Personnel and Recruiting
The personnel listing below is more of a recruiting and organizational guide, detailing the ideal personnel and how to arrange them on the depth chart to get the most out of them. This offense makes extensive use out of hybrid players so it can be adapted to just about any set of personnel; however, this is what the ideal situation would look like.
I am using different terminology for the offense this year, each position will have both a name and number assigned to it. The number system is identical to that of Gus Malzahn's offense, I will use names and numbers interchangeably. When I get to the formation section, I'll be utilizing slides straight from Malzahn's install material that uses the numbering system so I want to establish that system now.
Quarterback (1) – This position is probably the biggest change from NCAA 13 to NCAA 14. The QB was more of a point guard in my '13 offense, distributing the ball to the backs and making very easy throws. The '14 version of this offense is
very reliant on the quarterback. He must be able to carry a significant burden, both running the ball and throwing it down the field.
The key ratings for a quarterback are a solid carry rating and arm strength. He is going to take a lot of hits so he has to be able to lock up the rock. I've found that THP is the key to a successful passer in NCAA, especially with the Accuracy slider at 5 like most ODs have it. That sounds backwards but that's EA for you. True QBs and Athlete QBs work equally well, but without a strong throwing arm, you will be at a disadvantage. The QB doesn't have to be fast, but it helps tremendously if he is. 78 SPD is about as low as I'll go when recruiting a quarterback, that isn't to say a slower pocket passer wouldn't work, but much slower than 78 SPD and you're losing the numbers advantage you gain from running a spread gun offense.
I-Back (4) – Must be a good all around runner, you can adjust the play calling to your back's strength but he must be a good all around ball carrier. If you have power backs, you'll run more Inside Zone, Traps and Power. If you have speed backs, you'll be able to run more Buck Sweep, Counter Sweep and Jet Sweep. The best situation you can have is a thunder and lighting pairing with one power back and a speed back.
You need depth here, a significant amount of your yearly scouting and recruiting needs to be spent on backs and you should expect to have a rotation of 2 or 3 that will see consistent playing time. Don't discount Athletes for this position, some of my best I-Backs in NCAA 14 have been recruited as Athletes. You will need one I-Back per recruiting class.
On your depth chart, your top 3 I-Backs will be listed at HB1, HB2 and FB1. That will allow you to use in-formation packages to get one of the three main backs on the field (HB Sub/Spell and Fullback). There is no "Pivotback" in the offense this year, the Pivotback's roles have been reassigned to the I-Back and Flanker.
Fullback (3) – The Fullback is the key position in the offense. It puts the
I in the Spread-I. The Fullback position will be filled from the Tight End section of the depth chart and align everywhere from the backfield, to a wing position, to a traditional inline TE spot to flexed out into the slot. The Fullback
must be able to block otherwise he is pointless. His role is to regain a numbers advantage in the box, as long as he can block, he'll have a place on the field. 70 RBK and 70 IBL will get the job done, much less than that and you'll see quite a bit of run through off the edge when you run sweeps. I've had a couple devastating blockers at Fullback with RBK and IBL ratings in the mid to upper 80s and they have routinely led my team in pancake blocks.
Similar to the I-Back position, I really like a thunder (blocker) and lightning (receiver) pairing at Fullback in this offense. In that situation, the receiver belongs at TE1 and the blocker belongs at TE2. Even when you have a true Fullback on your roster, that player should be listed at Tight End. Very few of the formations in the game this year have a FB Wing/TE package. By organizing all the Fullbacks on the TE depth chart, you can use a variety of in-formation packages to get both players on the field in different roles.
Tight End/Y Receiver (5) – The Tight End is a hybrid player, part slot receiver, part fullback and part traditional tight end. Who fills the position will depend on what you have on the team. The majority of the time, this position will be a larger possession wide receiver with decent run block/impact block ratings. In a thunder/lighting Fullback situation like mentioned above, the receiving Fullback would play the 5 and the blocking Fullback would play the 3 but this is rare. Despite the tight end name, this player is a true receiver and will spend 99% of his snaps split in the slot.
The key attributes here are size and run/impact block. There are a number of athletes generated in ODs each season who are around 6'4" ~230lbs who are primarily wide receivers with blocking ratings in the 60s and good catch ratings. These guys are absolutely perfect for the system. Those athletes tend to fly under the radar due to their slower speeds but for this role, they are a perfect fit. Same goes for true tight ends who might have low 80s speed and great pass catching skills but a low overall rating because of mediocre block ratings. Again, those guys fly under the radar but in position changes, tend to get an overall ratings boost so keep an eye out for these guys.
The better blocker this player is, the more you can get cute with personnel groupings and use him as a traditional inline tight end or even a fullback. This guy will generally be WR3 on your depth chart and align in the slot. In Malzahn's offense, the 5 moves down to a traditional tight end in his Ace, Deuce, Trey and Trio formations while the 3 splits into the slot. I don't find myself doing that often, but it provides another option if you have a talented enough player.
Flanker/Z Receiver (2) – The Flanker is another hybrid player, part receiver and part runner. He takes over much of the responsibilities of the Pivotback from last year. He is the guy that is going to go in motion on most plays, accept Jet handoffs, serve as the primary screen receiver, etc. He must be fast enough to be a run threat on Jet Sweep and agile enough to get upfield and make people miss on screens. There is an abundance of this type of player generated each year in recruiting, both at the WR position and as Athletes. Obviously the better the receiver the more you can do with the guy, but this player's primary responsibility is motioning to block, running the ball and catching screens so an elite catch rating isn't necessary. I've made players with a 60 catch rating work just fine here. Ideally, this player will also have decent run block ratings because he will be used to motion and crack block but blocking ability should not supersede athleticism.
Generally, this player is going to align to the passing strength of the offense. He'll align outside of the tight end (5) side of Twins formations and to the outside of Trips in 3x1 formations. This player will usually be listed at WR2 and moved around via various packages like WR Flip and X/Z/Strong Slots to get him the ball via screens and motion.
Split End/X Receiver (9) – This is the best pure receiver of the offense. He is your home run hitter. He doesn't have to be a burner, but he
must have a high release rating and
must be a possession receiver. This guy will align as the solo side receiver in most formations so he must be able to break the press and get down the field. He is the best all around pass catcher and primary vertical threat in the offense. The bigger and faster the Split End, the better off you'll be but as long as he has high release and catch ratings, he'll do just fine. Place him at WR1 on the depth chart.
When it comes to the 2, 5 and 9 positions, I generally try to have 2 players for each spot and then mix and match. Unfortunately because of the way the depth chart works in game, there will be times when you have a guy out of position due to injury or fatigue of the player ahead of him. If you're vigilant about it, it shouldn't cause too much trouble. Your WR Depth Chart will not always be in order of overall rating, order them based on position in the offense.
Offensive Line – Run blockers with high impact blocking are important here. You do not need instant contributors on the OL. I like to recruit anywhere from 2-4 low to mid 70's overall linemen with relatively even blocking ratings across the board. I don't want a guy with one blocking rating way above the other because he won't progress evenly. Look for players with a solid ~70 across the board, after 2-3 seasons in the system, they'll develop into very good OL. For guards, keep an eye on acceleration. There is a lot of pulling and double teaming in this offense so you need that guy to be able to get out in front.
Unfortunately, NCAA 14 seems to have increased the awareness hit offensive linemen take when they are played out of position or moved to a different position in the off-season. You used to be able to play an OL everywhere and not see much drop off, this year, you will see a drop off if you play a center at guard or tackle or vice versa. If at all possible, try to maintain 2-3 deep at all 5 positions, especially at left and right guard who will generally fatigue quicker than most of your other OL. Once you establish depth, you have a lot more freedom to use formation subs to rotate in different OL and keep everyone fresh for the full game.
