The Utah rushing attack

[UteDuke]

The rushing attack is in a very interesting position going into this next season. All the talk seems to revolve around finding a suitable replacement for Joe Williams, and the fact that the Utes have a deep stable of potential talent to fill that position.

What I feel is a huge point that has not been discussed nearly as much, is how the running game might be philosophically and structurally different this season. Troy Taylor has made it abundantly clear that the focus of his offense is the passing game, and that he intends to do things very different than what has been adhered to in the past.

So, what kind of changes should we expect? 

One thing I personally would love to see is, barring excessive injuries, a committee system. These last few years the Utes have tended to find “the guy” and then ride him into the ground with 30+ carries a game. It really is no wonder we see such a collapse in November. I know Booker and Williams both handled it like champions, but one has to wonder if we could have seen greater production by taking just a bit of the weight off? We have at least 3 very talented backs in Moss, Shyne, and Henry-Cole. If the Utes can utilize the skills of all 3, that would be a tough attack to stop.

Next, will the runningbacks be used in a similar way to what we’ve seen in the past? I can’t imagine that Taylor would leave the Utah hardnosed running style altogether, but he may decide to do a lot more runs to the perimeter or look to throw some more passes their way. If so, is Utah currently outfitted for this?

[UteThunder]

I think you have to have one top guy when it comes to RB. If you have 3 RBs splitting carries evenly, your RBs probably aren’t very good. Ideally I would like to see one guy emerge as the top back and average 20 carries per game while the other two get 5-10 carries each per game.

[noneyadb]

Interview with Taylor, he doesn’t plan to change a lot, just how the WR and QB read the defense, and Rb will definitely be used more in the passing game. Something that was terribly ignored last season. Watch old highlight films from the Urban era, should give you an idea as to what the offense will look like. 

[Utah]

This. I don’t know if we run as much as Urban. Urban has it right, in my opinion. His 200/200 goal is the right idea in my opinion (200 yards rushing, 200 yards passing). 

But, we our run game will be very similar to last year’s, just less of it. Instead of 30 passes and 40 rushes, I’d bet we see 40-50 passes and 25-35 rushes. 

[Anonymous]

I want to see our team junk the read option garbage.

I want to see the run/pass balance that Kyle has tried to establish as our Offensive identity. The tweak I want to see is for our team to go to a pro-style offense. The running QB isn’t a fundamental shift in football, it’s a fad. I want to see us now look for pocket passer types to complement our hard nose run style.

[Utah]

The read option isn’t going anywhere. It is so taxing on the defense. 

With a normal pro style offense, the defense only had to defend 10 players, giving an advantage to the defense. 

In a read option offense, the defense has to defend all 11 players. 

It doesn’t work in the NFL because everyone is so talented. In college, it’s fantastic because most players aren’t that good (when compared to the NFL). 

How valuable is a running QB? We’ve won 28 games the last three years with no passing game. That’s amazing. 

[Anonymous]

It’s a fad, it’s already fading, and it will be a memory in five years. We haven’t run it properly since Urban.

It’s time to let it go and proclaim ourselves an NFL farm team.

[Utah]

It’s already fading? Ok. 

How many pro style teams were in the college football playoffs last year? 

How many were in BCS Bowls (or whatever they call it now)?

 

[UteThunder]

Washington and Alabama were in the playoffs, and while Alabama might run some read/option I think that most people would consider their offense to be more pro-style.

In the New Year’s Six Bowls you had Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, USC, and Oklahoma as teams that I would consider to be more pro-style offensively. Maybe I’m wrong, but that is how I see it.

[Utah]

Alabama switched to read option under Kiffin/Sark. Browning does not run, but Washington runs a spread offense, not a pro style. 

Hell, most NFL teams run some version of the spread. The FB is a staple of prostyke offenses and there aren’t any in the NFL anymore. 

With the rule changes, this offense isn’t going anywhere. 

[Anonymous]

Clemson is an ACC team, so their offensive system is Chinese fire drill.
Alabama is using the read option. Ohio State is already trying to transition out of it (if you believe what Urban is saying).
That leaves Washington as the pro-style team in the playoffs.

The read option is a good G5 system. It’s a fad for NFL farm clubs.

The thing I really liked about the offense that Urban ran while at UTAH was the misdirection. I’d like to see more of that than what we have seen over the last decade. Inside screens, UTAH Pass plays, like that. Yes, I realize those are read option plays and that’s alright. I just don’t want to see our entire offense built on the read option.