The Harsin Offense: Making Complexity a Single-edged Sword

Looking forward to Counter Trey as much as Statutes of Libertarianism or possibly Wild Katz.

I am already sick of the word “WildHorn.” Somebody clever please come up with something else.

Great stuff, NR.

A couple things to add:

Essentially we have 5 blocking plays for our offensive line: Inside Zone, Outside Zone (stretch), Flex Outside Zone (Pin & Pull), Power, & Sweep. The counter trey exists but only when we are in 11 personnel where the backside tackle takes the place of the Fullback/H-Back (essentially its just the Power rules). So the offensive line is a modular part just like all of the other parts of this offense. The TEs, H-backs, Full Backs need to learn a lot of different alignments and a number of blocking techniques… they have a lot on their plate. It would be interesting to know how their practice time has been spent learning everything they need to and if we are getting good execution in the running game from those guys against Rice, we should all be very impressed.

The specialization allows your skill players to just focus on a few things in addition to base plays and rep the hell out of them… similar to the philosophy employed by Air Raid teams that have a very small playbook so that their players get a ton of reps in their roles and execute them at a high level. The difference is that by breaking it up into different packages and having specialties on the team, you get the benefits of specialization and a highly varied playbook. What’s the defense gonna do in response… break up into specialized groups and rep against each specialize look and then try to match their substitutions with your? Not gonna work.

One of the things that drives DCs crazy with Harsin’s offense is trying to decide what the “formation” is. Because Harsin emphasizes roles as opposed to positions, picking a designation for a formation is frustrating. Do you call it as they line up? Or after the first N shifts? Or after the first or last motion? Or whether the “H-Back” or the “TE” is actually on the LOS at the snap? Or whether “H-Back” and “TE” are on the same or opposite sides?

I think Mack mentioned that we ran 6 formations against Wyoming last year, while BSU ran 26… I’d bet if you go look at the tapes it’s probably more like 76.

We may not win all our games this year, but we’re gonna have a hell of a lot of fun trying…

LS, absolutely, and thanks for the 5 base run point.

If I were re-writing this I would say that the scheme, or sort of mission-statement, for all of Harsin’s plays is “will this play out-leverage the defense?”

Rather than scheming around option, or Power, or zone, or certain formations the underlying theme is leverage. So, it can look really multiple by employing a million different formations and plays but in the end, for the players it’s all about leverage schemes.
Different paradigm.

Instead of WildHorn, I’ll take Stampede.

Thanks for the post NR. I am a long time reader but I’m going to start posting here on a regular basis. I really appreciate the in depth analysis that you guys do. I look forward to more posts of this nature and for DJ Monroe to torch OU while Stoops has his foot in Venable’s ass.

The offensive line, quarterback, and TE/HB guys still have a lot on their plate in making things happen for different skill player packages.

This statement leaves me concerned about that fact that, given our cluster at TE (and H-back? Hah!) over the past few years, we didn’t dedicate any resources into recruiting a TE for the 2012 class. Hopefully the lemonade Harsin is making at the position is stout.

Mckenzie1: thanks, we all try hard.

jc25: I wonder myself if the development of those positions will be the difference between Texas becoming competent again and becoming elite.

I’m thrilled to see multiple formations being used to create confusion in opposing defenses. To quote the Pirate Mike Leach:

“There’s two ways to make it more complex for the defense. One is to have a whole bunch of different plays, but that’s no good because then the offense experiences as much complexity as the defense. Another is a small number of plays and run it out of lots of different formations.
That way, you don’t have to teach a guy a new thing to do. You just have to teach him new places to stand.”

And GD had the exact opposite philosophy. Always stand in exactly the same place and do any number of different things.

Too lazy to insert [img] Animal House/Flounder - "Oh boy is this great "[/img]

I’m with adt2 - calling our wildcat formation the “WildHorn” is kinda like calling the Democrats the “Dukakises”.

CurrentLonghornStudent may be onto something. The “Texas Stampede” sounds damn good to me.

Excellent post yet again, Nickel. Looking forward to you and LHS going back and forth over strategy through the year.

I’ve always said Greg Davis had a strong theoretical grasp, just of the wrong game.

In Hannibal Lecter’s parlance, he was a contextual idiot, not a genotypical one. If you have one or two once-in-a-lifetime players, or a set of very experienced players, or unlimited practice time, GDGD’s way of doing things has a decent chance of working.

In the real world, though, wake the F*#@ up!

I am looking forward to seeing DJ swinging across the formation on 3rd and 7, and everybody in the stadium saying, “Ooh! Ooh! DJ’s gonna get the ball in space!” …..

And then seeing a simple screen to “formerly bench-warming plug-in-the-H-back” on the opposite side of the field pick up 8 yards…

Word out of Norman is that Stoops has developed a urinary stricture obsessing over having to face Harsin at Texas.

Question to thee who art so wise in the game of ball with the foot. I just gotta imagine that messing with tendencies is as big a tactic in high-level foo’ball as in baseball. F’rinstance, whenever a good batter looks downright ugly, you know he was counting on a different pitch. Whether there was a set of signs intended to be stolen or a pitcher tendency established, game on the line, break tendency and batter #3 is the third out not swinging at a fatty strike or swinging at something bouncing to the plate.

Gotta be the same in football, yes? Jet sweep stopped for 6, -1 and 3, then sprung for 37 and the TD that ices the game? Any knowledge of Harsin’s ruses when it comes to baiting and setting such traps?

hope this works:

Nicely done burrito.

How about “Horns Gone Wild”

Horncasting wins the thread.

I’ve kept an eye on Boise State for a long while, so I was well aware of Harsin prior to his hiring. I’m thankful he was hired over Chryst and eagerly awaiting the games. I’m also curious what elements suggested by others on the offensive staff make it into the gameplans to change it up from what the Broncos have done in the past.

I think Stampede makes more sense in those “Name The Defense” forum posts than in this application. At least for run defense. I don’t really get caught up in that though. As long as the players and coaches can remember their roles in a package, I’m good with the blandest of descriptions for it: Direct Snap Series?

BTW, love the shades on top of shades detail, burrito.

A much better name for the Wild Horn could be fashioned once more details are known, off the top of my head, if it’s Mykkele Thompson - you could call it the MykkelBack offense and obviously, knit together some video montages set to Chad’s most sickest tunes.

I’ve always said Greg Davis had a strong theoretical grasp, just of the wrong game.

Quidditch imo.

We need a “name the formation” thread.

Wholly agree, “wildcat” overdone, “wildhorn(s)” overly derivative.

Maybe “wild bunch”? “Bullstuff”? Whatever - lots of yous guys got ways with words, let’s see some good’uns.

Well when you’re running the wildcat or the zone read, what you’re looking for is for that hole to open up in front of you. Assuming Ash will be running some of this, I think what you’d be looking for would be the Ashhole. And man, if we got really good at it, the opposing defenses would see us line up and start yelling things like “Oh great it’s that fucking Ashhole again!”.

Better than Cluster Flux anyway.

Adt2 & current Longhorn student
Stampede is the new name of the harsinwhite offense
Barnstorm is the name that replaces the wildcat

Diaz defense will be the"tazmanian devils"
a whirly gerbish of defenders coming from all angles all the time creating a world class brain cramp for offensive coordinator types

(steals Threadwinning Trophy from Horncasting, gives to nordbergeron)

Musberger: “well Kirk, the horns are executing the stampede to perfection against stoops sooners but they have stalled at ou’s 8 yard line with 4th down coming up and the horns leading 31 to nothing”
Kirk: hold on Bret, they are gonna run the barnstorm and the horns trigger man pitches a the last second to a trailing Malcolm Brown who breaks one tackle as he carries a defensive back into the endzone, .

Ash won’t be running the wildcat, oops the. BARNSTORM

Ah, a challenge!

Wildhorn==> undomesticated projection of the skin consisting of a bone core surrounded by keratin

or is that too wordy?

So acronymonate it: UPSCBCSK (pronounced ups-k’buk-suk)

I can’t wait to see the first time the UPSCBKSK is run!!

undomesticated projection of the skin consisting of a bone core surrounded by keratin

Aha! Thanks for that. I got wunna them things on my left big toe… hadda give up boots on accounta it. Always wondered what the quacks called it.

(pronounced ups-k’buk-suk)

Has a certain aroma to it… how’s about we shorten it to “o u sux”?

Bring back, ClusterFlux!

I apologize if this has been referenced here before, but Harsin’s approach to play-calling is the classic mixed strategy, which is optimal in games with no pure-strategy Nash equillibria, e.g., football, rock-paper-scissors, bombing sorties, etc..

To a man, Mack’s assistant hirings in the wake of last season were truly inspired.

Greg Davis also pursued “mixed” strategic randomness, reading license plates on the way to the stadium on Saturdays, and looking for two- and three-digit numbers which he wrote on the inside of the lid of his Tub-o’-Animal_Crackers, with a BLACK marksalot. Once ensconced in the press box, he simply spun the lid, glanced at it and called whatever number caught his eye, immediately crossing off the number with a RED marksalot. Often, when plays failed to work, he would simply keep calling it until the QB was able to execute an off-schedule play, or the half or the game ended.

I thought the Wildhorn was a mountain in Switzerland?

Dmitri - awesome Smart Football link. Thanks.

good suggestion, austin horn. given what happened last year, we should call this thing the ‘madderhorn’.

I’ll feel better after seeing the offense vs a good pair of defensive tackles or/and defensive ends. Not knocking his system but I really want to see Harsin’s plays in action when the defense is unpredictable. I know Boise ran them successfully but I want to see them in Burnt Orange. Also, I don’t think any teams in the Big 12 have a solid pair of anything defensively so IMO the Horns will have more of an edge.

I love the element of surprise that the Horns are going to have this year and it will be interesting to see how it develops once teams get game film. Really though, the basic thing for defenses is always play their positions and get the ball. This will be an interesting season.

I don’t care what we call the hornstormbag formation so long as we wear capes. And orange pants. And the defense gets a cool name too, like orange MannyCrush.

GDGD’s idea of randomness is to pick a number from one to 10. Whatever that number is, that’s how many times in a row he would call a WR screen to one side before calling the same play to the other side.

Lord the season cant get here fast enough. A quality post turns into name the defense.

Wildhair

I vote for “Crazy Bevo”

I think it should be called the “MadCow” formation.

Jet

Wouldn’t "diazmanian devils" be more apporiate than"tazmanian devils".

Nickel Rover:

My ex-coach Dad read your post this morning, and reports that he had his first non-chemically-assisted hard-on in 10 years. Well done.

/WWM

A greater compliment I cannot imagine.

he had his first non-chemically-assisted hard-on in 10 years.

Fortunately, I went to see and hear Deke Dickerson last week. Deke’s a funny guy and a damn good rockabilly guitarist, always puts on a good show. This was #3 of a 36-show tour, so his trio was just getting the set uhhhh set. Out here West of the Pecos, we are not fully into the 21st Century just yet - still working on the 80’s, really - so I was mystified at the oft-repeated name of the bass player, who was wearing a gorilla suit: Cialis… which I took the first few times to be “See Alice”. One of the younger Longs explained the reference, so that I now understand the meaning, if not the significance or desirability, of “chemically-assisted hard-on”.

For what it’s worth, James McMurtry said he doesn’t need pills for that, just a couple of cousins, preferably sisters.

Strange how Greg’s attack failed to use the talent from Texas, yet still managed to put up the most potent offenses the University of Texas ever saw.

I know, I know: it was freakishly-talented QBs who succeeded despite the lack of any sort of competent coaching, as five-star passer Garrett Gilbert later showed.

Greg D did use talent when he had it - give that man a Ricky or a Roy Williams, Jamal Charles, Cedric Benson, Vince Young, Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Justin Blalock, or other 1st day NFL draft picks, and his system (which was very NFL-ish, btw) and he will post huge numbers. These guys were just simply better than the man opposite them, more often than not…remember Vince’s famous comment vs. OU in 2005, paraphrasing, which was “hey vince, they know what play we’re running…VY: So?”

Give him Vondrell McGee and Garrett Gilbert and Britt Mitchell and he won’t…the difference is that many college offenses manage to be successful with players a lot more like the latter group than the former.

burntorangehorn,

“Strange how Greg’s attack failed to use the talent from Texas, yet still managed to put up the most potent offenses the University of Texas ever saw.”

Who claiming he didn’t use it? Hell, his offense ran on it. Optimize it? That’s another question entirely.

If Mykelle Thompson is running the Wildcat, I submit Myso Horny

For your consideration I offer the following alternates for WildHorn:

- BouncyBevo
- SparkleMotion
- JackhammerPlus
- SassyCow
- BovinaeConfundere

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