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Film study: Ole Miss’ Pistol run game can complement Chad Kelly
By Murf Baldwin
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In what appears to be consistent with every SEC team, well, actually, college football in general, Mississippi is only one stinking aspect from being one of the of the most complete teams in the country — albeit a pretty big aspect.
After all, its ability to stifle a passing offense may only be superseded by its ability to both control and press gaps.
The secondary is adept at zone or man coverage and possesses players that can fly around with the best of them and deliver those spread-you-on-the-grass-like-fertilizer hits (e.g. senior Rover Trae Elston).
On offense, you won’t get many complaints about head coach Hugh Freeze’s multiplicative, spread-to-pass scheme that takes advantage of his basketball-on-grass-like approach to tempo, which coincides with the basketball-like talent he covets at the wide receiver position (most notably the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Laquon Treadwell and the 6-foot-3, 227-pound Evan Engram).
Transfer quarterback Chad Kelly has met my expectations and diced up quite a few defenses by exploiting all quadrants of the field with a mesh of underneath accuracy and arm strength.
But that’s where it ends.
Sure, I’d like to say that the Rebels’ ability to bend the edge in the run game with the diminutive Jaylen Walton, 5-foot-8, 172 pounds, is enough to be a factor in a conference that eats its young for breakfast if it can’t establish the line of scrimmage, but it’s not. That’s why I’ve been completely intrigued by Freeze’s implementation, or lack thereof, of a couple of bigger backs in a formation designed at achieving the proper angle for a power-run game.
Make no mistake: Freeze’s offense is primarily a Shotgun-based outfit.
However, the implementation of the “Pistol” formation can help out on a number of fronts by providing an avenue for back-to-the-basket play-action-fakes and generating organic downhill running lanes.
Here we see the 5-foot-11, 221-pound Akeem Judd being deployed on a Dive out of “Ace personnel.” Notice how he’s able to get North/South from the jump opposed to having to take an initial lateral step from the Gun. To further the point, this run was equipped with a trap block by a pulling left guard Javon Patterson.
This is “Grown Man” ball, folks, from Ole Miss!
Judd looks like a stud the more I study his 31 carries — on which he’s gained 166 yards for a 5.4 average. I shudder to think about how powerful this offense would be if the primary ball-carriers were Judd and the 6-foot-1, 214-pound Jordan Wilkins (48 attempts for 204 yards), the latter of which I predicted to be a breakout star for this season’s Rebel squad. A power-run game would help the Rebels salt away games and limit possessions of other teams, but the formation can help open up an already high-powered passing attack as well.
Case in point: Look at how this authentic play-action fake garnered the attention of the entire defense.
The implementation of the Pistol can be a game-changer for an offense that’s as good as it gets through the air. As much as Coach Freeze would like to admit it, a finesse attack on the ground can only get you so far in the SEC. It’s time for the Rebels to start wearing down defenses with bigger, physical backs.
Let’s see how it plays out with a Mississippi team that still controls its own destiny in a monster of a division.
Former linebacker/safety Murf Baldwin specializes in diving deep into the Xs and Os of the game with the goal of educating and entertaining while bringing fans closer to their team.