Johnny Football poses a lot of problems on the football field. Sure he can run and throw, but one of the most important things the sophomore Texas A&M quarterback will have to do on Saturday is read.
The read-option has swept through the nation as a successful way to put an athletic quarterback in a position where he can succeed, the Aggies are no different — doing whatever they can to put their star in positions to succeed.
It involves taking the snap out of the shotgun or pistol formation, leaving a lineman or linebacker untouched, putting the ball in the running back’s belly then reading the defense to decide whether to hand the ball off or keep it.
In other words, a lot has to go right in order for it to be successful. But Manziel has proven he has the football IQ and athleticism necessary to make it work.
“We’ve been watching a lot of film and trying to see how everybody else contained him,” said junior defensive Jermauria Rasco. “The whole [defensive] line is going to have to be on point and executing what coach has told us to do over the bye week.”
Rasco said the most important thing when defending the read-option is discipline. When players try going outside the system to make a play, that’s when the offense is able to rip off a long gain.
The toughest part of defending the read-option for a defensive lineman can be coming off the ball unblocked, as the offensive line shifts to allow the quarterback to fool the defensive end, Rasco said.
Junior defensive tackle Ego Ferguson said reading where the ball is going and reading your blocker makes defending the option difficult because the blocker might be signaling the play is going one way, but the ball is going the other direction.
Both Mississippi State and Auburn used the read option to devastating effect on LSU in games earlier this season.
Auburn — whose offense took off after its September loss to LSU — used the read-option to gash the Tigers’ defense in the second half, laying the blueprint for Mississippi State to do the same thing two weeks later.
Both Auburn and Mississippi State had athletic quarterbacks, which allowed them to install the read-option into their offense.
“It’s a great game plan when you’ve got a great athlete at the quarterback position,” said junior defensive tackle Anthony Johnson. “Our coaches try to put us in a position to push the pocket back to keep [Manziel] contained. We did a good job of it last year, but at the end of the day we have to play well as a unit.”
The Aggies use the read-option in unison with their hurry-up offense in attempt to wear teams down throughout the game. Texas A&M has run 79.8 plays per game on average through the first 10 games of the season. LSU averages only 67.5 plays per game.
“It’s crazy how fast they are going to be moving,” Rasco said. “I told the young guys ‘If you haven’t played yet this season, you’ll play in the A&M game.’ Last year I played more against Texas A&M than any other team because of the rotations.”