Spreadin' Like Butter Part II: Early Shifting

If the Spread offense was born on a field in Ohio, it grew up in the Pacific Northwest. There, a young disciple of Tiger Ellison's took the field every Friday Night as the Head Coach at Hillsboro High School. His name was Darrell Davis, which is awesome in two parts: first because it's a perfect NASCAR name, and second because he would go by "Mouse" for the majority of his life.

Standing at a strapping 4'10", Mouse Davis was not much to look at. But, viewed from a distance, a supernova isn't much either. It's once you get in close that you realize the explosive power that his small frame contained. Mouse, standing at 4'11" was the quarterback or halfback (depending on what was needed more) on a Western Oregon team that won three straight championships from '52-'54. He also played shortstop on his high school team in Monmouth, OR. Needless to say, his nickname applied in stature only - he excelled on the field.

Mouse took his love of the game on with him after graduating, eventually landing the head coaching position at Hillsboro High. There, he got his hands on a manual that would change the way offenses across the country were ran: Run and Shoot Football: Offense of the Future by...Tiger Ellison.


Mouse Davis. He's the short one. He will also end you.

Mouse quickly realized that he needed a system that would adapt to the players he had available in Oregon, and so, the offense began its first permutation. Tiger Ellison's offense featured the run once the pass was established. Mouse decided to skip that step. Although the alignment was similar, Mouse's slot backs were much lighter, and thus, faster. Running became a non-factor as quick 3 to 5 yard passes were completed to the slot backs, or running back who had been flexed wide. This could be considered the beginning of the West Coast offense, but to Mouse, it was still just the run and shoot.

Mouse took his game on the road after winning the 1973 State Championship game by accepting the head coaching position at Portland State. Over his six seasons as head coach, his teams averaged 38 points a game, and nearly 500 yards of offense. The Run and Shoot - as popularized by Tiger Ellison, had found a home in major college football. Defenses had no answer to the short passes. His quarterback during his heyday was June Jones - now head coach at SMU - who set a NCAA division II record of 3,518 yards passing. His next QB was named Neil Lomax, who set an NCAA record 13,220 yards and 106 touchdowns in 42 games. Needless to say, Mouse's run and shoot was a destructive force. Defenses couldn't cover the space it created - they'd never had to. Teams tried everything to slow down the onslaught, but with talented quarterbacks, Mouse's offense shredded.

Mouse was hired as an assistant coach to Jones in '05 at Hawaii, and continued that post until Jones took the SMU job. Mouse now coaches back at Portland State as offensive coordinator.

Unlike Tiger, the wonders of youtube provide us with some actual footage of Mouse's offense in action:




Things to note:

1) Most formations are the same: 2 slotbacks, 2 wideouts, 1 RB.
2) You can see how blitzes would be effective - if Lomax weren't so darn slippery. This offense would be fail without a very, very good quarterback who could throw on the run
3) Look at all the short passes. These, for the most part, were the running game.
4) Note the play at 1:19 - the defense, even at the goal line, is caught off guard by a between the tackles run
5) Note the play at :47 when a play action is given to a slot-back who had motioned over. This would not work if they never handed that ball off, and is vintage Tiger.

Actual football resumes at 7:34, but I recommend you go to around 7:25, so you can see Mouse tell Niel Lomax to "put one in orbit for the folks." I told you he'd make a great NASCAR driver. It's also kind of funny that Lomax appears to have that same funky 3/4 delivery that Colt BrennAn employs.

Speaking of which, let's go to some more...modern...footage. Here's Colt Brennan explaining the Run and Shoot. Starts at 2:15:



Note the "choice concept," which is straight out of Tiger's book. Also, notice how June Jones has taken the "pass only" concept, and molded it to fit modern college football. For example, instead of having those slot backs in tight as the Portland State video shows, they're often set up in trips, or 4 wide. Once Desmond starts talking about "green tea leaves" the show is over.

And, since there's no football on TV, here are some Hawaii highlights, set (oddly) to Nickleback. Has Hawaii not heard of Hip-Hop? This is probably the only non-West Virginia highlight film I've ever seen not set to hardcore rap music. West Virginia, naturally, sets theirs to John Denver, without exception.



Coming Soon: Part III - The Rodriguez Spread Read