this is amazing. Do you do this every week? Are they always free?
Baylor Football
S11: Analyzing SMU's Offense
The strongest part of SMU's team is their offense which has seen a huge turnaround under second year head Coach Chad Morris. Morris is a former Texas High School coaching legend that also spent time as offensive coordinator for Tulsa and Clemson prior to his time at SMU.
The Mustangs went from an anemic offense in 2014 to averaging a solid but not spectacular 31 yards per possession last year with most of the same guys. The Mustangs were certainly not consistent but improved dramatically with the notable exception of the Memphis game.
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The Mustangs were able to scheme around some issues up front and averaged over 5 yards per non-sack carry. They noticeably struggled in pass protection as they allowed a 10.3-percent sack rate which ranked 125th nationally.
Morris runs a variation of spread offense that borrows heavily from the concepts that Gus Malzahn uses at Auburn. Both coaches draw significantly from the old Delaware Wing-T, an offense known for using misdirection, motion, option concepts, and blocking angles to run the ball. As a scheme it allows lesser talented teams to run the ball successfully. Morris's twist on this is a spiced up & spread out version of this offense that threatens you with a dangerous vertical passing game. Add in a VERY fast tempo and SMU is going to test a team's mental discipline and conditioning.
The Offensive Line will step playside & double team any defensive linemen before working up to the linebackers. The running back then chooses a hole to attack. The video below also incorporates the quarterback optioning off of a defender as part of a zone read with the QB given the option to run outside or hand the ball off.
Power is a play that is classic smashmouth football. The playside linemen angle block down away from the play while a backside guard pulls around to the playside.
One of their preferred ways to hit a team on the edges of a defense is the classic Delaware Wing T play, the Bucksweep. Two linemen pull while playside linemen block down to pin defenders inside.
They will also run the inverted read where the QB is the inside guy and the tailback is the one who would be attacking the edge but still decide who gets the ball based on the actions of the unblocked defender.
You also see in the video below he will involve different variations of wide receiver sweep motions and blocking back tactics to create confusion for the defense while giving the offense an advantage.
During his time at Clemson he would use either receivers motioning into the backfield or he would tack on a bubble screen in order to mimic a triple option where in addition to the two options he had before he can get the ball to the third player based on what a second defender does.
Chad's passing attack is much more conventional that what Baylor runs but is nonetheless effective. Most of these concepts are staples for many pro offenses.
One concept SMU used a lot last year was Sucker. This concept uses a pivot route by an inside receiver to draw the underneath coverage away from a dig route by the outside receiver. This can be run with a third receiver drawing coverage deeper than the dig route or with just two. I have included a clip of each although Davis scrambles on the first one when the pass was open.
Some other common concepts can be seen below:
Morris also makes use of packaged plays where the QB can read a coverage defender to determine if he should hand off or throw.
His primary backup is Waco Midway product #8 Ben Hicks (6-1, 216, FR) who is coming off of a redshirt year. Hicks is a pocket style passer who was a big recruiting win for Morris in the 2015 class that Tech had expressed interest in. Hicks came into last week's game and threw an 88 yard touchdown.
Another backup who will likely see time if Davis can't play is #7 Darrel Colbert Jr. (5-11, 210, SO) who isn't very big but offers dangerous running ability.
SMU has several options at running back. Their primary back #5 Xavier Jones (5-10, 198, SO) showed off his speed with a 49 yard touchdown last week and is their best all around back. #6 Braeden West (5-10, 170, SO) is more of the scatback type who has breakaway speed. One 2016 recruit #29 Ke'Mon Freeman (5-11, 212, FR) saw a fair amount of time last week. SMU lost a very good inside runner and blocker when Prescott Line utilized a graduate transfer to Michigan State.
At tight end SMU returns a dangerous player with #84 Jeremiah Gaines (6-2, 260, SR) who is a coverted receiver who can still provide a long range scoring threat with multiple 60+ yard catches in his career. His backup is local Highland Park product #24 Mitchell Kaufman (6-3, 235, SO) and 2016 recruit #14 Ryan Becker. (6-5, 225, FR)
SMU is as talented as several Big 12 teams at wide receiver. At their wide receiver position they return their top weapon, #16 Courtland Sutton (6-4, 215, SO), who combines speed with a very big frame that he uses as a forward for SMU's basketball team. He was a breakout star in 2015 with 862 yards and nine touchdowns. Two second-year players back him up in #15 Alex Honey (6-4, 198, FR) and #1 Kevin Thomas (6-2, 178, SO) who are both athletic mismatches for many corners.
At their other wide receiver spot they start highly touted redshirt #3 James Proche (5-11, 183, FR) who gives them some game breaking ability. His backup is #2 Xavier Castille (5-11, 195, SO) who will see plenty of time and is another speedy option. Castille racked up over 250 receiving yards a year ago.
Their primary guys in the slot are #22 Myron Gailliard (5-9, 173, FR) and #9 Shelby Walker (6-1, 162, JR) who are not big but can make plays.
The weakest link on the offense is easily the line however the Mustangs have a good amount of experience. No. 71 Chauncey Briggs (6-6, 293, SR) is a three-year starter while Center #63 Evan Brown (6-3, 308, JR) and left guard #67 Daniel McCarty (6-3, 283, JR) have started for two years. The Mustangs lost their returning left tackle to injury. The new left tackle #68 Nick Natour (6-4, 289, SO) was playing Guard for much of last year and was good enough to push Briggs to right tackle. Their right guard is #76 Jerry Saena (6-4, 311, JR), who was a recruit that former coach June Jones was excited about, finally seems to have found his home after playing many positions the last couple of years.
The Mustangs lack depth but are likely better up front despite graduating two starters and losing a third to injury.
Baylor played extremely sloppy. The Bears opened the game by letting SMU's best receiver go uncovered. Both the safety and cornerback thought that the other one was responsible for a deep route by Sutton. Adding to the problem is that missed 22 tackles... in one half.
Baylor was also extremely sloppy on rush lanes. Early on the Bears let Matt Davis have wide open lanes to scramble through.
Baylor corrected a lot of the issues at halftime and went from allowing 46 yards per drive in the first half to allowing 17.5 in the second.
One play SMU drew up really well was the other touchdown to Sutton. SMU rightfully observed that Baylor uses a lot of Cover 4/Quarters coverage as well as man coverage. Morris and Offensive Coordinator Joe Craddock dialed up a scissor concept that effectively worked as a pick play against cover safety Terrell Burt. Burt gave good effort to fight through it and catch up to Sutton but he couldn't bring down the giant receiver.
Baylor did catch a bit of a break when they held SMU scoreless deep in Baylor territory before the half.
SMU's skill position talent showed up in a big way with Sutton hauling in an 88 yard touchdown, Davis scrambling for a 50 yard gain, Jones running for a 49 yard touchdown, and SMU completed a 46 yard hail mary on 3rd and 45. It would be foolish to argue that their explosive players didn't skew the results here. However I do think SMU is better on offense, although they are a bit inconsistent. Regardless they have plenty of home run hitters.
SMU put up solid numbers against Baylor, TCU, Houston, JMU, Tulsa, and Temple only to completely fall apart with fewer than ten yards per drive in the season finale at Memphis. What happened in that game? A combination of poor play by SMU and some great tactics by the Tigers.
First and foremost, SMU was completely sloppy. Memphis did some good things but SMU fumbling read handoffs, having the ball slip out of the QB's hands without being hit, and throwing ugly lobs into coverage certainly made it much easier than necessary.
With that said the Tigers had a lot of success with moving their three man front around on various slants and stunts to deny the SMU run game and force Davis to throw. Memphis held SMU to 1.7 yards per non-sack carry which is outstanding for a defense. They also did this with personnel that are undersized for a typical 3-4 defense with their listed starters for the SMU game being 6-5, 255 and 6-5, 265.
In this video you see their tackle and end running a looping stunt that ties up the offensive linemen and keeps the linebacker free to run and make the play.
In this video the line slanting to the left creates problems for SMU trying to run power. The backside end in particular makes things tough by quickly attacking the spot that the pulling guard vacates. This forces the ball carrier to bounce the run further playside where the tackle forces him even further off course. The playside end and linebacker then clean up the play,
The Tiger defense shows some things that I expect Baylor's quick and undersized front to try.
Hicks is more accurate than Davis and has a good arm. He's nowhere near the runner that Davis is and that is a big difference. His second throw in the game last week went for an 88 yard touchdown to Courtland Sutton. Hicks diagnosed the zone coverage, led his receiver accurately, and Sutton was able to run away from the corner. Now the coverage UNT called was not going to force that route to be thrown in a tight window but Hicks did a really good job regardless.
It wasn't perfect as he misread the defense on a smash pattern and almost threw an interception shortly after Davis left with his injury. He still has some growing to do as a player but I would expect him to play well if he's given time to throw.
If Davis is out I would also expect to see Colbert in for some mobility at the position as a changeup.
The Mustangs went from an anemic offense in 2014 to averaging a solid but not spectacular 31 yards per possession last year with most of the same guys. The Mustangs were certainly not consistent but improved dramatically with the notable exception of the Memphis game.
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The Mustangs were able to scheme around some issues up front and averaged over 5 yards per non-sack carry. They noticeably struggled in pass protection as they allowed a 10.3-percent sack rate which ranked 125th nationally.
SCHEME
Morris runs a variation of spread offense that borrows heavily from the concepts that Gus Malzahn uses at Auburn. Both coaches draw significantly from the old Delaware Wing-T, an offense known for using misdirection, motion, option concepts, and blocking angles to run the ball. As a scheme it allows lesser talented teams to run the ball successfully. Morris's twist on this is a spiced up & spread out version of this offense that threatens you with a dangerous vertical passing game. Add in a VERY fast tempo and SMU is going to test a team's mental discipline and conditioning.
RUNNING SCHEMES
The Offensive Line will step playside & double team any defensive linemen before working up to the linebackers. The running back then chooses a hole to attack. The video below also incorporates the quarterback optioning off of a defender as part of a zone read with the QB given the option to run outside or hand the ball off.
ZONE VIDEO
Power is a play that is classic smashmouth football. The playside linemen angle block down away from the play while a backside guard pulls around to the playside.
POWER VIDEO
One of their preferred ways to hit a team on the edges of a defense is the classic Delaware Wing T play, the Bucksweep. Two linemen pull while playside linemen block down to pin defenders inside.
BUCK SWEEP VIDEO
They will also run the inverted read where the QB is the inside guy and the tailback is the one who would be attacking the edge but still decide who gets the ball based on the actions of the unblocked defender.
You also see in the video below he will involve different variations of wide receiver sweep motions and blocking back tactics to create confusion for the defense while giving the offense an advantage.
INVERT VIDEO
During his time at Clemson he would use either receivers motioning into the backfield or he would tack on a bubble screen in order to mimic a triple option where in addition to the two options he had before he can get the ball to the third player based on what a second defender does.
3OP VIDEO
PASSING SCHEMES
Chad's passing attack is much more conventional that what Baylor runs but is nonetheless effective. Most of these concepts are staples for many pro offenses.
One concept SMU used a lot last year was Sucker. This concept uses a pivot route by an inside receiver to draw the underneath coverage away from a dig route by the outside receiver. This can be run with a third receiver drawing coverage deeper than the dig route or with just two. I have included a clip of each although Davis scrambles on the first one when the pass was open.
SUCKER VIDEO
Some other common concepts can be seen below:
Morris also makes use of packaged plays where the QB can read a coverage defender to determine if he should hand off or throw.
PACKAGED PLAY VIDEO
PERSONNEL
At quarterback the Mustangs return one of the most dangerous runners in the country with #4 Matt Davis (6-1, 214, SR) who threw for 2,263 yards last season while running for 761 and completing 54 percent of his throws. He's not the most accurate passer that the Bears will face but he is certainly dangerous. However, Davis might be out with a knee injury.His primary backup is Waco Midway product #8 Ben Hicks (6-1, 216, FR) who is coming off of a redshirt year. Hicks is a pocket style passer who was a big recruiting win for Morris in the 2015 class that Tech had expressed interest in. Hicks came into last week's game and threw an 88 yard touchdown.
Another backup who will likely see time if Davis can't play is #7 Darrel Colbert Jr. (5-11, 210, SO) who isn't very big but offers dangerous running ability.
SMU has several options at running back. Their primary back #5 Xavier Jones (5-10, 198, SO) showed off his speed with a 49 yard touchdown last week and is their best all around back. #6 Braeden West (5-10, 170, SO) is more of the scatback type who has breakaway speed. One 2016 recruit #29 Ke'Mon Freeman (5-11, 212, FR) saw a fair amount of time last week. SMU lost a very good inside runner and blocker when Prescott Line utilized a graduate transfer to Michigan State.
At tight end SMU returns a dangerous player with #84 Jeremiah Gaines (6-2, 260, SR) who is a coverted receiver who can still provide a long range scoring threat with multiple 60+ yard catches in his career. His backup is local Highland Park product #24 Mitchell Kaufman (6-3, 235, SO) and 2016 recruit #14 Ryan Becker. (6-5, 225, FR)
SMU is as talented as several Big 12 teams at wide receiver. At their wide receiver position they return their top weapon, #16 Courtland Sutton (6-4, 215, SO), who combines speed with a very big frame that he uses as a forward for SMU's basketball team. He was a breakout star in 2015 with 862 yards and nine touchdowns. Two second-year players back him up in #15 Alex Honey (6-4, 198, FR) and #1 Kevin Thomas (6-2, 178, SO) who are both athletic mismatches for many corners.
At their other wide receiver spot they start highly touted redshirt #3 James Proche (5-11, 183, FR) who gives them some game breaking ability. His backup is #2 Xavier Castille (5-11, 195, SO) who will see plenty of time and is another speedy option. Castille racked up over 250 receiving yards a year ago.
Their primary guys in the slot are #22 Myron Gailliard (5-9, 173, FR) and #9 Shelby Walker (6-1, 162, JR) who are not big but can make plays.
The weakest link on the offense is easily the line however the Mustangs have a good amount of experience. No. 71 Chauncey Briggs (6-6, 293, SR) is a three-year starter while Center #63 Evan Brown (6-3, 308, JR) and left guard #67 Daniel McCarty (6-3, 283, JR) have started for two years. The Mustangs lost their returning left tackle to injury. The new left tackle #68 Nick Natour (6-4, 289, SO) was playing Guard for much of last year and was good enough to push Briggs to right tackle. Their right guard is #76 Jerry Saena (6-4, 311, JR), who was a recruit that former coach June Jones was excited about, finally seems to have found his home after playing many positions the last couple of years.
The Mustangs lack depth but are likely better up front despite graduating two starters and losing a third to injury.
LAST YEAR:
Baylor played extremely sloppy. The Bears opened the game by letting SMU's best receiver go uncovered. Both the safety and cornerback thought that the other one was responsible for a deep route by Sutton. Adding to the problem is that missed 22 tackles... in one half.
MISSED TACKLE VIDEO
Baylor was also extremely sloppy on rush lanes. Early on the Bears let Matt Davis have wide open lanes to scramble through.
RUSH LANE VIDEO
Baylor corrected a lot of the issues at halftime and went from allowing 46 yards per drive in the first half to allowing 17.5 in the second.
One play SMU drew up really well was the other touchdown to Sutton. SMU rightfully observed that Baylor uses a lot of Cover 4/Quarters coverage as well as man coverage. Morris and Offensive Coordinator Joe Craddock dialed up a scissor concept that effectively worked as a pick play against cover safety Terrell Burt. Burt gave good effort to fight through it and catch up to Sutton but he couldn't bring down the giant receiver.
Baylor did catch a bit of a break when they held SMU scoreless deep in Baylor territory before the half.
QUESTIONS
SMU averaged 49 yards against North Texas. How much of that is SMU improving and how much is North Texas simply being athletically outmatched by SMU's skill position talent?
SMU's skill position talent showed up in a big way with Sutton hauling in an 88 yard touchdown, Davis scrambling for a 50 yard gain, Jones running for a 49 yard touchdown, and SMU completed a 46 yard hail mary on 3rd and 45. It would be foolish to argue that their explosive players didn't skew the results here. However I do think SMU is better on offense, although they are a bit inconsistent. Regardless they have plenty of home run hitters.
Who defended them the best last year?
SMU put up solid numbers against Baylor, TCU, Houston, JMU, Tulsa, and Temple only to completely fall apart with fewer than ten yards per drive in the season finale at Memphis. What happened in that game? A combination of poor play by SMU and some great tactics by the Tigers.
First and foremost, SMU was completely sloppy. Memphis did some good things but SMU fumbling read handoffs, having the ball slip out of the QB's hands without being hit, and throwing ugly lobs into coverage certainly made it much easier than necessary.
With that said the Tigers had a lot of success with moving their three man front around on various slants and stunts to deny the SMU run game and force Davis to throw. Memphis held SMU to 1.7 yards per non-sack carry which is outstanding for a defense. They also did this with personnel that are undersized for a typical 3-4 defense with their listed starters for the SMU game being 6-5, 255 and 6-5, 265.
In this video you see their tackle and end running a looping stunt that ties up the offensive linemen and keeps the linebacker free to run and make the play.
STUNT VIDEO
In this video the line slanting to the left creates problems for SMU trying to run power. The backside end in particular makes things tough by quickly attacking the spot that the pulling guard vacates. This forces the ball carrier to bounce the run further playside where the tackle forces him even further off course. The playside end and linebacker then clean up the play,
SLANT VIDEO
The Tiger defense shows some things that I expect Baylor's quick and undersized front to try.
If Davis can't play on Saturday, what have you seen from Ben Hicks against UNT?
Hicks is more accurate than Davis and has a good arm. He's nowhere near the runner that Davis is and that is a big difference. His second throw in the game last week went for an 88 yard touchdown to Courtland Sutton. Hicks diagnosed the zone coverage, led his receiver accurately, and Sutton was able to run away from the corner. Now the coverage UNT called was not going to force that route to be thrown in a tight window but Hicks did a really good job regardless.
TD video
It wasn't perfect as he misread the defense on a smash pattern and almost threw an interception shortly after Davis left with his injury. He still has some growing to do as a player but I would expect him to play well if he's given time to throw.
If Davis is out I would also expect to see Colbert in for some mobility at the position as a changeup.
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