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Take to the Air – Transform your Wing-T into a dynamic passing attack.

by: Jared Van Acker
Head Coach, Freedom High School (VA)
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The Wing-T offense is predicated on the run game with the occasional pass to keep defenses from loading the box with defenders. Some Wing-T coaches, however, have been experimenting with incorporating different spread packages for passing situations within their power running offensive systems.

The Spread Wing-T offense that I’ve developed combines the Wing-T and the Spread and allows for a fluid transfer between the two by simplifying the system. There are five core passing concepts that we use in our Spread Wing-T offense:

•  Quick Game       

•  Play-Action Game

•  High/Low Game      

 •  Bunch/Traffic/Flood Game

•  Vertical/ Stretch Game


Quick Game

Our quick passing game is used on teams that bring a lot of pressure. We need to get the ball out of our QB’s hands as quickly as possible. One the most common routes that we run in the quick game is a basic hitch route where all four of our eligible WRs run 5-yard hitches across the board (Diagram 1). Our QBs are trained that their read is to find the closest throw with the farthest defender, which makes for a higher rate of completion.

Diagram 1.

Sometimes, if the QBs notice man-on-man coverage, they may want to find the weakest defender during his pre-snap read and exploit that mismatch. A key to making this play successful is the spacing between the eligible WRs, thus spreading out the defenders. Since a majority of the passes in the quick game need to be released as soon as possible, our OL will execute cut blocks to get the defenders’ hand down.

Other route packages that are included in our quick game passing are pop passes, speed outs, and slants. In all of these routes, the passes are going to be quick and the WRs have to be ready for them immediately. One of our favorite spread routes off of play-action and motion is our slant/fly combo route, which is when we read the #2 defender to the trips side. If he goes with the fly route, we throw the quick slant. If he sits, we throw the quick pop fly in the seam  (Diagram 2).



Diagram 2.


High/Low

Our high/low routes put defenders in predicaments in their coverage. We want to exploit a specific defender, so the QB will read his reaction and then deliver the ball to the WR according to his actions. With our high/low concept, we try to put two WRs in an area where the defender needs to make a decision on which WR to cover. With our route packages, we can either exploit a LB or a DB and decide which is a better opportunity for our offense. The two basic high/low routes involve the hitch/corner route and the dig/out route. The hitch/corner route is a high/low combo route that isolates the CB and the dig/out route is a high/low combo route that isolates the OLB (Diagrams 3A and 3B). The hitch/corner combo route is a 5-yard hitch by the #1 WR and a corner/flag route by #2 WR. I try to simplify the QB read by choosing a side for him to read and then have the backside WRs run what is called a “backside package”. This is a dig route and post route to get into the view of the QB so he doesn’t have to scan the entire field in case both routes are covered and he needs to check down. Usually a QB doesn’t have enough time to read one side and then read the other side as well. The Bow route is a 8-10 yard dig route by #1 WR and the #2 WR runs a 5-yard quick out.

Diagrams 3a, 3b.

There are many high/low route combinations that can be run out of various formations.  We run our comeback/corner route, fly/out route, fly/stop/curl route, fly/pigtail/arrow route, pigtail/corner/fly route, etc., where we select a specific defender that we want to exploit and use multiple looks to high/low the same individual (Diagrams 4A and 4B).

Diagram 4a, 4b.


Vertical/Stretch

The third concept of the Spread Wing-T passing game is the vertical/stretch game. This We stretch the defense vertically and force the safety or safeties to play multiple WRs vertically. The goal of the QB on every passing down is to determine the number of safeties the defense has in the secondary. If we get a “one high safety” look, we will run 4-verticals and force the safety to cover both slot WRs that are going vertical up the seams. The outside WRs will cancel out their corners and force the safety to make a decision on which slot WR to cover. We coach our QB to use eye manipulation or pump fakes to sway the safety toward one slot and then throw to the other slot down the seam. This has always been a positive for our offense and we have had huge gains and touchdowns. Many times it forces our opponents into two-safety looks exclusively (Diagram 5).

Diagram 5.

If we want to still go to the 4-vertical look against a two-high safety look, we tell the QB to look for the one-on-one mismatch on the outside between our WR and their cornerback. Our QB will eye manipulate or pump fake to get the safety to bite on the slot WR toward his side on the seam route and then throw the outside fly route on a 1-on-1 mismatch. If teams start to bail high on the 4-verticals with either a cover 4 shell zone look or a man under w/safeties over the top look, we will then sneak our RB out in the flat or in the hook/curl zone underneath, forcing the defense to play in space with a great open-field runner.


Play-Action

Our fourth concept in the Spread Wing-T passing attack is play-action. The waggle and bootleg play-action attack off of the run-heavy offense has been a staple since the development of the Wing-T offense. The plays come off the effective buck sweep/trap/power series and catch over-pursuing defenses. Many coaches in the Wing-T system have different blocking schemes in which either two guards, one guard, or possibly no lineman will pull and lead the QB on the play-action pass protection. Most of the routes flood the zones of the defense on all three levels. 

Usually, you have the #1 playside WR run a post/corner route to stretch the defense vertically. Depending on our WR’s skill level and/or our QB’s arm strength, sometimes we will have the WR run a post/comeback route. The FB will release into the flat running an arrow route for a dump off pass and sometimes he’ll be the main receiver. If the #1 WR and FB are covered, then the QB will continue his read progression to the drag route from the #2 WR from the backside of the offensive formation. I prefer to pull both guards but tell my playside guard to check for a blitz before he pulls to lead out the QB (Diagrams 6A and 6B).

Diagram 6a, 6b.


The second form of play-action pass that is used heavily in our Spread Wing-T passing attack is the bootleg pass. The concept is very similar to the waggle with WRs flooding the zones of the defense at all three levels, but the play-action comes off of the FB in this passing scheme (Diagrams 7A and 7B).

Diagram 7a, 7b.


Like all play-action passes, the really important factor is the play fake. The fakes made by the backfield in the power pass (Diagram 8) set up the play and allow for the QB to read the reaction of the corner and deliver the ball. If you have a one-on-one mismatch on the single WR, you may want to take a shot with him over the top on the post route.

Diagram 8.

Bunch/Traffic/flood

The last passing concept of the Spread Wing-T Offense is what I call the bunch/traffic/flood game. The basic idea of this concept is to put the defense in tough situations and flood zones with multiple WRs that put defenders in predicaments. These routes work versus teams that like to run man-on-man defenses because the routes provide a natural “pick” of defenders in tight areas. You use their own defenders to “pick” their teammates, which provides the separation needed for the WRs to get open and for the QB to deliver the ball to an open receiver. In our double slant with an arrow route, our QB reads the playside corner and adjusts his throw to his actions. If he goes with our #1 WR, then our QB is instructed to throw to the arrow or run the ball. If the corner sits on the arrow, then our QB hits the #1 WR behind the OLB or runs the football if covered (Diagram 9).

Diagram 9.


Another concept that we like to incorporate against teams that  play man-to-man coverage is the bunch formation that puts defenders in predicaments. One of our favorite routes is our pigtail/post/corner combination (Diagram 10).


Diagram 10.

With the Spread Wing-T Offense, you can combine the traditional Wing-T offensive system with the Spread offense without a lot of difficulty. The Spread Wing-T system plays to the strengths of two of the most dynamic offenses in high school football and forces opponents to prepare for two different styles of offense.

The Spread Wing-T system allows us to spread out the defense and limit the amount of defenders in the box to stop the run in fear of our passing attack. The Spread Wing-T Offense has also been a huge recruiting tool for athletes who would love to play in a system that doesn’t brand itself as “three yards and a cloud of dust” but rather a wide-open attack.


Coach Van Acker answers your questions on
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Wantmore articles on this subject:

   The Spread Wing-T Passing Game – December, 2011
    Revamping the Wing-T – October, 2008
    The Shotgun Spread Wing-T Package – April, 2007








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