Michigan Football Series: How to Build & Package RPOs

with Josh Gattis,
University of Miami Offensive Coordinator;
2021 Broyles Award recipient (top assistant coach in college football);
University of Michigan Offensive Coordinator from 2019 to 2021;
Scout.com 2015 Big Ten Recruiter of the Year;
has coached 14 All-Conference and 5 All-American wide receivers;
former Co-Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receiver Coach at the University of Alabama;
also coached wide receivers at Penn State, Vanderbilt and Western Michigan;
2x All-ACC as a player (safety) at Wake Forest University;
drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007 and played for the Chicago Bears

Run-Pass-Options are becoming increasingly popular at various levels of football due to the pressure they put on the defense to make a decision. If you're wanting to start running RPOs on your own team, or simply want to add more ideas to your current RPO package, then this video featuring Josh Gattis is a great resource.

How and Why Michigan Runs RPOs

Coach Gattis begins his presentation by giving an overview of the Michigan philosophy regarding RPOs. He explains that the RPO is a way for the offense to keep the defense from overloading the box to defend the run. At Michigan, the RPO is a way to help the offense be able to run the football against favorable numbers in the box. Gattis also explains the importance of being able to protect the quarterback against pressure looks that the defense will run. You'll see several examples of how Michigan protects the QB against the 7th and 8th man on the defense if they try to pressure the QB. In all, you'll get:

• Michigan's favorite run scheme to tag an RPO to.
• Ideas for how to keep the QB protected against pressure looks.
• Michigan's method for keeping the numbers in their favor on run plays with the use of the RPO.
• How Michigan teaches their QBs to identify the "conflict" player that is controlled by the RPO.

Michigan's Main RPO Scheme

Coach Gattis continues by diagramming the main RPO used at Michigan with both 6-man and 7-man run schemes. He then shows several examples, using practice video, of the main RPO concept that Michigan uses. Route running mechanics as well as QB read progression are explained in great detail against several defensive looks.

During the course of the presentation, Gattis shows several examples of the most common ways teams try to defend their RPO scheme. He also covers adjustments that can be made to the RPO concept that allows the offense to have a favorable match-up.

This is a valuable video presentation of Michigan's base RPO concept. Coach Gattis does a thorough job explaining what you need to know to implement this scheme and always have an advantage over the defense!

80 minutes. 2019.