The Tony Franklin effect - Part 2

When Tony Franklin arrived in Murfreesboro seven years ago, he brought with him a simple offense that first exploded onto the national radar at Troy and during his short stay at Auburn.

In the seven years since his first stint in Murfreesboro, Franklin has streamlined his offense to maximize efficiency and increase the number of plays and scoring opportunities per game.

One way Franklin has streamlined his offense has been by removing the slow developing, interior pass concepts with a conscious decision to use the run to attack the defensive interior while focusing on stretching the defense horizontally with the passing attack.

The Tony Franklin offense begins up front. His zone-based run game creates double teams along the offensive line and allows the running back to find the crease in the opposing defense.

The Inside Zone play (pictured below) is designed to be a physical, downhill run. The running back does have the option to cut back outside, often off the right side of the tight end (“Y”).

The outside zone play is also designed to create double teams along the offensive front, stretch the defense horizontally and attack the perimeter of the opposing defensive front.

Together, the inside and outside zone schemes form the core of the Tony Franklin rushing attack.

The Tony Franklin rushing attack also includes the run-pass option, commonly called RPO’s, which adds a screen or quick-game concept on the backside of the run.

Essentially, these plays are a modern version of the classic triple-option, as the quarterback reads a defender to decide whether to hand off to the running back, keep the ball, or throw the backside passing concept.

Run-pass options give the offense a significant schematic advantage. First, the play sets up like a run so the defenders instinctively go to their run keys and attack downhill. Second, since a run-pass option can have as many as four options on any given play, coordinators can call the same play four times in a row with a different outcome. Third, since the play originates as a run play, offensive lineman are able to get away with being downfield to block. Fourth, the plays attack defensive aggression and create a horizontal stretch on the defense, allowing the offensive athletes the space to make a play.

The play above is an outside zone to the right with a screen concept backside. In this run-pass option, the quarterback reads the defensive end (indicated by the triangle) to decide whether to give the ball to the running back or pull it.

The quarterback then reads the nickelback (indicated by the circle) to decide whether to keep or throw the screen. The nickelback over the “H” (also called the slot receiver) is the only player who can make a play on the quarterback or the wide receiver screen, but he can only defend one offensive player.

Therein lies the strength of the RPO in the Tony Franklin offense - defenders are put in helpless situations in the open field.

In the next part of the series, GoMiddle.com will examine a few of the passing concepts in the system and what it means for quarterback Brent Stockstill and the receiving core.