Peak Perspective: Breaking Down Mountain West Offenses

This week, we attempt to learn more about the ins and outs of the various offenses in the Mountain West. To help us to that, we brought in high school coach Derek Bedell.

MWCConnection: Can you introduce yourself a bit? Where do you coach, and how long have you been a head football coach? Plus, what current or former Mountain West players have you coached?

DB: I am Derek Bedell, Head Football Coach at Mayfair HS in Lakewood, CA. I have been the head coach at Mayfair for 10 years. Over those 10 seasons, we have been blessed to have many players graduate from our program and move on to elite Div 1 programs. Some of those players have landed in the Mountain West. Defensive back Semaj Verner went to Boise State, quarterback Josh Calvin signed with Utah State, and wide receiver Jordan Brown currently plays at Fresno State.

MWCConnection: What offensive system do you run at Mayfair, and why do you run that system?

DB: We are a multi-formation pro-style no-huddle offense. That is a fancy way of saying we run a flexible scheme that is built around the players we have on the roster. We are a zone-run scheme with a pro-style pass game. The biggest reason we run this system is it is not single player or position dependent. In HS football, your talent varies from season to season. Therefore, we must be flexible in our scheme. If we have a team with great skill and QB play, we will throw more; if we are big with a strong tailback, we will run more. Of course, like all coaches, we hope we have a mix of both. If you wanted to make a comparison to a Mountain West program, we would look the most like BSU from the Peterson/Harsin Era.

MWCConnection: Can you provide a breakdown of some of the offenses Mountain West teams run? Specifically, what personnel does possess, what are the goals/objective of each, and what are positions are key to its success?

DB: The great thing about the Moutain West is it might be the most offensively diverse conference in college football. You have every offensive scheme under the sun in the conference, and they all require different types of personnel to achieve success.

Air Force is a triple-option downhill physical run game. It is a scheme that requires discipline and physicality. It doesn’t require tremendous size and speed to be effective. Its success lies in that it fits the nature of the military academy it is built on discipline, intelligence and physicality, all traits needed by recruits to attend the Air Force Academy.

Run-and-shoot teams like Hawaii require quarterbacks with very high football IQs and skill players who are quick and speedy. These WRs, like the QBs, must have a high football IQ as most of the passing game is option route-based. In other words, the WR has a selection of routes they run for the play call. The final break by a WR will be made based on the play of the defense. This is the key to its success, as it attempts to put the defense in a position where they cannot be right.

Spread teams like UNLV and Utah State look for skilled personnel with fantastic athleticism who can go get the football. The QB must also be a great athlete who can use his legs as well as his arm. These teams like to change the pace, and go fast, sometimes hyper-fast, to put defenses on their heels. Many of these teams have versatile RBs that are effective in both the run game and the pass game. Some people think the key to a good spread offense is the ability of the QB and WR to make big plays in the passing game. I actually believe the key to its success is having a great RB who can take pressure off the QB by being an effective runner and pass catcher.

Finally, you have the pro-style teams like BSU, SJSU, and Fresno State. These teams like balance on offense: big, physical offensive lines that can dominate defensive lines. Smart, athletic QBs that can make plays inside and outside of the pocket and athletic big-skill players that can make plays on the outside and in the running game. This allows these teams to use misdirection in the running game, play action, and bootleg passes to keep defenses on their heels.

MWCConnection: Last year, the Go-Go offense was a revelation for UNLV. What makes it so effective and unique?

DB: From an overall scheme standpoint, I am not sure it was all that different from some Mountain West schools. What makes it successful is the same thing that makes it unique, and that is tempo and coaching. The various tempo modes make it challenging for defensive coaches to call defenses and make adjustments. Also, the coaching staff at UNLV did an incredible job of getting the players to believe and buy into the style of play. When you are a new coaching staff with a young offensive coordinator getting the players to believe is the most important part. If the players believe in what they are doing, you have a higher chance of being successful. Coach Odom, Coach Marion, and their staff were wizard like in getting the players to understand the offense and how it would lead to immediate success if executed properly.

MWCConnection: Looking ahead to next year, San Jose State OC Craig Stutzmann is implementing his “Spread-and-Shred” offense. How is it similar to some you discussed above and what makes it different from other pass-heavy offenses?

DB: I am not totally familiar with the inner-workings of Coach Stutzmanns offense. Based on his success at Hawaii as a player and the success he has had as a coach, I would assume it is going to have some significant ties to June Jones run & shoot system combined with run-game influence from his time at Washington State. Also, it is going to be interesting to watch San Jose State next season, as this offensive style is a complete 180 from the pro-style system they have been running with Coach Brennan.

MWCConnection: Boise State brought back Dirk Koetter to run its offense. What makes him such a successful offensive mind, and if you are familiar with him, what are some hallmarks he is known for in his offenses?

DB: Coach Koetter’s offensive philosophy is one that I have modeled our philosophy after. I think what makes him so unique and such a successful OC and head coach is that he is a master of using multiple personnel groups combined with pre-snap movement (shifts, and/or motion) to get defenses off balance. I think the hallmarks of a Dirk Koetter offense are the variety of personnel groupings and pre-snap movement I talked about earlier, along with a commitment to being physical at the line of scrimmage.

What got Boise State to the top of the college football world was the physical play up front by the OL and TE. I think you will see BSU return to that physical mentality. They have a Heisman Trophy candidate at RB in Ashton Jeanty, and combine that with a pass game built around a talented QB in Malachi Nelson and WR group that can be explosive in both the downfield and play action pass game and I think you will have one of the best offense’s in the conference. I really think this was a great move by Spencer to bring him back to Boise.

MWCConnection: What is an offense or two in the Mountain West that you are looking forward to watching next season?

DB: Two offenses that come to mind immediately are Boise State and San Diego State.

For BSU, do they return to the Boise of old and dominate the line of scrimmage using those multiple personnel groups and motion? Ashton Jeanty is one player I am going to watch every week. Also, I’ll watch them because I am partial to teams that run the same offensive style we do.

The second is San Diego State. I think Sean Lewis was a tremendous hire. His offensive mind is next level, and was somewhat muted at Colorado last season. I think he brings a unique perspective to offensive football. There is a ton of talent on that roster and I think that staff will put together great plans each week.

MWCConnection: For a new coach or new offensive coordinator coming into a team, what are some of the pros and cons of trying to run their system with an established group of players who may not be ideal fits?

DB: This used to be one of the great challenges coaches had to do when there was a staff change. But ultimately this game is about the players and putting them in the best position to win. I think new coaches and coordinators need to install the parts of their offensive scheme that best fit the team they have. Then they go out and recruit players that fit their desired system. But that method is a bit archaic in the transfer portal age of college football. Nowadays, with the portal, you can try and flip your team in one off-season. I am not sure flipping the entire team gets you more wins. Rather, doing it methodically, finding positions that need upgrading, and then getting the right guy or guys could quickly accelerate the growth of the offense.

MWCConnection: As a coach, what is the balance between making players adapt to the offensive scheme or adapting the scheme to the players on the roster?

DB: I think it is a give-and-take situation. If we are talking about a new staff that is bringing in a completely different offensive philosophy and scheme they will need to throw out the old and teach the new. For young rosters, this tends to be the smart move. But if you have an older well established team that is going through a coaching change, I think it is important the coach adapts his system to fit the terminology the players understand. I think this is smart for a couple reasons. First, the coach has been around the game longer and it is probably easier for him to make slight changes to his offense than it is to make an older team learn an entire new scheme. Second, as a coach, if you show the players you are willing to meet them in the middle, then you will get faster buy-in from them, and you will be able to advance the offense faster.

If we are talking about an established staff with a philosophy and scheme that has been ingrained at the school, you are recruiting players that fit the scheme. This means that the players are the ones that are going to need to adapt to the scheme.

MWCConnection: Going into a game, do you try to prioritize your strengths as an offense or attack the weaknesses of defense when you make a game plan? Or is it more so making adjustments during a game after seeing how the opposing team is playing?

DB: For me, as a coach, making a game plan is all of the above. You are always going to play to the strengths of your personnel and scheme. We definitely identify the weaknesses in a defense and put together plays and schemes that will take advantage of those weaknesses. But we also believe we must do what we do well and force teams to stop it. This is where in game adjustments come into play. Any good game-planning coach has an answer or a plan B for when the defense stops their bread-and-butter plays.