New Buckeye OC Kevin Wilson and QB Coach Ryan Day wasted no time implementing changes within the passing game that will lead to an even more explosive offense than 2016 produced. The 2017 Spring Game provided Buckeye fans an opportunity to window shop the anticipated changes coming to the offensive side of the ball.
In this installment of Buckeye Breakdown, we take a closer look at the short passing game that led to some big plays on Saturday afternoon.
The glaring changes within the short and intermediate passing game consisted of a heavy dose of “Mesh Concept” routes where receivers and tight ends would cross each other’s paths in the middle of the field, creating chaos at the mesh point. This basic principal leads to easy reads by the QB as well as a multitude of formations and wrinkles to adjust as the game progresses.
The X-factor during the season will be an offensive line capable of providing time for Barrett to make reads across the field, and Barrett being decisive when delivering the ball. Fortunately, Barrett has proven to be poised in the pocket, stepping up when the outside rush creates a vertical pocket, and either dumping it off or running upfield.
The Buckeyes showed a variety of mesh concepts, and showed the ability to move the mesh point around the field to create favorable matchups depending on the formation and defensive alignment. The primary focus of this concept is to get the ball to playmakers in space, and even on the most vanilla of days we saw flashes of dominance from Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Demario McCall, and A.J. Alexander within these roles.
Now, sprinkle in the normal bombardment of Inside/Outside Power Zone runs that force linebackers towards the line of scrimmage, and a scrambling J.T Barrett, and the Buckeyes appear to have all the weapons of a top-ranked offensive attack in 2017.
