CHANGES AT USC? : KNOWING ALL THE OPTIONS : Smith Instituting a New Look in a Somewhat Familiar Way

There has been a traditional look to USC’s offense, from the single wing power plays of Howard Jones in the 1920s and ‘30s to the I-formation tailback blasts under John McKay and John Robinson in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Option football is something other teams did. It just didn’t fit into USC’s scheme, although McKay used it sparingly. Nor has deception particularly been the Trojans’ style.

Larry Smith, USC’s new coach, hasn’t broken with tradition, but he is bending it a bit. The I-formation is still the basic offense, but the option is now part of the overall offense. And Smith says it’s here to stay as long as he has the players to execute it.

The option requires the quarterback to slide along the line of scrimmage, either handing off or faking to the fullback, then keeping the ball himself or pitching wide to a running back.

“We wouldn’t be using the option if we didn’t have the skilled players to make it work,” said Chuck Stobart, USC’s offensive coordinator.

In other words, if the Trojans didn’t have an agile, quick-reacting quarterback such as Rodney Peete, they wouldn’t be fooling around with the option. The quarterback is the key, since option plays are orchestrated by him.

“I call it fast-break football, like fast-break basketball,” Stobart said. “You put the ball in the hands of your quarterback, who is like a point guard in basketball, ready to keep the ball or deal it off to somebody else.

“A quarterback has to have great timing, quickness, has to be able to pitch a football, and be a great athlete. Peete fits all of those qualifications. He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever coached.”

Stobart has extensive coaching experience. He was formerly head coach at Utah and Toledo and served as Michigan’s offensive coordinator from 1969 through 1976.

He said the option has three advantages:

--The offensive line can fire off the line of scrimmage without complicated blocking schemes.

--The ball is in the hands of skilled players.

--The defense is forced to play assignment football, meaning that individuals have to be responsible for (1) the dive man, usually the fullback, (2) the quarterback and (3) the pitch man, who is the tailback in the USC option.

The negative aspect of the option is the prospect of fumbles.

“The option is a fickle lady,” said Stobart, alluding to mishandling of the ball.

USC used the option in a runaway 48-14 victory over Oregon State Oct. 3 but it became a game-breaking offense in the Trojans’ 37-23 win over Washington last Saturday at Seattle.

The game turned on three option plays:

--USC trailed, 20-16, late in the third quarter when freshman tailback Scott Lockwood took an option pitch from Peete and went 38 yards down a sideline to a touchdown.

--With the score tied, 23-23, tailback Steven Webster took another pitch and ran 49 yards on the first play of a drive that began at the USC 20-yard line.

--When that drive slowed to fourth and one at the Husky 17, Webster again turned the corner on a pitch for six yards, setting up the winning touchdown.

Of USC’s 84 plays, 11 were from the option, gaining 107 of the team’s 319 yards rushing. The tailbacks, Webster and Lockwood, accounted for 86 yards, and Peete gained 21. The average gain per option play was 9.7 yards.

Peete ran the option as a high school star in Tucson and Kansas City, Mo., but he doesn’t like to be known as an option quarterback. He wants to be recognized more for his skill as a drop-back or roll-out passer.

Still, he’s enthusiastic about this new phase of the USC offense.

“It puts the defense in a bind if it’s blocked right,” he said. “If you run it right, you’re outside with a two-on-one combination (quarterback and tailback). It puts the guy on the end of the line, usually a defensive end, in a tough situation. He has to commit himself one way or another.

“If he takes the quarterback, you pitch it to the tailback, who’ll gain five or six yards, at least. If he takes the pitch man, the quarterback will duck underneath. You can get a lot of big plays off the option.

“We didn’t run it earlier in the year because the timing was off. It looks so easy, but it takes a lot of work to get the timing down and know when to pitch.”

Peete said he also has the option of giving the ball to fullback Leroy Holt, who was used as a decoy against Washington.

“Even If I don’t give the ball to the fullback, it holds the linebackers inside, so there’s hardly anyone left outside on me, or the tailback,” Peete said. “It helps having guys with a lot of speed like Webster and Lockwood, who can get outside quick and turn the corner.”

Peete executes two types of option, the dive, in which he fakes, or gives the ball to the fullback, or the speed option in which he doesn’t involve the fullback and moves quickly down the line of scrimmage.

Webster got his runs of 29 and 6 yards off the dive option. Lockwood’s 38-yard touchdown was off the speed option.

“If one guy had stayed a half second longer on his block, Webster would have been gone for an 80-yard touchdown,” Peete said. “He had to break a tackle and that allowed the pursuit to get him.”

Peete added that he came close to breaking away on long runs after keeping the ball himself.

“On the Lockwood run, the defense got sucked inside to the dead side of the line, where there’s no split end, or flanker, just the tight end. Their cornerback was inside with no one outside.”

Films showed a Washington defender had an angle on Lockwood, but the former sprinter from Boulder, Colo., just ran away from him.

“The option gives us the ability to get outside with speed,” said Clarence Shelmon, who coaches USC’s running backs. “Lockwood’s speed is very deceiving. He just destroys angles. Webster understands blocking schemes and what we want done. People don’t bring him down on the first hit.”

Webster, as the starting tailback, gets most of the work. He carried a career-high 40 times against Washington. But two freshmen, Lockwood and Ricky Ervins, allow him to rest from time to time.

“Lockwood and Ervins are very mature for freshmen,” Shelmon said. “They consistently score as high as, or higher than, the older kids on tests.”

Shelmon is well versed in the option. He was a running back at Houston in the early ‘70s under Bill Yeoman, who invented the veer offense, another form of the option.

“The option almost takes the place of a pass because it’s a big play, like a pass,” Shelmon said. “When you you call it on third and five, or longer, you can catch people in the wrong defense because it’s a passing down.”

Both USC and Notre Dame will have to be concerned about the option when they play Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Smith said that the Irish operate out of four different sets--I-formation, wishbone, split backs and single back.

“And they’ll use the wishbone at any place on the field,” Smith said.

After watching the Washington game film, Notre Dame will be alerted to stopping USC’s option.

That doesn’t bother Peete, who said: “If teams take the option away, then more (defensive) people are closer to the line of scrimmage. That puts your receivers basically on one-on-one matchups outside. “

Peete is now directing an offense that is averaging 454.7 yards a game. Last year, the Trojan offense generated only 332.3 yards a game, with 195.3 coming from passing.

“Last year, going into a game, I knew that all our big plays would be coming off the pass,” Peete said. “I don’t mind being in that situation, but it makes it easier when you have balance and teams don’t focus in on one phase of your game.

“Towards the end of last season, teams were dropping eight guys off in the secondary. It was difficult to throw because teams didn’t have the respect for our running game.”

The Trojans have a balanced attack now, averaging 245.2 yards a game passing and 209.5 running--and the option adds a little spice.

“It forces defenses to run all over the field and opens up a lot of other areas.” Peete said. “When you do that, it puts one more thing in their minds. It just gives you a whole lot of opportunities to attack a defense.”