Shutting Down the Zone Option

Delta State head coach Ron Roberts knows the zone option. He sees it every week. Like most other conferences in college football, the Gulf Coast, a Division II conference, has become filled with teams who invest in running some form of option out of the spread. In fact, eight of the ten programs in the Gulf Coast are pure option teams. Whether it be zone, veer, midline, dart or speed option, chances are you will see some form of it. “We see it all, a little bit of everything to tell the truth,” said Roberts. “As a matter of fact, our scout teams have become brilliant in running it every week because they are forced to do so.” But what separates Roberts and his staff at Delta from other programs that see the option is he knows how to shut it down and shut it down with consistency. The Statesmen finished 2007 with a 10-2 overall record, including a conference title. They limited