joseephuss
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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...lying-offense-through-its-center--not-qb.html
Unconventional attack: La. Tech runs high-flying offense through its center, not QB
One of the most dynamic offensive players in college football has zero touchdowns, zero catches, zero rushes and zero yards.
He's a walk-on who says he got scholarship offers from "Louisiana College and Arkansas … I can't remember the name of it."
He's the heartbeat of one of the most explosive teams in the country. And he spent his Thursday at a job fair hoping to make connections in the construction industry.
It's easy to laugh at the idea of Stephen Warner, offensive lineman, being a college football superstar, but his Louisiana Tech offense is the only one in the nation to score 50 or more points in each of its first three games. It's 17-for-17 in red zone scoring (with 16 touchdowns) and it has scored eight touchdowns in less than a minute.
And its MVP, Warner, is a center. But not just any center.
Warner calls the plays.
You read that right. Warner, a senior, doesn't just snap the ball and block. He gets the plays from the sideline, reads the defense, calls the blocking assignments and then barks the snap count. He might have the most unique job in college football.
"I'm not aware of any other offenses that are doing it right now," says Tech offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. And that seems clear from defenses' inability to react to it. Last week against Illinois, Tech scored 52 points and gained 403 yards, a season low for the 3-0 team. (And Tech hasn't played any FCS schools, either.)
Tech even has a play designed for when (not if) defenses get confused. Warner draws a pass rusher offside with a moderated cadence, and then when somebody jumps, he switches to a "Freeze" play where all the Tech receivers take off for the end zone. Free play, and sometimes free points. It worked like a charm against Illinois, though the play was called back because of a penalty. No matter; if you jump offside against Warner and Tech, be prepared to run down the field while the culprit of this sleight-of-voice trick watches in pride.
Unconventional attack: La. Tech runs high-flying offense through its center, not QB
One of the most dynamic offensive players in college football has zero touchdowns, zero catches, zero rushes and zero yards.
He's a walk-on who says he got scholarship offers from "Louisiana College and Arkansas … I can't remember the name of it."
He's the heartbeat of one of the most explosive teams in the country. And he spent his Thursday at a job fair hoping to make connections in the construction industry.
It's easy to laugh at the idea of Stephen Warner, offensive lineman, being a college football superstar, but his Louisiana Tech offense is the only one in the nation to score 50 or more points in each of its first three games. It's 17-for-17 in red zone scoring (with 16 touchdowns) and it has scored eight touchdowns in less than a minute.
And its MVP, Warner, is a center. But not just any center.
Warner calls the plays.
You read that right. Warner, a senior, doesn't just snap the ball and block. He gets the plays from the sideline, reads the defense, calls the blocking assignments and then barks the snap count. He might have the most unique job in college football.
"I'm not aware of any other offenses that are doing it right now," says Tech offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. And that seems clear from defenses' inability to react to it. Last week against Illinois, Tech scored 52 points and gained 403 yards, a season low for the 3-0 team. (And Tech hasn't played any FCS schools, either.)
Tech even has a play designed for when (not if) defenses get confused. Warner draws a pass rusher offside with a moderated cadence, and then when somebody jumps, he switches to a "Freeze" play where all the Tech receivers take off for the end zone. Free play, and sometimes free points. It worked like a charm against Illinois, though the play was called back because of a penalty. No matter; if you jump offside against Warner and Tech, be prepared to run down the field while the culprit of this sleight-of-voice trick watches in pride.
