Film Room: Diving deep into UVa's potential running game

In our first Film Room, we took a look at the foundations of Tony Elliott’s two-back scheme and the looks it creates for defenses.

In today’s installment, we’ll be focused on the running game itself.

Virginia hasn’t had much of a traditional running game in recent years, including in 2021 when it was virtually an air raid team. We should see a bit of an emphasis change with the new staff coming in, though, and it’s clear from watching film that Clemson used a variety of run schemes that are creative but all come back to core principles of formation alignment and player movement, pre- and post-snap.

In this edition of the Film Room, we’ll take a look at how Clemson has faired in the running game and what plays worked well against the competition. (Keep in mind that while we’re focused on Elliott’s offense at Clemson, new offensive coordinator Des Kitchings—a career running-game coach—will certainly bring wrinkles of his own to add to what we’ll go over here.)

Clemson’s ground game usage and production fluctuated from year to year under Elliott but was always successful. Even last year, when the Tigers struggled to move the ball and score more often than in previous campaigns, they still rushed for just under 4.5 yards per carry with 2,184 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. Clemson’s offenses rushed for at least 4.31 yards per carry in each year with Elliott in charge, and were usually over 4.5 yards per carry.

Clemson’s best two seasons on the ground came in 2018 and 2019, when the Tigers went to back-to-back national title games, winning one. They rushed for more than 6.3 yards per carry in both of those seasons, with more than 3,600 yards rushing and 40+ touchdowns. Star back Travis Etienne rushed for just over 1,600 yards in both campaigns, with other backs factoring in as well.

Quarterback runs are common in the Elliott offense, with usage dependent on the player under center, and the year. For example, in 2018 Trevor Lawrence rushed 60 times for 177 yards and one touchdown. The following year, with more experience under his belt, the then-sophomore QB rushed 103 times for 563 yards and nine rushing scores. DJ Uiagalelei wasn’t quite as prolific but did have a similar number of carries (in fewer games) in 2021, rushing 105 times for 308 yards and four touchdowns last fall.

It should come as no surprise that Clemson’s ground game graded out exceptionally well in 2018 and 2019 while having mixed results last year. It seems like the coaching staff did eventually figure out that the ground game was their best way to move the ball and score, and as the season wore on the running and run block grades went up, as did the usage.

In the six games that followed the loss to Pittsburgh, Clemson rushed 36 times or more in each game, 40 times or more in five of the six contests, and eclipsed 50 rushes (54) against a bad Wake Forest run defense. When UVa played Wake Forest last year, they had half as many runs, 27, for just under 100 yards.

In taking a look at where the runs actually went, there appears to be quite a bit of balance. Of the 467 run plays in 2021 charted by Pro Football Focus, Clemson most often rushed off tackle left, 69 times for 256 yards, just 3.7 yards per carry. But other run directions were nearly as common, with about 130 combined runs up the middle, either to the left or right of center. Off-tackle right was relatively common, too, with 54 carries. The most-successful run plays on average were actually quarterback scrambles, which went for more than 10 yards per carry. Jet sweeps and reverses aren’t particularly common in this offense, with just a handful charted per year, and just one charted in 2021.

Though this first one isn’t a video clip, the illustration below is one of the bread-and-butter run plays in Elliott’s offense.

The H-back is lined up off-tackle left and the running back is on the quarterback’s right. This play is set up for the running back to get the handoff going left, with the line “blocking down” towards the left, the H-back setting the edge, and a pulling guard to create a lead block in the hole.

This is sort of a base running play, which Clemson would use a lot from different looks. And most of the plays we’ll cover below use similar concepts, or use this look to run counter plays that keep the defense off balance and break tendencies.

The play below is a great example of how the offense can break tendencies in the run game.

This one is set up like the formation of the previous play, with the H-back lined up off-tackle on one side and the running back lined up on the other side of the quarterback telling the defense to expect a power run left.

Instead, the H-back crosses to the other side of the line post-snap and sets an edge block there, and the running back cuts back to the right side.

This play looks like the one in the screenshot above and even some of the blocking looks the same. But a few key changes can force the defense to guess wrong and open up a hole on the other side.

On the next play, there’s really not much H-back involvement but the blocking scheme is one of the staples of this offense.

Here the running back takes the handoff going left to right and the line blocks down to the left, pushing the defensive linemen the same direction as the ball carrier. This allows cut back lanes to open up and the running back finds one here.

Another wrinkle with this play is the potential for a pulling guard or lead blocker to open up a hole in the middle of the sliding linemen, taking out any defenders at the second level waiting for the cutback.

The next play shows such a cutback opportunity with down blocking.

Etienne had the talent and vision to be more aggressive with cut backs and sort of ignore the direction of the play at times.

Here he reads the defense well in the block down, seeing Noah Taylor crash down with the blocks, and he knows that the cutback lane is going to be on the left side of the line. The H-back clears out that side and Etienne makes an excellent cutback into open space. The result, after a couple of missed tackles, was a touchdown.

This next play against Florida State is a simple concept but again shows how motion and the H-back’s alignment can throw off a defense.

Here Clemson sends a receiver in jet motion and and post-snap the H-back goes left to right, the same direction as the motion man. The run is a spin handoff out of the pistol to the left.

Some of the defenders did their job, but notice a few Seminoles, including a linebacker critical to defending this type of play, cheat to their left following the motion man and the H-back.

This next one is a great play design that can go for big gains if the defense falls for it.

The play is designed to look like a sprint-out to the right, with Lawrence getting on the roll and either running or throwing. Notice how the blockers set up a left-to-right wall that would basically shift the pocket right and cut off pursuit from the back side.

And then, Lawrence stops, turns, and gives Etienne the ball on a delayed handoff. UVa ran this scheme with Joe Reed a few times out of motion, and this play sort of functions the same way. As an offense, you’re hoping the defense over pursues to the sprint out side, and then the offensive line “wall” could simply turn and block the other direction, creating a new lane on the left side.

And it works here: Etienne makes one defender miss and then the rest of them have to scramble and chase him back across the field. This play ended up in the end zone.

Here’s a similar look from last season, this time in the red zone.

This play is designed to look like a sprint-out left, and the quarterback hands it off on a draw aimed up the middle. Again, look at how the offensive line sells the rollout and then turns to make the blocks for the counter.

The next few plays have more involvement from the quarterback.

This first look is one that I saw Clemson run quite a bit: The toss pitch.

In this example, the Tigers get the H-back and receivers blocking out wide and have interior offensive linemen seeking out second-level blocks downfield. Here Lawrence has to read the defensive end (Chase Young) and either keep the ball and get up field, or pitch it out to Etienne. If Young would have taken a wider path to take Etienne, anticipating the pitch, Lawrence keeps and runs by him.

Young plays it pretty straight up and the quarterback is able to pitch the ball into space. In many of Clemson’s outside runs, the H-back is responsible for sealing off the end. Here, nobody has to block him, as the quarterback can make the read and eliminate him from the play, assuming everyone can hold their blocks for a few seconds.

Here’s another example, where Clemson’s blockers let a few Buckeyes through basically like a draw play, and Lawrence has to make a quicker read.

Here he has no choice but to pitch. Ohio State’s defense actually has this covered pretty well, but Etienne makes a great individual effort to score.

And of course, like many other Clemson plays, here is a counter to the pitch.

This play is very well designed and is a bit different from the pitch play QB keeper. On those, the quarterback simply fakes the pitch (or doesn’t fake at all) and keeps it off tackle to the same side as the running back, inside the end who is playing it too wide for a pitch.

This is a designed counter, where Lawrence fakes the pitch left and runs a draw off the center right. A few Notre Dame defenders get washed out by the fake, but the blocking scheme and execution for the counter draw are great too.

Notice the H-back sneak over to the right side at the snap and serve as a lead blocker, eliminating a Notre Dame defender. That block, coupled with an excellent downfield block by the right tackle, springs Lawrence for the touchdown.

Finally, here is a typical QB draw play, again going for a long touchdown run.

This is a simple play, but look how wide open the middle of the field is for Lawrence. Everyone on the line of scrimmage is accounted for and some of the groundwork was laid in the formation here in addition to the post-snap look.

Pre-snap, Clemson’s receivers have wide splits, making it harder for defensive backs to recover and get to Lawrence at the second level. Also, the H-back is in the slot left and runs a quick hitch, which allows him to immediately engage the defender with a block.

And after the snap, the running back ducks out of the backfield (eventually setting an edge block, like an H-back would) and Lawrence drops back.

This looks like a pass all the way, so the defenders are totally fooled by the draw.

Admittedly, there are many, many more quarterback run designs that we left out and perhaps we’ll revisit them later. But this gives you a sample of how the staff may look to use Brennan Armstrong and his ability to run to hurt defenses and give them more to defend.

We also left out run-pass options, a staple in the Elliott offense, that we’ll tackle in the next installment which will be focused on the passing game.