Sonny Dykes Teaches You How to Put Together an Offense

• By Coach Grabowski

As your season wraps up, or as you are preparing to get your camp going in early 2021, it’s time to take a look at what you have available with your personnel and put together a plan that best fits them.  Head coach at SMU Sonny Dykes has a detailed plan in how they go about putting together their offense.

A lot of coordinators start with looking at the quarterback.  Let’s face it, he will be a key piece in making decisions and moving the ball down the field.  However, Coach Dykes looks at the QB last.  

For him, it is very important to understand who the guys are upfront, and what they allow the offense to do.  He covers two distinctly different scenarios with evaluation:

Bigger offensive linemen “Road Graders”

- Bigger splits to create 1 on 1’s

- Pass Pro vertical sets and stop bull rushers

- Create lanes for the QB to see/throw through/run through

- Run game - simple and downhill (inside zone and draw)

Smaller and quicker “Athletes”

- Smaller splits allows more double teams

- More athletic/ability to pull and gap scheme (can pull C, G, or T)

- Set more firm - don’t allow penetration and adjust to pass rush

- Allow more run game diversity, set up Play Action, RPO 

- More of a lateral run game (OZ)

The five guys up front are the most important organization on the team.  Coach Dykes calls the “Grinders, leaders, glue guys that allow you to become a tough football team.” They need to be the starting point of determining what you run. The offense always must be adjusted to fit them first.

Next, Coach Dykes looks at skill players starting with the wide receivers. Are they bigger guys or smaller quicker guys?

- Smaller quicker create 1 on 1 options

- Bigger jump balls/be physical

Then evaluate the running backs.

- Downhill guy

- Make people miss guy

- Tailor make plays to their strengths

Finally, he evaluates the Quarterback. Can he run? That’s a game changer.  A running QB opens diversity in offense and makes him the great equalizer.

After evaluating those guys, another critical piece which the coach looks for is tight ends and fullbacks.  Many teams have to “create” these players - borrow them from the defense or move them from another position.  Coach feels everyone has a fullback on their team.  You just have to look for him.  

- A fullback changes everything

- Football was a 21 personnel game

Advent of the spread and Air Raid saw a move to 11 then 10 personnel. Defenses adjusted like they always do to offense: 

- When it’s 10 personnel the defense only has 5 gaps to control

- Defense can get creative with what you are doing up  front

Adding a fullback into your offense can create 6 and 7 man blocking surfaces.  This forces the defense to commit more defenders to be gap sound and therefore can affect their ability to blitz.  The chalk goes back to the offense! Dykes feels that today’s defenses are not designed to hold up against 12 and 21 personnel.

He points out that you must always find a way to get the best players on the field, and a good offensive system has enough diversity in the offense to do that.

His final piece of advice in designing the offense is to remember in critical situations, “players not plays.” Great players make great plays. Design the plan with that in mind.  The game is about fundamentals - teaching guys how to block and tackle and utilize personnel.

Coach illustrates how a single play - what he believes is the best in football, the “Cross,” can provide the versatility to adapt to personnel. He notes that it is difficult to cover if you understand the details.

Here is the play and coaching points:

Split End (9)

- Must outside release

- Restack, get vert, bottom numbers 

- Get shoulder square and run as fast as you can

- Trying to get safety off the has if 2 safety look

- 1 safety/man you can get the ball

Slot (3) 

- Option route - 5 yard option route

- Looks like out, can sit vs zone and settle

- Can get creative with this route and adjust to fit personnel

- Sell the play with eyes on the 9 and pivot doesn’t happen as fast and qb can stay on the read longer

- Wes Welker route

- Can run it out of backfield -can turn in

Y (5)

- Go under Sam over Mike

- Release flat and you must get overtop of the linebacker

- Eyes back to QB after clearing him

- If grass, you can throttle down (not settle)

- Man coverage stay on the run

- Run OB 21 yards down the field

- Man coverage=stair climb and get flat to stay friendly for QB

Backside (2)

- Post-Curl

- Critical that P/C is adjustable rout

- Make it such that it is 4th read timing

- Years where it’s their most thrown/completed

- Push to 12, toe in the ground sell post to 17 yards, stick toe in ground and find grass back to the quarterback 

(4) Running Back 

- Protect to swing

- Stretch to bottom of numbers to move the whole player out of the post curl

QB 

- Progression = MOR to Option to Cross to PC to Swing

Coach goes over the route in film here:

Coach Dykes provides a powerful plan for building your offense next season in his clinic “How to Put Together an Offense.”  The steps you take this off season are critical in best matching your personnel to your plans.  As coach said, “Players not Plays.” Be sure to check this entire clinic out.