pre-snap shifting on offense

We have used a term called "scramble". We try to get the skill players to line up in a formation similar to what we would run and then on set they would sprint to the desired formation. Ex: Scramble to trips rt... I hope this helps.

I like the scramble call - We teach our eligibles that they can line up anywhere if we are not going on the first sound. They shift to our called formation on the first sound. We let kids be creative. During a game we may show a zillion looks to a scout and then run out of normal formations. As a d-coordinator wouldn't you prepare for all those pre-snap reads just in case. We do the same thing on our PAT - They line up anywhere and shift like the swinging gate. We can run fakes if the defense doesn't adjust otherwise we shift like the normal swinging gate formation. Again, if you score four times there are four different PAT formations the defense has to prepare for.

I use a system I learned from Bill Mountjoy (with some terminology simplification) where one player (the H) has tl learn 7 different alignments but everyone else remains the same. It's actually very simple: Right or Left sets the Y and Z to the right or Left, then

Slot - H between the X and weak side Tackle
Wing - H next to the weak Tackle
Far - H in the backfield away from TE, aka Queen
Dot - H as an normal I formation FB
Near - H near the TE in the backfield, aka King
Train - H on a wing of the TE (T keys that its next to the TE)
Double - H between the TE and Z (Double, as in Double Flankers)

The beauty of it is one guy has to have a good memory and you get 14 different formations (7 to the left, 7 to the right).

From this for shifts and motions you can call something like Right Slot Motion Double, or Right Near Motion Slot, etc. It gets fun with the other formation tags I use, like Right Slot Shift Bunch Squeeze 48 Toss. Just like the formations you theoretically get 14 shifts and motions, more if you tag special formations (like Bunch, or I also use Leo/Reo as a shorthand for the R&S Trips receivers look).

Granted, it's wordy which gets into a whole 'nother debate about semantics - should formation calls be short and you require each skill guy to just memorize where he is supposed to be, or are you explicit on where they go (e.g., Left sets the Y & Z left, X right, H wherever the next tag specifies) If you are in the explicit school, this is the simplest way I've found with the minimum mental burden. The downside is (and I don't understand why this is) the lineman sometimes seem to have a hard time parsing it all out when all they really have to listen to is 48 Toss, 44 Inside, 47 Outside, whatever, which I guess is why we have the implicit (just memorize where your supposed to be in every formation) vs. explicit (rules with tags) debate.

Something we do to simplify things (I think?) is each week we have a formation of the week that we automatically line-up in from the huddle call. When in the huddle and our players hear "Shift" then the formation and play they know that they align in the formation of the week and shift. Example: Shift, Trey rt 28 Toss.

I think we've decided to use the shift as a rule for our TE and wingback since they most often dictate the strength of our formation. If the Wing hears shift in the play call he will line up in the wing opp of where he should end up and then move on the shift. If TE hears shift he will align in the slot if he should end up on the LOS and then move on shift and vice versa. Thanks for all the good ideas.