Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley is one of football's most innovative offensive game planners and playcallers. And I love watching how he tweaks his offense to cater to his quarterback.
Yes, he had Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray from 2015 to '18 -- they won back-to-back Heisman trophies and both went No. 1 overall in the NFL draft -- but when you watch the OU tape, you see how Riley helped Murray and Mayfield. Scheming up open-window throws to wide receivers. Using play-action to rip off chunk plays. Moving the pocket to use their athleticism.
Now, with Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts taking over at quarterback, Riley has to tweak his offense to a QB with different strengths. Hurts struggled throwing downfield for the Crimson Tide, even if his numbers looked good on paper. He's a better runner between the tackles than Mayfield and Murray.
So how can the Sooners get the best of Hurts in 2019? I picked out five ways Riley can use the principles of his offense to put Hurts in the best position to succeed. And maybe get OU to another College Football Playoff -- and Hurts drafted in the NFL:
Expand the quarterback run game
Turn on the 2018 tape and you'll see that Riley knows how to get his quarterback on the move to test defenses. Riley's designed QB run packages put Murray on zone reads, lead draws and counters to rip off big gains. Check out this 55-yard touchdown run against West Virginia.
Murray finished the season with 1,001 rushing yards and 12 scores, and the No. 1 overall pick of the Arizona Cardinals had 22 runs of 15 or more yards as he helped the Sooners win the Big 12 and make the College Football Playoff.
Hurts has a different skill set and running style, however. Not worse than Murray's, who has electric speed, but different. Riley can expand this package even more because of Hurts' 6-foot-2, 219-pound frame. Think of downhill schemes or runs that hit inside the tackle box in addition to the calls Riley has already put on tape.
Remember, in 2017 -- Hurts' last season as the full-time starter at Bama -- he rushed for 855 yards and eight touchdowns. What's more impressive, though, are the 249 yards after first contact that Hurts racked up. He has some pop in his pads, and he'll push through tackles on the power read, QB power and GT pull. You didn't see Murray run much between the tackles last season, but Hurts' size can be a vital tool in Riley's game plan when the Sooners have the ball in the red zone.
Here's an example of Hurts running the power read scheme to pick up a touchdown versus Ole Miss. It's an inside run with the guard pulling to the playside off the read from Hurts. And we can see the finishing ability here:
Jalen Hurts accounts for his third touchdown with a 10-yard score.
With an Oklahoma offensive line replacing four starters, using the QB run game gives the Sooners an extra man for which the defense has to account. And featuring Hurts as a runner to complement lead backs Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon will help make the Sooners' ground game tough to prepare against.
Lean on the run-pass option
Having a valuable runner like Hurts means Riley can showcase RPO concepts in 2019. That gives Hurts the ability to take advantage of the matchups on the edge and to read both second- and third-level defenders on high-percentage throws.
Like we saw with Murray, Riley will run traditional RPOs off inside zone action, power, GT and counter to put defenders in conflict to throw the wide receiver screens and quick pop passes. Make life easier on the quarterback. Riley used Murray's skill set to create even more stress for opposing defenses on what I call triple-option RPOs, which give the quarterback the ability to hand off, keep the ball or throw a screen. Here it is in action against Texas in the regular season. Have fun defending that.
The key here is the carryover from the Bama playbook. Hurts has experience running RPO concepts and hitting quick throws off his read. Here's an example from 2017 versus Colorado State:
Off the play-action Jalen Hurts throws to Calvin Ridley on the slant who takes it 78-yards for the Alabama TD.
On this play, Alabama is paring the power run with the glance route, and Hurts is reading the safety into the boundary. If the safety comes downhill, Hurts can target the receiver. If the safety stays back, he can pick up a chunk off yards off the edge. The result was a 78-yard house call for Calvin Ridley.
Now, let's look at how Riley used Murray on an RPO last season, this time in the red zone against Army. Pair the zone run with the backside glance route, which allows Murray to read the safety and target wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for the score:
Kyler Murray and CeeDee Lamb connect for a 10-yard score to give Oklahoma a 28-21 lead over Army.
These are virtually the same RPO concepts, and they mesh with Hurts' strengths. Riley has to emphasize his quarterback's strengths in order to make this a smooth transition.
Create inside throwing windows off play-action
Riley's play-action package is one of the best I've seen -- and that includes both college and NFL tape. As I've written before, the best play-action mimics the run game. In fact, it looks like a core run from a defense's perspective. And with Riley, the pre-snap movement and post-snap misdirection are going to grab the eyes of opposing defenders, leading to some open throwing lanes.
Both Mayfield and Murray produced monster play-action numbers at Oklahoma. In 2017, Mayfield had a 95.5 QBR on 197 play-action throws, completing 70.4% of his passes for a whopping 2,495 yards with 24 touchdowns and not a single interception. Murray? He was lights-out, too, posting a 93.4 QBR on 189 attempts and completing 65.3% of his passes for 2,268 yards with 19 scores and three picks.
How does Hurts' 2017 stack up? He completed 61% of his 77 play-action throws with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, but his 56.7 QBR was much lower than that of Murray and Mayfield. That can be attributed to several factors, but Hurts' low yards per attempt (7.7 compared to 13.4 for Mayfield) didn't help his value.
Expect Riley to give Hurts more options out of play-action this season, scheming up more middle-of-the-field windows to adjust to his new quarterback's mechanics.
What does this mean? If you watch tape on Mayfield or Murray, they both have more twitch as throwers; they have a quicker release that generates more velocity on the ball. That allowed the two former No. 1 overall picks to anticipate and attack tighter windows. With Hurts, I see a longer release. And while he is excellent at protecting the ball -- he threw only one interception in 2017 -- Riley's system can put him in more favorable positions.
In addition to throwing the seam -- check out this one from Murray -- crossers and boot concepts in the OU play-action system, Riley can also use quick throws to play to Hurts' strengths. Think of the play-action Oklahoma shows out of split backs or their 21 personnel looks. That means middle-of-the-field throws to Lamb or flex tight end Grant Calcaterra, or easy throws to the H-back on inside pop passes.
Check out an example below from Mayfield in the 2018 Rose Bowl game versus Georgia. It's the power play-action on the first read with the H-back on a quick crosser, and then jet/misdirection on the second ball from Mayfield. That's a short, touch-throw to pick up yards.
Baker Mayfield finds Dimitri Flowers on 2 straight plays, both resulting in first downs for Oklahoma.
With a heavy play-action package already built into the Oklahoma offense, Riley can set his game plan and script opportunities for Hurts. Use jet sweeps, misdirection and pepper the middle of the field to pick up chunk plays. And when the ball gets in the red zone, look for Riley to set the table again for Hurts. Find the window and rip the ball for six.
Scheme up leveled route concepts
When talking about leveled throws, I'm looking at Riley's ability to overload one side of the field on flood concepts, or to give the quarterback a high-to-low read in the middle of the field. And that includes Riley's core routes -- which can be viewed as Air Raid concepts -- on the Y-Cross and multiple variations of the mesh.
I don't think this changes with Hurts. In fact, I believe this system can give Hurts some defined reads to attack both zone and man-to-man coverage. Here's an example of what I am looking at, from the Sooners' matchup with TCU last season:
Kyler Murray throws his third touchdown pass of the game vs. TCU, his second to Lee Morris.
This is a way for Riley to create a window to the crosser. Run the fade/hitch combo to the slot side of the formation. That occupies the deep safety and clears space for wide receiver Lee Morris to stem his route to the open void of the coverage. And it's a rhythm throw for Murray -- make the read and deliver the ball.
The sweet spot in Riley's offense? It's on throws between 10 and 25 air yards. That's where the quarterback can find open windows all day on leveled routes that put second-level defenders in a bind. Last season, Murray completed 62.8% of his throws between 10 and 25 air yards for 1,789 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Tracking Hurts back at Alabama in 2017, he completed just 46.4% on those same throws, for 821 yards, eight touchdowns and no picks. When studying this offense, and the multiple concepts Riley can roll out, I can see Hurts boosting his overall numbers in the intermediate passing game.
Plus, if we go back to the tape of the 2018 SEC championship game, it's clear Hurts has improved as a thrower. Even with a small sample size, he came in cold and threw the ball with anticipation in a big moment to get Alabama to the College Football Playoff.
Riley doesn't have to change this part of his playbook. If Hurts can make the right reads, he can effectively attack the second and third level of Big 12 defenses. And I think Riley can help Hurts improve this season.
Take a few shots
Maybe the Oklahoma offense becomes more horizontal with Hurts. Quick game and screens plus RPO, play-pass and leveled throws we discussed above. Sure.
But let's not forget about the vertical aspect of Riley's offense. From 2017-18, Mayfield and Murray both attempted 49 throws of at least 25 air yards. Take the shot. While Hurts didn't attempt as many deep-ball throws in 2017 -- just 23 -- even a slight bump here can open up more opportunities to attack down the field.
Think of the four verticals concept in Riley's offense, the deep post-cross combination, the fade from the slot or the isolation shots to Lamb -- a potential first-round pick with the route-running chops and play strength to finish on the ball. You think Riley will draw up some matchups for Hurts down the field? No doubt.
Plus, even with the low-volume attempts on vertical throws at Bama, Hurts can make those throws. Here's an example from Alabama's win over Florida State to open up the 2017 season. It's a post-cross concept on the deep ball to Ridley, and Hurts showed off his touch:
Jalen Hurts lobs it to Calvin Ridley deep downfield for the Crimson Tide touchdown.
That's an NFL throw. And with a playcaller in Riley who can dial up production on cue, Hurts has the opportunity to grab the eyes of scouts this season as a possible pro prospect.
Yes, the QB run game can be a weapon with Hurts. The RPO package and the play-action concepts, too. But the system at OU doesn't have to be flipped over for Hurts to succeed. With top-level schemes already in place, and established talent on the roster, a few tweaks from Riley can maximize the talent of Hurts and put him in a spot to produce Heisman-like numbers.