En route to a 38-29 victory over the Oregon State Beavers, the Oregon Ducks scored points on six of their seven offensive drives. Five of those drives ended with a touchdown. That is a really efficient game by the offense and one of those touchdowns came by way of the QB Trap RPO. This is a play that Coach Joe Moorhead installed last season, and used successfully again in last week’s rivalry game.
QB Trap RPO
The QB Trap RPO is actually very similar to the version of the Inverted Veer that Coach Moorhead has gone to on multiple occasions this season. This version is more of a trap than the traditional power version that teams go to. Where Coach Moorhead’s inverted veer pressures a defense horizontally, the QB Trap RPO pressures them vertically.
The blocking by the offensive line is exactly how the Inverted Veer we’ve talked about is blocked. The backside tackle takes a step inside and pass sets to block off any backside pursuit. The center through playside tackle all block down, while the backside guard pulls and kicks out the playside EMOLS (End Man on Line of Scrimmage). This block by the backside guard is what makes this blocking scheme more akin to a Trap than Power.
After the snap, as is the case with most of Coach Moorhead’s plays, the QB has a couple of options. He is going to read a playside linebacker, and if that LB crashes down on the run, the QB will throw the ball to the running back up the seam. If that LB does anything to take away the RB’s route, the QB will take the ball himself.
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The receivers on the outside are going to work together in a bit of a high/low concept. To my knowledge, none of these receivers are actually options for the QB, but are being used to draw the safeties away from the center of the field.
In the clip above, the playside LB takes himself almost completely out of the play. This prompts Anthony Brown to keep the ball, and he goes the distance. Brown’s athletic ability is on full display here and it’s really exciting to watch.
In this clip from the 2020 season, you see the other option to this same play. The playside LB is crashing down on the QB run, so Tyler Shough pulls up and throws the ball to Travis Dye for another nice touchdown.
The QB Trap RPO is another awesome wrinkle in the Coach Moorhead offense, and one that plays very well into the skillset of the Oregon Ducks offense.
Coach Eric Boles
Newark, Ohio
Top Photo Credit: Craig Strobeck
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Eric resides in Central Ohio, just outside the capital city of Columbus. He is a former offensive assistant and return game coordinator for the Ohio State – Newark/Central Ohio Technical College Titans football program.
He is an OSU-N graduate, having completed a Bachelor of Arts program in psychology.