re: Denbrock running game: Inside Zone, Split Zone, and wrinkles

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I prefer counter plays. A decent defense will figure this out quickly and snuff it

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You should see a good bit of Counter as well. I stole the following from And The Valley Shook.
They did a great 3 part series back in April explaining Denbrock's philosophy:

Another, and probably his main secondary scheme, is counter. Denbrock ran both GY (guard and tight end pulling) and GT counter (guard and tackle). One puller kicks out the force defender while the other leads through the hole. When run out of 12 personnel like above, you can have the frontside tight end account for the weak safety there. Denbrock does a lot of great stuff in 12 personnel, which is why it’s so important for LSU to fill out the TE room.

Dude this is seriously impressive work. Have an upvote. Wouldn't mind you posting more stuff like this.

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quote: only run play LSU had was inside zone because that’s all they needed to run and Clyde could jump cut from one gap to two gaps over. This is a really good point. On so many of his big runs, including the Spin Cycle at Bama, he had to make guys miss at the line.

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The overarching point is that the coaching staff last year could not match player’s abilities to a game plan. I think most of the rant could have “coached” 2019.

Bottom line is that Kelly should have a lot more trust to put the right offensive linemen in the right scheme to match their talents with what he wants to run.

The program is headed in the right direction.

EDIT…. Thanks for the very solid post OP.

Exactly and I think we will use Boutte in the backfield as an H-back to run some of this. Not just Boutte but different WRs, RBs and TEs. We also have a walk-on who is supposed to be extremely quick and could run this through him as well. Supposedly this same guy is a really good punt returner and we could see him with the ball in his hands this year. Runs like a 4.3, is tough and catches the ball well. We have several walk-ons who aren’t your typical walk-ons.

I like how Denbrock moves guys around in the backfield and at WR. It’s a multiple offense and is designed to create confusion and mismatches. So we could see a TE and a RB in the back field or see a WR back there with the TE on the edge and a RB in the slot. He doesn’t just leave the players at their typical spots. We did this a lot in 2019 as well but mainly in the passing game, which was our bread and butter.

This year it’ll be much more mixed at least until they start to trust a QB and the offense in the passing game. I think it’ll start out as a mostly run oriented team and gradually mix in more pass as the season progresses, if the QB progresses with the offense of course. It’ll be fun to watch again, can’t wait.

Nice thread !
We have all seen the mechanics of these plays in practice film lately.

I like this post a lot. I think it could really be tweaked well towards our players. The key is going to be a good decision maker running it and making sure things stay clean.

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I do have one question/concern though: wasn’t the awakening of last year’s rushing attack largely a result of switching from a zone to gap scheme? I know it’ll be different backs, but I just wonder if our OL is for whatever reason more adept at iso/power/counter than zone concepts.

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I think TDP just wasn’t a cutback runner. Or maybe it’s more fair to say that wasn’t his strength. But yes, we did move away from zone to more gap schemes. We also started using Mashburn a fair amount as a lead blocker.

Also keep in mind that we don’t just have different backs now - we have an entirely different OL.

I’m not a huge fan of zone in general, but I feel a lot better about it having a staff with a proven history of coaching it at the college level.

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The reason why LSU’s run game was so shite was the because Ed’s obsession with the “Joe Brady offense” and pretty much the only run play LSU had was inside zone because that’s all they needed to run and Clyde could jump cut from one gap to two gaps over

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Yeah Brady couldn't scheme a run game to save his life and Peetz was even more clueless.

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I haven't dug too much into the games from last season, but the "awakening" was essentially one game, when Florida seemed totally unprepared for any gap at all. We ran GT or GH counter like 40 times and each time it looked like they were lost. But yes, I think TDP was much better suited for gap.

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The Florida game was just the first game LSU fully dedicated themselves to that appraoch...but it wasn't the only game. LSU's running game went from non-existent for the first 5 games of the season to TDP becoming a 1,000 yard rusher. He had 140 yards going into the Kentucky game. He gained 863 in the final 7 games (123 ypg avg) and became a top 100 draft pick.

The bigger question is does LSU have a RB on the team that isn't similar to TDP? That is more of a one-cut, straight line runner? Cain has a similar style. Goodwin, while smaller than TDP, has mostly the same style. Emery is the only guy that is probably different with more "suddeness" and lateral quickness...but he isn't playing on Sunday.

That said, I have no doubt Denbrock will call plays that fit the strengths of his players. Something that wasn't the case last season with LSU's buffoon who mandated LSU run the "Joe Brady offense"...without any great understanding of what the Joe Brady offense was and why it was successful in 2019

JD is going to start. He gives an added dimension with his running ability. This will drive their defense crazy. I see, Bech, Boutee, Naber's (slot) and JD with his speed can tuck and run. Then add Cain a ground pounder and AG the slasher. We have an offense that can put points on the board, this could well be a route of FSU. Not to mention our stingy defense. Once it all falls in sync, damn ! This can be a special year.