Was Frank Solich eventually transitioning to the spread?

[BleedsHuskerRed]

Many people have postulated that Frank Solich was eventually going to spread out his offense and turn NU into a spread option team. Much like WVU and air force today. Being that the zone read, QB wrap, or whatever you want to call it is one of t he most successful offensive plays we see today one can only wonder if fearless franky was eventually moving in that direction .... and where NU wouldve gone with him.
However, I have yet to see any evidence of Frank moving in that direction. His antique version of the option was a little too much for me to handle and I was glad when we has swept aside....
Does anyone think Frank was going to spread em out and modernize NUs option offense?

[mrcold]

No chance.

[tfree32]

I don't think Solich had a good understanding of the option, much less the ability to innovate and transition into a new offensive system. I've seen high school with more advanced offenses than his five play offense.

[The Big Red Emperor]

I don't think Solich had a good understanding of the option...

You are of course kidding right?  Maybe you meant that Solich wasn't as gifted a gameday playcaller as his predecessor?  As far as not understanding the option, that is ludicrous.  Solich very much understood (and still understands) option football, power football, the running game, etc.

The guy may have let recruiting go by the wayside while he was here and can be damned for a few things, but not having a "good understanding" of option football or a power based running game isn't one of them.

You'd have a much better argument saying that Solich didn't recruit the IB's necessary to run a true version of the option offense or install the desired power running elements.  He was QB heavy as that is what his personnel dictated.  Which of course traces back to recruiting.

Solich isn't a poor coach, the guy knows football.  He failed in other areas as a head man.  Those have been dissected to death, but his knowledge of the game shouldn't come into question at all.

The guy learned the NU offense at the feet of the master.  He was integral in putting some wrinkles in that offense.  The quoted comment above is a bit (err, a lot) misleading...

[Carolina Husker]

I think he was.  I'll never say he was the best the coach but I believe his mind was in the right place.  Can you imagine what Crouch could have done in West Virginia's offense?  The thought is staggering.  I just think Solich was to slow to develop it.

[crazyhole]

the biggest thing keeping our offense from being unbelievably potent during Frank's tenure was Dave Gillespe's insistence that our RB's all weigh 220 or more.  Had Dahrran Diedrick been allowed to play at his freshman weight he could have been one of the best we've had.

[BleedingBigRed]

Well, to answer some of your own questions, all you have to do is take a gander at what kind of offense he is running in Ohio at this time. Did he change it once he was there? Was it a smooth transition over? Or an all at once thing similar to how quickly it was changed here by Bill Callahan to a WCO.

Look into that and that will answer all your questions.

[clone]

Was Frank Solich eventually transitioning to the spread?

I don't think so.

but opinions vary.

[BleedsHuskerRed]

Well, to answer some of your own questions, all you have to do is take a gander at what kind of offense he is running in Ohio at this time. Did he change it once he was there? Was it a smooth transition over?.

Well looking at stats....
their QB passed for 1766 yds and rushed for -7 yds ...so something must have changed
top RB rushed for 1434 yds
Not a very potent offense ranked 82nd in the country
i really cant find any highlights of them anywhere
tough to say

[_husker_]

Who cares?

What offense was Bill Jennings moving to?

[The Big Red Emperor]

What offense was Bill Jennings moving to?

Retro.  He was going back to NU's roots and installing the Jumbo Stiehm era juggernaut...

[tfree32]

I don't think Solich had a good understanding of the option...

You are of course kidding right?  Maybe you meant that Solich wasn't as gifted a gameday playcaller as his predecessor?  As far as not understanding the option, that is ludicrous.  Solich very much understood (and still understands) option football, power football, the running game, etc.

The guy may have let recruiting go by the wayside while he was here and can be damned for a few things, but not having a "good understanding" of option football or a power based running game isn't one of them.

You'd have a much better argument saying that Solich didn't recruit the IB's necessary to run a true version of the option offense or install the desired power running elements.  He was QB heavy as that is what his personnel dictated.  Which of course traces back to recruiting.

Solich isn't a poor coach, the guy knows football.  He failed in other areas as a head man.  Those have been dissected to death, but his knowledge of the game shouldn't come into question at all.

The guy learned the NU offense at the feet of the master.  He was integral in putting some wrinkles in that offense.  The quoted comment above is a bit (err, a lot) misleading...

I'm going to respectfully disagree. You can blame the limitations in Solich's version of the offense on not recruiting quality I-backs. You have a point there. I'd add that Crouch wasn't bright enough to run a very complicated offense. But I certainly think a factor was Solich lacking the ability to throw the necessary wrinkles in that make the option truly dangerous. It was all Crouch all the time...and since he was at best limited as a passer, that meant the offense was predictable. Crouch was a good enough athlete that predictable worked against most of the Big 12, but that predictability was glaringly exposed against teams like Miami.

[SCVHusker]

No ... I won't go there.

[Red Storm Rising]

I don't think Solich had a good understanding of the option...

You are of course kidding right?  Maybe you meant that Solich wasn't as gifted a gameday playcaller as his predecessor?  As far as not understanding the option, that is ludicrous.  Solich very much understood (and still understands) option football, power football, the running game, etc.

The guy may have let recruiting go by the wayside while he was here and can be damned for a few things, but not having a "good understanding" of option football or a power based running game isn't one of them.

You'd have a much better argument saying that Solich didn't recruit the IB's necessary to run a true version of the option offense or install the desired power running elements.  He was QB heavy as that is what his personnel dictated.  Which of course traces back to recruiting.

Solich isn't a poor coach, the guy knows football.  He failed in other areas as a head man.  Those have been dissected to death, but his knowledge of the game shouldn't come into question at all.

The guy learned the NU offense at the feet of the master.  He was integral in putting some wrinkles in that offense.  The quoted comment above is a bit (err, a lot) misleading...

I'm going to respectfully disagree. You can blame the limitations in Solich's version of the offense on not recruiting quality I-backs. You have a point there. I'd add that Crouch wasn't bright enough to run a very complicated offense. But I certainly think a factor was Solich lacking the ability to throw the necessary wrinkles in that make the option truly dangerous. It was all Crouch all the time...and since he was at best limited as a passer, that meant the offense was predictable. Crouch was a good enough athlete that predictable worked against most of the Big 12, but that predictability was glaringly exposed against teams like Miami.

Solich didn't understand the system he worked in for 20+ years--Crouch wasn't very bright--sure is a good thing we have Mensa members like you around to point that out for the rest of us that aren't as quick witted as you  :roll:

GBR

[tfree32]

I don't think Solich had a good understanding of the option...

You are of course kidding right?  Maybe you meant that Solich wasn't as gifted a gameday playcaller as his predecessor?  As far as not understanding the option, that is ludicrous.  Solich very much understood (and still understands) option football, power football, the running game, etc.

The guy may have let recruiting go by the wayside while he was here and can be damned for a few things, but not having a "good understanding" of option football or a power based running game isn't one of them.

You'd have a much better argument saying that Solich didn't recruit the IB's necessary to run a true version of the option offense or install the desired power running elements.  He was QB heavy as that is what his personnel dictated.  Which of course traces back to recruiting.

Solich isn't a poor coach, the guy knows football.  He failed in other areas as a head man.  Those have been dissected to death, but his knowledge of the game shouldn't come into question at all.

The guy learned the NU offense at the feet of the master.  He was integral in putting some wrinkles in that offense.  The quoted comment above is a bit (err, a lot) misleading...

I'm going to respectfully disagree. You can blame the limitations in Solich's version of the offense on not recruiting quality I-backs. You have a point there. I'd add that Crouch wasn't bright enough to run a very complicated offense. But I certainly think a factor was Solich lacking the ability to throw the necessary wrinkles in that make the option truly dangerous. It was all Crouch all the time...and since he was at best limited as a passer, that meant the offense was predictable. Crouch was a good enough athlete that predictable worked against most of the Big 12, but that predictability was glaringly exposed against teams like Miami.

Solich didn't understand the system he worked in for 20+ years--Crouch wasn't very bright--sure is a good thing we have Mensa members like you around to point that out for the rest of us that aren't as quick witted as you  :roll:

GBR

I never said I was brighter than anyone else, and was just stating my opinion. As for Crouch, he scored something like a 10 on his ACT if I recall correctly. There's a reason he wasn't able to make it in the NFL, and a big part of that was struggling with an NFL playbook.

As far as my opinion on Solich, it's just that...my opinion. Feel free to disagree. But I saw an offense that has been varied and running like a machine become simplied, stagnant, and predictable under Solich.