Multiple tight ends, pro-style or spread?
More teams are trying to play with multiple tight ends.
If there was one hangup to the spread offense when it originated, it was the threat of the eventual counter adjustment from defensive schemes and rosters.
If you put more receivers on the field, eventually the defense will start recruiting and developing more defensive backs to play across from them. Then the easier advantages generated by the spread are diminished and you have to actually win with skill and chemistry.
Of course one of the main reasons for wanting to be in spread personnel in the college game is to clear the box and run the ball more easily. If you don’t achieve this with extra receivers, then you may as well have blockers on the field if the primary focus is running the ball.
Dealing with spread defenses against the run game helped push Dave Aranda to embrace a wide zone offense in 2021 which routinely uses extra tight ends. Iowa State had already embraced that approach in previous seasons, arguably Oklahoma had as well.
There are increasing reasons in the modern game to favor playing in “12 personnel” which means one running back and two tight ends (and two receivers). A two tight end set is traditionally firmly in the “pro-style” realm of formational designations, yet the lines have been blurred by teams embracing spread tactics while using multiple tight ends. Here’s how the changes are coming about.
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