Coach -

I became intrigued by Wake Forest’s offense, specifically the “slow mesh” in 2019. Five years later, I still believe it is the most innovative RPO offense in the game.

I studied it, putting the mesh on the stopwatch. In the sample of plays I timed, I found that the mesh to decision took as long as 2.5 seconds, compared to the traditional zone read mesh, which takes about 1.3 seconds.  New Wake Forest QB Hank Bachmeier took as long as three seconds to throw the third level route this past weekend.

For those unfamiliar with Wake’s offense, its slow mesh is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The quarterback and running back literally walk to the line of scrimmage as they decide who gets the ball and where it is going.

In the passing game, this is the difference between quick game timing (1.3 seconds) and drop-back timing (2.5 seconds), so it makes sense to utilize the RPO done this was because it doesn’t put the defensive line in pass rush mode, and it creates some very explosive plays.

The slow mesh opens up the downfield throws like posts, digs, and even deep crossing routes.

Offensive Line Technique

What WF has done best is marry their line play with this strategy. The line is not passive in any regard. When they fit on defensive linemen, they are working hard to distort him and help create the running lane, but they need to take lead steps off of the line. Because the line is not running off the ball, the quarterback and running back can take their time getting to the line and see the running lane opening before them. 

You can see the detail in the technique and the patience in letting the defense define their gap responsibility before climbing to level 2. In most cases, it’s not even a climb. The combo distorts the level 1 defender, and they are patient in that they have driven the down defender up to level 2, or the linebacker comes to them on a fit.  

This patience and application of technique create a clear picture for the running back and open up the level three throws. Because of the line's patience and technique, they are not down field on these throws where the ball is getting out at three seconds.  In his presentation, Offensive Line Coach Nick Tabacca, notes he wants them to “Hang on those double teams and move guys.”

Here is offensive line Coach Nick Tabacca coaching the details of their combos in this video:

Video: Box Drill Inside Zone 

Routes Behind

As I’ve said, the slower mesh is utilized on their RPO’s with the quarterback spending extra time riding the mesh with the running back to be able to see his key pull and throw the ball for a big play.  It makes the 3rd Level RPO a very viable part of their attack.

The outside zone with a crack route by the receiver makes this a very difficult play to defend.  Head Coach Dave Clawson illustrates the play in this video (click on image for video):

Video: Route Behind

Wake Forest Offensive Coordinator Warren Ruggerio does an excellent job packing the RPO offense with complementary plays that take advantage of defensive adjustments to try to take away the RPO game.

It’s a well-thought out offense and strategy for moving the football with non-traditional techniques.

Have you seen an innovative offense at the high school or college level?  I’d love to hear about it.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski