The original concept of spread offenses was to spread defenses out to run the ball into wider gaps.
It developed new and inventive ways to throw the football over the years, and the evolution of football in that same timeframe has placed more and more emphasis on the passing game. But that’s not the root of Tennessee’s spread offense, not in 2024. The Volunteers’ attack is planted in the ground game with running back Dylan Sampson.
“He's a smart runner,” Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon said on Tuesday. “He's patient, but he's got a good feel for his blocks. And I mean, he's a great player. He won SEC Player of the Year for a reason. So it's a big challenge for us and we're up for that challenge. We enjoy being able to look for players to try to stop and have a real focus on in-game. They're going to do a good job with him. We're going to have to do a better job.”
Behind Sampson, spacing, tempo, a mobile quarterback and the ability to keep defenses honest with run-pass option plays, Tennessee ranks No. 9 in the country in rushing yards per game (232) and No. 26 in yards per carry (5.1). Slowing that element of the Volunteers offense will be the key to Ohio State’s success on defense in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
“They spread you out from sideline to sideline and they create seams in your defense and combine that with tempo,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “You have to get lined up fast. It's a challenge, but we got the right guys to do it, and I'm confident in our players. They've been working hard and confident in the plan.”
Sampson has racked up 1,485 rushing yards this season at a clip of 5.8 yards per carry with 22 touchdowns to lead the SEC in both rushing yards and scores. Equally as impressive as those cumulative statistics is his consistency. Sampson’s hit 100 rushing yards in 10 of Tennessee’s 12 games this year, and one of the two contests in which he didn’t was against UTEP, when he was removed early to rest after racking up 77 yards on just 11 carries.
“He's a great running back, extremely patient, great contact balance,” safety Lathan Ransom said. “You really got to run your feet when you're tackling him. And he's explosive and has that home run speed. So we're excited for the challenge and excited to play another great back.”
One way Tennessee creates space for Sampson is with the splits of its wide receivers. The Volunteers line them up wider than most teams, placing them further from the offensive line and closer to the sideline. As safeties and linebackers move outside to cover them, more room is created on the interior.
“Sometimes it kind of stretches the linebackers outside the box,” linebacker Sonny Styles said. “You get a linebacker apex between the endman and the receiver. So you're coming in from a wider angle to make the play. It's a little different than what you see with most teams. You apex a lot, but not to that extent. So you got to counteract that with different looks. You might not be apexing all the time. Sometimes you might stay in the box. Sometimes you might not match the receivers’ width.
“But I think you got to be sharp with your eyes. When you're coming from that far, you got to know exactly what you're seeing. And once you see, you got to go because you got a lot of space to make up.”
A more obvious method to generate holes for a running back is to force a defense to respect other things. Tennessee’s up-tempo attack was a major talking point for Knowles and his defenders on Tuesday, which is useful for an offense in shortening the time defenses get to react to the looks they see. And as teams tire, bodies become easier to move.
“When you're coming from that far, you got to know exactly what you're seeing. And once you see, you got to go because you got a lot of space to make up.”– Sonny Styles on defending the wide spacing of Tennessee's offense
The RPO game gives quarterback Nico Iamaleava an option to hand the ball off, throw it to one of his receivers or even keep to run for himself. It forces a defense to respect everything, further opening things up for Sampson.
“They do it as well as anybody has because when you’re doing it right every play has a run, has a pass and it’s 50/50 and you’re gaining as many yards in the air as you are on the ground,” Knowles said. “They're doing it, I believe, the way it was built to be, and they're doing it well.”
Iamaleava is a threat to run in his own right with 311 rushing yards in 2024.
“He’s faster than everybody thinks,” Knowles said. “He's fast, and he makes a lot of plays with his feet, also.”
Given the wide spacing, creativity of Tennessee’s offense and Knowles’ reputation for having tricks up his sleeve, there could be some changeups mixed into the game plan for the Volunteers. Those aren’t secrets he’s revealing publicly, however.
“No comment,” he said when asked about the possibility of using the Jack position and other mixups.
It should be noted that Ohio State has been great at defending the run all season. The Buckeyes are No. 7 in rushing yards allowed per game (96.8) and No. 5 in yards allowed per carry (2.9). Knowles believes the Buckeyes can post similar numbers against Tennessee.
“I'm confident in our players,” Knowles said. “I'm confident in the way they perform in crucial moments. Never put a limit on it or we have to do this or that, always confident in our team and all the members of our team, but also willing to wear that defense can win, that we can win the game on defense. That's everything that I've been working on since I've gotten here.”
