Colorado's conflict-free Veer and Shoot vs Nebraska
Matt Rhule learned a lot about the spread offense and how to defend it in the Big 12. How did he do against Sean Lewis' Veer and Shoot at Colorado?
Remember last year when the Veer and Shoot offense became a major national topic because Tennessee used the scheme to upset Alabama and make a big run?
The scheme continues to nab headlines, or it at least it’s attached to teams stealing the headlines, as it rolls through college football. Most recently it’s garnered attention for America’s team, the Colorado Buffaloes with their head coach Deion Sanders and offensive coordinator Sean Lewis.
The best part about Colorado’s Veer and Shoot is that Lewis learned the scheme from Dino Babers and never had to work for Art Briles or anyone more directly in his orbit. It’s a conflict-free Veer and Shoot, as opposed to other programs who have to balance a desire to run the scheme with the baggage of its well known practitioners and origin.
Here’s another detail you may or may not have known about the scheme. Dino Babers absorbed it under Briles at Baylor and left to be head coach for Eastern Illinois. While there, he ran a more passing-heavy version of the offense which drew eyeballs to his quarterback…Jimmy Garappolo.
In 2013 they let Jimmy G make 568 passing attempts which he turned into 5,050 yards at 8.9 ypa with 53 touchdowns. In some ways, it was a bit more of an Air Raid flavored V&S.
Sean Lewis was the inside receiver/tight end coach for that Jimmy G team. After several years at Syracuse with Babers he took over Kent State and got a little attention when using it with Dustin Crum but ultimately wasn’t getting very far, so he left and took the offensive coordinator job for one of the most famous young coaches in the nation.
And here we are, with a 2-0 squad that everyone is ready to poach to rebuild traditional blue bloods.
Lewis’ version of the offense makes for an amazing mesh with the current Buffalo talent. In Matt Rhule, if not the Nebraska defensive roster, he found a worthy challenge.
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