Option-on-Me

Option on me is the key to being successful in moving the the football into the end zone. The option has your basic plays load, midline, and veer you can run out of a variety formations and when you add motion it looks like a different play. The Qb reads how many in the box and you have always taught him to go with the offense advantage for example weak side has 2 defenders vs. 3 blocker and the strongside has 5 defenders vs. 4 blockers. So your play should go weakside. Depending on the defense we will have an automatic call Wimpy this changes the play to the weakside of the defense. We also add a color to throw off the defense if they start cheating to the weak side. It's very important that you teach your fullback to bend back opposite of the were the ball is going so the defense has to play you head up with out cheating to one side or another because if they don't the cut back to the fullback will kill them. We run a veer play called Rmoe 37 down opt. Our R wingback goes in motion (orbit) and Qb and give to the fullback or keep it mesh with the line opiton off the DE and either keep it or pitch it depending on the DE play. The play is very hard to defend.

Ramiro Esperanza

Option football is very difficult to defend because of the stress it puts on a defense. It requires a defense to be more sound in what they do and play assignment football. The idea behind the "option on me" system is that it allows you to run the best option play based on the defensive alignment. Any option play is difficult to defend but if you can call the option play that is the best against a formation it is nearly unstoppable.

"Option on me" utilizes three different option plays, the midline, inside veer, and the load option. Each play has the ability to attack a different part of the formation therefore allowing the QB a variety of options when calling the play. "Option on me" requires decisions to be made on the line by the quarterback so it is important to have clear rules that make it easy for the quarterback to follow.

When the quarterback approaches the line he always begins by looking at what are called the inverts (or overhang defenders). These are the two areas just outside of the box. The quarterback always begins by looking for an invert player to the side away from the TE. If there is no invert player the QB automatically knows he will be going to this side. By not having an invert player in this location the offense has the defense outnumbered because of the option game(4 on 3). To this side he will either run the inside veer or load option. If the defense has reduced on this side with a man up on the line the load option is the best choice. Any other look to this side without the invert then inside veer would be the call.

If the QB comes to the line and there is an invert to the side away from the TE then he knows he will either be running midline or load option to the TE. When there are inverts on both sides this lets the QB know there should be 6 in the box and when this is the case we always want to run option at a six man box. Once the QB knows he is going to the TE side he needs to read the first down linemen to the right of the center. If he is given a 2 or 3 technique he runs midline to the TE. The 3 technique is the best alignment for midline because it opens up large holes for either the QB or running back. It is also a very clear read for the QB.

If the QB looks to the TE side and sees a 1 or a 2i technique then he wants to run the load option. He should expect to see a 5 and 9 technique combination along with this. He needs to understand in this case his pitch man is on the line and the ball will come out quickly.

The option on me series is great because it guarantees you will have the best possible opportunity of having a great play. I have also seen teams run the outside veer to the TE in place of the load option. This merely depends on personnel and the scheme of your program. Teams will try to combat the option on me game by stemming their linemen pres nap By reading inverts the changes will not effect the direction of the play and therefore the adjustment from one play to another is easy for the quarterback.

Kyle haskell

With all of the innovations that have occurred in football throughout the years, it is always fun to see that most of the basic principles have remained intact with a few tweaks to how the plays are executed. The option on me series allows the quarterback to check the offense into the best play according to what the defense presents. The key to executing this scheme is the proper diagnosis of the overhang/invert players. If the quarterback is presented with no overhang player to the open end of 21 personnel (1 x 1) then he calls the veer to the open (weak) side. If there is an overhang player present to the open end, the quarterback then calls either the midline play off of a 2 or 3 technique or a load option off of a 7 technique to the tight end side of the formation. The zone read and air raid teams are using these same types of principles today, with different personnel executing the plays.
Our offense has incorporated a scheme that coincides with the air raid scheme in regards to reading the box. We are a zone blocking team and designate how we read the C gap defender to the play side or back side by calling read (QB read backside) or dive (QB read playside). If the QB counts 5 defenders in the box vs. a spread formation (10/11 personnel) he is told to give the football since we have 5 blockers for the 5 defenders plus the running back. If he is presented with a 6 man box he will probably keep the ball on the zone read since the QB would now become an extra blocker and we can play 6 on 6. If the defense presents a 7 man box then we would check to our automatic "fastball" and run the bubble screen to our slot receiver or a hit route to our #1 receiver depending upon secondary alignment. We have other reads off of this play but most would occur after the QB has executed his post snap read.

Robert Bustemente

Stephen Rawson


First and foremost, I love the option and everything that can be run out of the option. The Pistol, the Gun, and Under Center all offer excellent options for moving the ball forward. I love watching Navy run the option, and even though they are on average smaller, they remain successful moving the ball due to quickness, finding the correct reads, understanding what the defenses are giving, and staying calm under pressure. The pros to on me option include finding what the defense gives you, like weaknesses and areas to be exploited. An additional pro of option on me is that the quarterback can make his reads and change a play to better meet the defense. Another pro is that your quarterback will mature quickly (hopefully! If not, a new quarterback will be found) and learn to read defenses and call the correct play for the defense being shown. No huddle offenses can utilize on me option well, and it will keep a defense on the field and wear them out physically and mentally. A more unique effect of on me option is the trust shown to the team running it. This builds trust back to the coaches, and the team becomes a "team". Option on me is fairly easy to run, as opposed to other more complex offenses.

The cons to option on me include needing an intelligent quarterback that can make the correct reads and have the confidence to lead the team without constant need of the coaching staff. Defensive stunts and alignments meant to confuse or camoflauge pressure can be an issue as well.