Hey everyone, it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything about football, and I thought today would be a nice opportunity to put out something positive. I’ve been going through a couple of Texas A&M games last season, mainly looking at position groups for the offense, but every now and then, I come across a play that’s too good not to share with y’all.
This is one such instance.
The thing that excites me the most about having Coach Klein back in Manhattan is the way he sets up plays throughout the game.
He’ll run a play in the first quarter that helps set up a crucial play late in the game. That’s what happens on this play in the fourth quarter of Texas A&M’s shootout road victory over Notre Dame.
The Play
It’s second and seven, Texas A&M is down six with 2:18 remaining on the clock.
Texas A&M goes with four wide receivers, a running back, and a tight end. The tight end (orange circle) goes in motion, and the Notre Dame Safety (red square) follows him, indicating that the Fighting Irish are in man coverage.
Check out how far the wide receiver (green triangle) is off the line of scrimmage. The Notre Dame corner comes over, again, indicating man coverage, and they are pretty sure what A&M is running on this play based on the formation.
Namely, a quick-hitting wide receiver screen to the bunch formation at the bottom of the screen with the motion tight end utilized as the lead blocker, as you can see in the below screenshot.
The Notre Dame safety sees the wide receiver screen coming and thinks, “I’m about to shoot this gap, light up the wide receiver, and do the viral TikTok dance I’ve been working on all week.”
That’s a reasonable thing to think, because it looks like the screen is coming, and if A&M throws it, the safety is going to be in perfect position to blow it up. Notice him already moving towards the line of scrimmage before the snap. He wants to time it up so he’s crossing the line of scrimmage when the ball is in the air and catches the blocker flat-footed. It’s possible he’s looking to pick this pass off.
Here’s the problem: he’s looking in the wrong direction.
Nothing going on at the bottom of the screen matters on this play. Texas A&M doesn’t need another 4-yard wide receiver screen; it needs an explosive play. Collin Klein uses his tendency to throw the screen when he moves the tight end to the bunch formation against Notre Dame when he breaks it on the most important drive of the game.
The play is a slant to the slot receiver (blue circle) at the top of the screen. That slot receiver happens to be 5’9”, 165-pound speed demon Mario Craver. Everything that is happening in the bunch formation at the bottom is for show. Klein needs the safety to come up so Craver has room to run.
Look at all of the space in the middle of the field. The linebacker is mostly there to spy the A&M quarterback. Craver gets inside on his route (double slants to the top of the screen), and because the Notre Dame strong safety is crashing the non-existent wide receiver screen, there is nothing but green grass across the field.
This wasn’t even a particularly good throw from the A&M Quarterback (not a rare occurrence in College Station last season), but the play is drawn up so well that the receiver has enough time to slow down, catch the ball, and then accelerate again. If he hits Craver in stride, this might go the distance. Check out the bottom of the screen. Collin Klein blocked Notre Dame’s safety with his play call. He jumped a non-existent screen pass, and A&M used the space he vacated to get its wide receiver running across the field to daylight.
The slant across the middle isn’t anything special when you pair it with the wide receiver screen multiple times in one game, and then break that tendency when it matters most. Good things happen. That requires patience and forethought. You may have to burn a wide receiver screen early in the game in order to set the hook, but that’s what makes Klein special as a play caller. He may give you the same look 10 times, run it the planned way 9 times, and then run the counter on the 10th attempt.
I’m looking forward to breaking down film again this season.
