Is That the Spread...Offense?

Great catch by some Syracuse football fans in this article about 5-foot-10, 175 pound wide receiver Leavander Jones from Atlantic City High School who has committed to play for the Orange. When talking of his visit to Syracuse, Jones drops this little nugget.

"When I came up here, I saw that they run a spread offense, and that's just like we run at Atlantic City. It won't be much different."

Did he just say spread offense? Well if this is true, this may explain the weird vibes experienced at the spring football game in April. There wasn't a lot to see at the game and The Axeman felt the same way after interviewing offensive coordinator Mitch Browning and quarterback Andrew Robinson. But after learning about the spread offense, Axe makes some good points about what they were really saying.

But this isn't going to be the spread offense that we saw with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. Everyone has their own version and Browning is going to implement his own. Apparently it's going to be much more simplified.

Offensive Coordinator Mitch Browning

"For the most part, we have our entire offense installed. So we come back in August and pick up where we left off. You know, guys will pick it up quick. You know, alot of guys who really have trouble absorbing parts of it will come back and say 'geez, this is really simple, really.' Then what we can do is continue to get better and better at it."

Quarterback Andrew Robinson

"The running game is a little more simple blocking-wise, but the quarterbacks have a lot of responsibility as far as the checks and making audibles at the line of scrimmage and things like that. I have had to work extra hard this spring studying up on the playbook and making sure I have the checks down and putting the offense in the best possible position. But otherwise, things have been slimmed down a little bit."

That shouldn't come as a surprise because who exactly are the playmakers on this team? Browning expected Mike Williams to be the big play guy going into the season. He's the guy that was going to stretch the field and take some shots with on play-action. Now Browning is going to have to focus more on the running game which he is capable of. At Minnesota, running backs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney created a deadly tandem in the Big Ten.

The Orange's deepest position on the team is at tailback with DeLone Carter, Curtis Brinkley, Doug Hogue, and Averin Collier. These guys are going to have to be the playmakers whether its making reads on zone runs or catching the football out of the backfield.

It's a daunting task and daring move by Greg Robinson if he indeed has allowed Mitch Browning to install the spread offense, albeit a water-down version. At least he's making an attempt and going out with guns blazing. I'm actually intrigued by SU football.