The field side Edge and modern defense

The 2-4-5 scheme Michigan relied on to win the 2023 National Championship is now college football's "best practice" thanks largely to this particular player.

I get asked all the time what the next schematic innovation will be in football. I don’t actually know or have a particularly firm grasp of what’s coming next, but I do know this.

If you want to know what the next evolution in offensive football will be, all you need to do is understand what is working on defense that offensive coordinators are trying to solve. The inverse is also true, if offense is killing it with something, then the defensive adjustment that limits that dimension will be the next trend.

Right now we’re definitely in more of a defensively dominant phase and the favored tactic of today is the 2-4-5. I’ll explain why this strategy has become ascendant and where it kind of all started.