Limited Options at QB for Kelly

Less than two weeks after being introduced as Notre Dame’s head coach in December 2009, Brian Kelly held an audience with a handful of local media to speak about the overall program he planned to implement with the Irish.

When Kelly was asked about the requirements of his explosive and signature spread offense, one response resonates today more than ever.

“You can’t run the [spread] if you’ve got a [quarterback] out there who’s limited, because I would just empty the box [on defense] and match up everybody and try to find a way to stop the pass game,” Kelly said. “He’s got to run the ball. That’s part of our offense.”

By now, there isn’t an ardent Notre Dame follower around who isn’t aware of the Catch-22 the current Irish offense is experiencing. Sophomore Tommy Rees is deemed by Kelly as the best option — but definitely not read option — to operate the offense from an all-around base knowledge. He is the present, but can he also be the future?

The situation Notre Dame is in now mirrors what happened in the final one-third of the 2010 season when the offense was scaled back amidst a 4-0 finish. The onus was on the defense and special teams to win the game, and the offense with Rees and Co. not to lose them. With Dayne Crist injured, the freshman Rees was Notre Dame’s best alternative, and the unheralded rookie did a remarkable job of managing games to help salvage the season.

No, Kelly definitely wasn’t running the offense to his preference. However, his job entailed finding ways to win football games, so he adapted a new scheme to the personnel rather than “forcing” the personnel into the scheme.

“We are trying to find ways to win in our offense right now,” said Kelly last December during the preparation for the Sun Bowl, a 33-17 victory over Miami. “This is strictly about finding ways to win football games and utilizing the personnel that we have on hand to get to that end. “You would not mistake out offense right now for anything Oregon does. Would we like to get to that level? Certainly. But guys are going to have to be patient with that one.”

When Notre Dame was recruiting West Palm Beach, Fla., native Jacoby Brissett at quarterback last fall, Brissett bluntly told Blue & Gold Illustrated about a conversation he had with Kelly.

“Coach Kelly just told me straight up he wanted me to come in and compete for the starting spot, and be able to run the offense he wants to be able to run,” Brissett said. “With this quarterback now, they can’t really run the ball with the quarterback. He wants me to be able to come in and add that dimension to the team.”

Shortly thereafter, though, Everett Golson committed to Notre Dame, and on Signing Day Brissett announced for the Florida Gators.

Fast-forward to today … and the patience has to remain. Nobody knows and appreciates the current dilemma more than Kelly. Rees has remained a poised figure, but more and more the limits are exposed in the spread. Safeties and linebackers are able to cheat in, the box becomes narrow, and the “read option” handoff to the running back is laughable because there is no option involved. During the telecast of the Notre Dame-Pitt game last Saturday, analyst Urban Meyer flat-out stated how a running threat at QB would truly "spread" the defense. Yet it’s a testament to the offensive line and the improved running game this year that the irish are still able to average 152.8 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry.

In college football, especially with the popularity of the spread offense, mobile, running threats at quarterback are a prized commodity. Among the last six national champions, only Alabama in 2009 with its more conventional pro-style look did not require a quarterback to be productive with his feet.

• In 2005, Texas’ Vince Young totaled 1,050 yards on the ground, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Successor Colt McCoy was also a running threat, amassing 1,571 yards on the ground during his career while leading the Longhorns to the 2009 national title game — where he was injured against Alabama.

• Florida’s Tim Tebow helped the Gators to the summit in 2006 and 2008 in head coach Urban Meyer’s spread while racking up 2,947 yards rushing and 57 touchdowns during his career.

• In 2007, LSU’s Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux helped steer the Tigers to the BCS crown while combining for 422 yards on the ground, 215 by Flynn and 207 by Perrilloux.

• Last year’s BCS national title game between Auburn and Oregon featured the Tigers’ Cam Newton, who rushed for 1,473 yards, 5.6 yards per carry and 20 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Oregon signal-caller Darron Thomas totaled 486 yards, 5.2 yards and five touchdowns.

Kelly is definitely not expecting his quarterbacks to post “Newtonian” or Young numbers, but approaching what Thomas achieved for another Kelly in 2010 — Oregon head coach Chip — would open up so many avenues.

It’s not about having Denard Robinson, or even a Tony Rice, who compiled more than 2,000 yards rushing during his Notre Dame career from 1987-89. Rather, it’s more like having a Joe Theismann (1968-70) or Tom Clements (1972-74), who averaged about 40 yards rushing per contest, totaled more than 1,000 yards rushing in their careers and made all the other backs and receivers better and more effective around them because defenses had to account for the quarterback as a runner.

The template for Kelly began after finishing 5-5 in 1999 and 7-4 in 2000 at Grand Valley State, leading him to implement the spread attack in 2001. The result was a 58.4 points per game average, a 13-1 record and NCAA Division II runner-up. In 2002 and 2003, GVS won the Division II national titles with 14-0 and 14-1 ledgers, and in 2004 Kelly was named head coach at Central Michigan.

In Kelly’s spread, the quarterback doesn’t necessarily have to be a “dual threat,” but it has helped if his signal-caller can run. Here is a look at Kelly’s quarterbacks’ rushing numbers since his final season at GVS. Note that sacks are included in the rushing totals.

2003 — Cullen Finnerty carried 165 times for 822 yards (5.0 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns while GVS won the Division II national title.

2004 — Rebuilding Central Michigan finished 4-7 in Kelly’s first year, with quarterback Kent Smith totaling 351 yards rushing, 3.1 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns.

2005 — The Chippewas improved to 6-5, and Smith rushed for 443 yards, 2.8 yards per carry and seven touchdowns.

2006 — Red-shirt freshman sensation Dan LeFevour led CMU to 10 wins and the MAC title. He rushed for 521 yards, 4.0 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. We note he was a red-shirt to point out that it might take a year or so before a quarterback can acclimate into the attack, a la Golson. LeFevour became one of the greatest dual-threat QBs in NCAA history.

2007 — Now at Cincinnati, Kelly saw quarterback Ben Mauk finish with 377 yards rushing, 3.8 yards per carry and three touchdowns while directing a 10-win campaign.

2008 — In an injury-riddled year at quarterback for the Bearcats, Cincinnati still made it to the BCS. Dustin Garza had the most yards rushing (51) among five QBs used, while starter Tony Pike had only 47 yards on the ground. This is the model Kelly might be using at Notre Dame in 2011 — find a way to win despite not having a true running threat at QB.
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2009 — Pike remained the starter and was not known for his running skills, but Zach Collaros replaced an injured Pike to keep alive a 12-0 regular season and his 57 carries netted 344 yards, a robust 6.0 yards per carry and four touchdowns.

2010 — Irish starter Crist had 74 yards rushing before he was injured in the ninth game, but also had a team-high four rushing touchdowns. He had gained 174 yards on the ground, but 100 yards worth of sacks took down his number. Rees had 12 carries for minus-2 yards during the 4-0 finish.

Currently, Rees is at minus-2 yards, mainly because of sacks.

source : http://notredame.247sports.com/