Which Offense Is The Most Effective: Option-Based or Pro Style?

Answering a broad question like “Which offense is better?” is a complicated task that often requires extensive research. Before we do any of that, it is important to note that any offense with exceptional athletes and the right coaching staff has a chance to succeed. At the high school level, option-based offenses are a dime a dozen. In college, a select few programs run the offense. In the NFL, the option is non-existent. So, which choice is best for teams at each level?

In high school, you don’t have to travel far from our South Georgia location to see examples of each type of offense. Thomas County Central, led by head coach Bill Shaver, runs a split-back veer offense that at times has looked unstoppable. Shaver has had the luxury of having players like current Clemson running back Adam Choice in the offense, and with the right athletes, there aren’t many defenses that can keep the option-style offense quiet for four quarters. Having quick backs who can turn the corner but also cut block is important, and having a big, physical receiver who can make plays down the field is equally vital. But the quarterback of an option-style offense is by far the most important player in the system, as possessing the ability to properly read defenders and get the ball to the right players is often times the difference between busting a 75-yard run and being stuffed for no gain. The option-style offense has history on its side, as both high school and college teams aplenty used to run some version of the system back in the day. Locally, Thomas County Central dominated the 1990s with a similar offense.

The Pro-Style offense is the popular offense at both the high school and collegiate levels for one main reason: That’s what NFL teams run, so players aspiring to make it to the highest level want to run it as well. Locally, Colquitt County runs an offense that more-closely resembles that of a college or NFL team, despite the fact that the Packers almost always line up in the shotgun formation. Rush Propst and company employ a wide range of quick-hitting passes and draw players to lure a defense to sleep before taking a chance down the field, much the way they did at the end of the Mill Creek game in the Georgia Dome in high school football’s opening season. The Packers just recently reeled off 30 wins in a row, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most coaches and players prefer an offense that more closely resembles a pro-style rather than an option offense.

Despite this fact, I still think the option-based offenses aren’t given enough consideration or enough credit. I wouldn’t label myself an “old-school” football fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe the option offense is much more difficult to defend than an offense that airs the ball out frequently.

Consider this: While very few college football teams run the option, two schools, Georgia Tech and the Naval Academy, have each experienced success with the system. Navy just graduated one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history in quarterback Keenan Reynolds, whose sound decision making placed him among the all-time greats in total touchdowns scored. Georgia Tech, which also runs an option-style offense under head coach Paul Johnson and speedy QB Justin Thomas, won the 2014 Orange Bowl by gashing opposing defenses on the ground. The Jackets went to Athens and defeated bitter rival UGA using a second-half performance that can only be described as dominant, as Tech’s smaller linemen and lesser-known recruits physically pummeled Georgia on the ground as the game wore on.

What that game showed me, and what I’m surprised it did not show more college football experts and fans, is that the option offense can work against larger and more physically-imposing opponents. Georgia Tech is not known for having highly-rated recruiting classes; instead, the Jackets compile classes of scrappy three-stars willing to battle in the trenches and get the job done.

This would, admittedly, never happen, but what if a school like Alabama ran the option? With the dominant running backs the Tide has had over the last few seasons, it isn’t a stretch to say that Nick Saban and company could win as much as they do now while emulating a GT-style attack.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, why wouldn’t a team that consistently struggles, like Vanderbilt in the SEC, try the option? The Commodores are a lock to lose multiple games per season in the daunting Southeastern Conference, so why not switch things up and run something different? As physically-dominant as most SEC defenses are, I wonder whether or not the discipline to defend the option for four quarters is there. It is frustrating and exhausting, and schools like Vandy would be almost guaranteed to secure another win or two per season using the system. For proof, all you have to do is look back to the 2014 Georgia Tech team, who didn’t have many highly-ranked recruits but still outcoached and defeated several schools with NFL talent at nearly every position.

Running a pro-style attack is and will continue to be the most popular choice for football teams, but the option offense can be impossible to defend when the right athletes are put in the system. Thomas County Central has won multiple state championships with an offense similar to this, while Georgia Tech, Navy, and even up-and-coming Georgia Southern have had runs of success with the system. I don’t think there should be as much of a drop off from high school to college in terms of number of teams running the option.

Several high school teams employ the system, but almost no college teams do. While NCAA greats like Alabama would never consider switching (though I think they would still have success if they did), those who struggle should, in my opinion, consider the switch. I strongly believe that running the option is the most dangerous style of offense that can work on any and all levels of football, and that includes the NFL.