Use the Mesh Drill to Incorporate the Option Game Into Your Offense

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The full text of “Use the Mesh Drill to Incorporate the Option Game Into Your Offense” by J.J. Guidry, Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Buffalo High Sch, from the Vol 2 — Fall 2018 issue.

Our primary offensive goal is to score, but we also want to control the clock and, at a minimum, win the battle of field position. We want long, sustained offensive drives in order to keep our defense off of the field. The mesh drill allows us to successfully play option football, which makes us a much more diverse offensive football team.

We preach “TCB,” which stands for “take care of the ball.” The mesh drill serves many purposes, but it also stresses how important we believe ball security is for our offense. The mesh is when the quarterback extends the football to the pocket of the running back. We originally utilized the mesh drill to work variations of the triple option out of the wishbone.

Once we transitioned to the spread and incorporated option plays, we again began using the mesh drill. it is an every-day drill for us, usually worked for 5 to 10 minutes before practice, especially early in the season. We have two different groups alternating reps. Each group consists of a center, a quarterback, and two running backs. The second running back may be lined up in a slot, depending on the formations we are focusing on during that particular practice.

We involve the center in this drill, and as many other drills as we can, because we are a spread offense and we want our centers to snap the football as much as possible in practice. The drill focuses on proper footwork, the handoff mesh between the quarterback and the running back, the quarterback’s read, and the pitch or pass phase of tripleoption plays. It is vital to develop the proper timing and execution of the mesh between the quarterback and the running back.

We run the drill with an offensive line strip to maintain consistent alignment and to provide landmarks for the players involved in the drill. Buffalo assistant head coach and offensive coordinator J.J. Guidry (left) celebrates with his daughters Alli (center) and Shealee as the Bison won back-to-back bi-district champion - ships for the first time in school history. In 2017, the Thun - dering Herd finished first in the state in rushing (351 yards per game) and scored 478 points, the most in school history.

The Mesh Drill Once the coach calls the play, the center will make the appropriate offensive line calls, snap the ball, and then take the appropriate steps for his blocking assignment on that particular play. This is important for many reasons, but we especially want the center to take proper steps for plays such as inside zone so the running back can make his read when attacking the A gap. The quarterback will go through his cadence routine, initiate the play, and then execute it (Diagram 1).

Diagram 1 In this example, we are working counter option with a one-back formation. The center will zone step opposite of the play call because his rule is to block back any time the back-side guard pulls. Once the ball is snapped, the quarterback will step straight ahead with his read-side foot and then pivot to a 45-degree angle on his second step so he is facing his read, which is the back-side defensive end.

He extends the football to the running back and his eyes immediately go to the defensive end, which is his handoff key. The running back takes a counter step and then makes a good pocket as he is responsible for creating the mesh. The quarterback will ride the running back as he is making his read. The back-side slot receiver will crawfish. Early in the season, we will work the mesh drill without making a read. The drill is used to work the mesh and the option pitch or pass, depending on the formation.

Once the play is initiated, the quarterback works the mesh with the running back and hands off the ball. As the quarterback is taking his proper steps, a coach will hand a second ball to the quarterback to use to work on the pitch or pass phase of the play. The drill is run with two groups. After the first group runs a play, the second group will run the same play. This allows for quick rotation and maximum reps in a short amount of time.

We want to get a lot of good reps, executing proper footwork, mesh, and successful pitches or passes. Adding the Read Once we are into the season and we begin preparing for opponents, we incorporate the read aspect of the mesh drill. Ideally, by this time, the footwork, the mesh, and the pitch or pass have become second nature through consistent, successful repetition.

The drill will focus on that week’s game plan, the formations we believe will give us the best opportunity to successfully and consistently move the football, and the specific reads we expect to see from our opponent’s defense. We like to use coaches on defense to give the quarterback a handoff key and a pitch or pass key. The coaches will imitate the reads we anticipate from our opponent that particular week (Diagram 2).

Diagram 2 Again, in this example we are using counter option. Once the quarterback takes the snap, he will take his proper steps and his eyes immediately go to his handoff key, which is the back-side defensive end. Any time we read the back-side defensive end, we use the phrase, “squeeze and chase, pull and replace.” If the defensive end squeezes and heel lines, or “chases” the pulling tackle, we want the quarterback to pull the football and replace the defensive end (Diagram 3).

Diagram 3 If the defensive end does anything else, such as sit, slow play, or run up the field, the quarterback will give the football and carry out a good fake as if he has the ball (Diagram 4).

Diagram 4 Again, if the defensive end squeezes and chases, the quarterback will pull and replace. The quarterback will then attack the next defender, typically an outside linebacker, which becomes the pitch key. In this scenario, he will only pass the ball to the slot receiver crawfishing if the pitch key commits to the quarterback (Diagram 5). Diagram 5 Because we utilize so much motion in our offense, many teams will run what we call a razor stunt, which is the outside linebacker coming off the edge.

We will often work this in the mesh drill because this is a common pre-snap read. If the quarterback recognizes that the outside linebacker is cheating closer to the football and is going to come off the edge, he should immediately look to throw the crawfish to the slot receiver once the ball is snapped. About the Author: J.J. Guidry is the assistant head football coach and offensive coordinator at Buffalo High School, located in Buffalo, Texas.

In 2017, Guidry’s Bone and Shoot offense helped the Bison to a 10-2 season. Buffalo won back-to-back bi-district championships for the first time in school history, and it was their second 10-win season in school history and their first in 65 years.

Jamaul Randle (4) races to the end zone after crawfishing and receiving the ball in Buffalo’s triple option game out of its Bone and Shoot offense. The sophomore rushed for 550 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017 from the slot position. Dirk Kilgore (5) turns the corner after receiving the ball on jet motion, which is part of the Bison’s counter option game. The junior slot receiver had 1,308 allpurpose yards in 2017.