Our Small College Team of the Week Plays Complementary Football
Oct 13, 2023 1:48 pm
Coach ,
Our CoachesClinic Small College Team of the Week is #22 DePauw University (6-0). Head Coach Brett Dietz has the Tigers performing solidly in all phases of the game.
Complementary Football
Offensive Coordinator Mason Espinosa leads an offense averaging 477 yards per game (#25 in the country) and 43.5 points per game while the defense led by Defensive Coordinator Rory Mannering is holding opponents to 246.7 ypg (#21) and 10.0 ppg (#10).
On top of that they are doing a great job of winning the field position battle with special teams with the kickoff unit #1 in the country averaging 31.46 yards per return.
Junior QB Nathan McCahill is #6 in the country in passing efficiency 190.82 and #7 in yards per completion 16.68. He’s 85 of 136 for 1,418 yards, 18TD and only 2 INT.
Junior LB Jake Comer was selected North Coast Athletic Conference Football Defensive Athlete of the Week after his performance in DePauw's 17-6 win over Denison. Comer finished with seven tackles, all solos, and forced a fumble on a sack that resulted in a 17-yard loss and a 9-yard return by teammate Ethan Lowry.
Taking Shots
Coach Dietz spoke at the 1st Virtual Summit in the country held during the pandemic sharing the Tigers play action passing game.
The offense starts with being a spread offense with a “hard ball mentality” and being balanced. Coach Dietz explains the philosophy here:
In a balanced offense, the Tigers average 213.5 rush/263.5 pass, play action always plays a big role in moving the chains and scoring points.
One of his favorite concepts which he utilizes is off of the inside zone. He likes the play as a playaction drop back that allows them to take a shot down the field. He’s a big believer in faking to the same side the shot is going. He illustrates it with a diagram and game film here:
Congratulations to Coach Dietz and the Tigers on a great start to the 2023 season. A game to watch is one of the biggest rivalries in small college football against Wabash which is played for the Monon Bell. That game is always played in the last week of the regular season. Wabash leads the Monon Bell series, 44-40-6 DePauw is in possession of the bell after winning 49-14 in 2022. That’s a fun one to watch and is November 11 at 1:07pm and can be watched through DePauw’s website.
Have a great weekend of football!
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski