Clemson Quick Toss and QB Counter
The Power Read Concept took the football world by storm a few years ago. The new version of this play is to Toss the RB the ball rather than sweep mesh, to get him outside faster.
I first saw the play last year from a High School Coach and then saw several college use it during the 2015 Bowl Season.
I wrote about North Carolina using it last year here.
The idea is simple… OL blocks Power playside. The Rb aligns playside and runs a toss. The Qb catches the snap, shuffles towards the back, reading the DE. If the DE squeezes or attacks him, toss the ball to the RB now. If the DE widens to play the RB, keep the ball and run inside.
This is a great way to get the ball on the edge against talented DEs. It is difficult to reach a great DE to get the RB the edge, but by blocking down with the OT and getting the DE to squeeze that, you can toss it outside and use what he is taught to do against him.
This play became a big part of the Clemson offense in 2016 and they really hurt Ohio State in their playoff game with the QB Counter off of that action.
The Toss:
- Use what the DE is taught against him and out leverage him at the snap for squeezing down blocks
QB Counter:
- Deshaun Watson killed Ohio State in this game with the GH Counter (Guard and H back ) off of toss action.
PA Pass:
The next play to look at in this series is play action pass. Now I will be honest, this play is somewhere in between quick toss and QB power in terms of run action… The Rb path is definitely more vertical than on the toss but it is similar enough that I included it here. Although incomplete, this is another way to stress the defense. RB attacks wide outside of the OT and gets vertical down the middle of the field. A more accurate pass away from the safety and this is a 1st down completion.
Combining Jet And Toss:
Clemson is known for combining their Jet and Toss into one play. I do not know if the play is called or read but here are 2 ways they did it in the game. The first from under center with an unbalanced Jet look, with quick toss going opposite.
This other look was not as successful but you will see them going Jet one way, with quick toss the other. The OL blocks power toward the toss, away form the Jet.
