Tech's running game more ‘quick strike' than methodical

By Ray Glier

For the AJC

Strangers to the Georgia Tech triple-option offense expect to sit down to watch paint dry, you know, guys in cement shoes clearing a path for a robust run of 3 yards.

But instead of watching a defense get methodically mugged by Georgia Tech’s run-first offense, they see the defense get fleeced by a fast-offense.

There goes Anthony Allen for 82 yards. Don’t look now, but Jonathan Dwyer just darted for 74. Receiver Demaryius Thomas is loose for a catch of 73 yards, then snatches another for 65.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden chuckled over the phone when asked about lightning strikes from Tech’s run-game.

“When you play us, you would think we would be the big-play team and they would be the ground attack, ground it out team,” Bowden said. “It is not stylish, but it sure does whip you.”

The Yellow Jackets (5-1) enter Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech (5-1) with nine plays of 50 yards or more. The next closest to Tech among ACC teams are the Hokies with five.

In plays of 30-plus yards from scrimmage, Virginia Tech has 20 to Georgia Tech’s 17. Miami is third with 14.

For a team that has run the ball 318 times this season and passed it 75, those are a startling number of big plays.

How do they do it?

One reason is opponents not being geared up for the triple-option after the ball is spotted for the first time in a game. Dwyer sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown on Tech’s first play from scrimmage in the season opener against Jacksonville State. Allen went 82 yards on Tech’s second play from scrimmage in the next game, against Clemson.

“We try and talk about playing fast with our kids, and sometimes that first series that thing is coming a lot faster than that scout team did it,” said Brian Bohannon, the quarterbacks and B-back coach. “They can’t simulate the speed of it, and that catches them off-guard, so if we can execute early, we can get big plays.”

The Tech offense is fast, but it also has a circus-quality brought by designed misdirection and that can create a big play. An A-back might go left, the quarterback goes right, the B-back goes straight. Who has the ball?

“We run a lot of misdirection, and that’s bound to get one or two people, maybe three or four even, going the wrong way,” said Sean Bedford, the Tech center. “If you look at the triple option, you are basically running three plays in one, so you’ve got to have certain guys take certain assignments, and if someone misses an assignment, well, it lends itself to big plays.”

Bedford said the Jackets can create a pile-up in the middle of the field with their blocking schemes and, suddenly, a fast back might be one-on-one with a slower defender.

“There are plenty of plays where it is designed to get up into the second level and get linebackers, and one of the great things about that is if we cut one of the linebackers down in the middle of the field that can take another defender out of the play right there,” Bedford said.

The linebackers have it easy compared to the cornerbacks. Coach Paul Johnson said a big play in the run game usually happens with a key block on the outside by a wide receiver, which means the 6-foot-3, 229-pound Thomas has flattened a 5-11, 195-pound corner with a block.

“There are plays when he has the corner fit up, locked up, and it was over,” Bohannon said. “When he gets locked in on those guys it’s not a fair fight. If you are a corner and you are trying to beat a block, he’s your worst nightmare.”

Thomas is a handful blocking and receiving. If a safety is devoted to the run, it means Thomas is one-on-one in the secondary and he has produced 103.3 yards receiving per game, tops in the ACC.

There is a drawback to the big plays. If Tech does not control the ball, it means its defense is on the field, which is not a good thing. The Jackets are 10th in the ACC in total defense.

Bohannon said Tech has gotten better this year at long drives and eating clock so its defense can catch its breath.

“The one thing I have been pleased with is we have been able to drive the ball downfield and eat clock along with the big plays, and that is something we didn’t do very well last year,” Bohannon said. “In the last three weeks we’ve grown.”