleticism to exploit gaps created by the wide distribution of players.]] The spread option offense is a variant of the more generic "[[spread offense]]". It has found success and widespread employment in college and high school football. Essentially a hybrid of the traditionally pass-oriented [[spread offense]], the spread option is based on the concept of defensive isolation. The offense "spreads" the defense by aligning in three-to-five receiver sets, using two or fewer running backs in the backfield and often setting the quarterback in shotgun. This spread forces the defense to defend more of the field and isolates its players in space. To exploit this, the offense employs double or triple option plays which further mitigates the athleticism of the defense and forces it to play their assignments. When used in combination with a consistent passing game, the spread option offense can yield strong results. The means by which option plays are run from the spread option offense vary greatly.<ref name=UrbanMeyerSpreadOption>Jacoby, Terry. [http://www.americanfootballmonthly.com/Subaccess/articles.php?article_id=4701%20=article The Secrets of Urban Meyer's Spread Option Offense]. American Football Monthly. June 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>

The most popular running play employed in the spread is the '''read option'''. This play is also known as the zone read, QB choice, or QB wrap. A type of double option, the read option is a relatively simple play during which the offensive line [[zone block]]s in one direction, ignoring defensive personnel, while the quarterback makes a single read (usually of the backside defensive end or linebacker) and decides whether to keep the ball (if the backside defender crashes down) or to hand off to the back (if the defender indicates that he will cover the quarterback). Some spread offenses employ complicated pre-snap motion schemes that move wide receivers or tight ends into formations in which they can either become ball carriers or run pass routes, allowing for additional possible options.

[[File:Spread option uf vs ut.jpg|right|thumb|300px|[[Urban Meyer]]'s spread offense at Florida with QB [[Tim Tebow]] ]]
Since the early 2000s, spread offenses have become very common, as they spread the defense to open running lanes for various option plays while also putting offensive players in favored matchups to allow for a prolific passing attack. The attack was initially developed in the college game, and [[Rich Rodriguez]] is generally credited with popularizing the zone read play run out of the [[shotgun formation]] while at [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]]. Over the following seasons, other college coaches such as [[Urban Meyer]] ([[Utah Utes football|Utah]], [[Florida Gators football|Florida]], [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]]), [[Bill Snyder]] ([[Kansas State Wildcats football|Kansas State]]), and [[Chip Kelly]] ([[Oregon Ducks football|Oregon]], [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]]) developed formidable offenses based on spread option concepts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Chris B. |title=Ducking the Bucks: Inside the Evolution (and Oregonification) of Urban Meyer's Ohio State Offense |journal=Grantland |date=January 9, 2015 |url=https://grantland.com/the-triangle/college-football-playoff-ohio-state-oregon-ducks-urban-meyer-tom-herman-offense/}}</ref>