Fulton Analysis: Adapting to Haskins

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The most obvious challenge facing Ohio State in 2018 is replacing quarterback and multi-year Big Ten player of the year J.T. Barrett. The 2017 backup, Dwayne Haskins, is perhaps the frontrunner for the position. Yet Haskins does not have the running skills of Barrett. So assuming Haskins is the starting quarterback, the Buckeyes offense must adapt to Haskins’ strengths.

In considering how to do so, there are two larger points to keep in mind. First, yards are yards. Second, the ever-present challenge for offensive football is being at an arithmetic disadvantage. A defense will always have at least one, if not two, unblocked defenders – the defensive counterparts to the ball carrier and to the quarterback (in practice, this often ends up being a safety and a backside edge defender).

Often, the key to accumulating the former is accounting for the latter. The way that Urban Meyer’s spread offense often did that with Barrett was re-equating arithmetic with the quarterback run game. Barrett could read an unblocked defender to prevent that player from playing the run play (or keep if the defender overcommitted). Or he could run on designed quarterback runs that provided the offense 10 blockers.

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If Haskins cannot use his legs as effectively, the challenge for Meyer’s staff is handling both issues – making up those yards that Barrett gained running, while preventing unblocked defenders from overplaying the Buckeye tailbacks.

Fortuitously, Haskins’ second half performance against Michigan provided a controlled sample – both for how the Ohio State offense offense may adapt with Haskins – as well as how opponents may adapt to defend the Buckeye offense.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson actually previewed last fall how a spread offense can adapt to a less mobile quarterback. To Wilson, an offense can:

· Use an additional tight end to account for the unblocked edge defender,

· Use different blocking schemes to avoid those defenders, or

· Read those unblocked defenders, using run-pass options instead of read plays.

With Haskins entering after Barrett’s knee injury against Michigan, all three adjustments were on display. Haskins’ entrance immediately illuminated the challenges faced by the loss of Barrett’s mobility. Michigan felt comfortable changing their defensive scheme. Against Barrett, the Wolverines often ran a trap 2-zone, freeing their defensive backs to provide force support against Barrett on edge plays. With Haskins, Michigan reverted to their more standard cover-1 man, providing an additional defender in the box.

Below, Ohio State runs a lead zone against Michigan’s single high safety front. The backside Wolverine end felt less constrained by the Haskins run threat – leaving that defender free to play the front side run.

So Wilson and fellow offensive coordinator Ryan Day adapted. The Buckeye staffs moved beyond read plays to introduce more variety into the Ohio State run game. Ohio State repeatedly ran power gap blocking placing an additional blocker in the form of a pulling guard to the play side.

Ohio State also used buck sweep J.K. Dobbins explosive gains. Perhaps made most famous by Ezekiel Elliott’s 85-yard touchdown run against Alabama, the play features the playside side guard and/or center pulling and leading the running back.

As with power, by pulling linemen, the Buckeyes can target a certain area away from unblocked defenders. And it can place additional blockers at the point of attack. Ohio State also set their trips wide receivers away from the run, putting Michigan’s man coverage defensive backs opposite the play – where they could not provide run support.

Meyer’s staff also used a “two tight end” concept. As noted, Ohio State had difficulty handling Michigan’s unblocked defensive end without Barrett. In response, rather than introduce a second tight end, Ohio State placed H K.J. Hill in motion to block the front side of tight zone. This allowed tight end Marcus Baugh to base block the backside end, allowing Mike Weber to cut back behind Baugh’s block for the game-clinching touchdown.

And the Buckeyes made greater use of run-pass options beyond the wide receiver screen “reliefs” that were more often seen with Barrett. The most notable was a backside slant packaged with buck sweep. While the front side of the offensive line runs buck sweep, the backside guard and tackle pass set. Haskins reads the backside inside linebacker. If he vacates the pass zone to follow the run play, Haskins can pull and throw the slant to H Parris Campbell.

This is essentially the same run-pass option that the Philadelphia Eagles repeatedly used with the immobile Nick Foles in their Super Bowl run.

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The need for more such run-pass options are just one example of how playing Haskins instead of Barrett requires more production out of the passing game. Against Michigan, this came in the form of routes that are effective against man defense. The most notable was Haskins back shoulder comeback throw to Austin Mack. The pass route actually combined the comeback route to one side with double-ins opposite. This provides a fairly simple read for Haskins, allowing him to throw comeback against man coverage or the double ins versus zone.

Haskins also completed two critical mesh shallow crossing routes to Hill against the Wolverines’ man defenders.

Despite this promising start, Ohio State remained fairly conservative against Michigan with the untested Haskins. Challenges without the same quarterback run threat will remain, particularly in short yardage where Barrett was so effective. To succeed, the Buckeye staff will have to build on all three areas: a diversified run game; run-pass options; and as a passing offense.