Coach ,

It's been a turbulent season with some head coaches already out for 2022. That means some names are emerging as the hottest coaches in the game. One of those is Sonny Dykes the head coach at SMU.

Sonny Dykes took over a team that saw only one winning season in the previous five years and quickly built it into a conference championship contender in the American Athletic Conference, with a 24-6 record over the past three seasons and reaching 10 wins for the Mustangs for the first time since 1983. Going into week 9 of the season, the Mustangs are 7-0 and ranked #19 in the country.

For coach Dykes, having a high-performing offense is what is driving success on the field. The offense is currently in the Top 10 in several categories:

#6 Total Offense 524.4 ypg (192.1 rush/333.3 pass)

#6 Scoring Offense 42.7 ppg

#7 Team Passing Efficiency171.94

#10 Passing Offense 333.3 ypg

Like most coaches, Coach Dykes has plays that he hangs his hat on and his favorite is one he calls “Oregon.” Coach illustrates how a single play - what he believes is the best in football, the “Cross,” can provide the versatility to adapt to personnel. He notes that it is difficult to cover if you understand the details.

Here is the play and coaching points:

Split End (9)

• Must outside release
• restack, get vert, bottom numbers 
• get shoulder square and run as fast as you can
• Trying to get safety off the has if 2 safety look
• 1 safety/man you can get the ball

Slot (3) 

• Option route - 5 yard option route
• Looks like out, can sit vs zone and settle
• Can get creative with this route and adjust to fit personnel
• Sell the play with eyes on the 9 and pivot doesn’t happen as fast and qb can stay on the read longer
• Wes Welker route
• Can run it out of backfield -can turn in

Y (5)

• Go under Sam over Mike
• Release flat and you must get overtop of the linebacker
• Eyes back to QB after clearing him
• If grass, you can throttle down (not settle)
• Man coverage stay on the run
• Run OB 21 yards down the field
• Man coverage=stair climb and get flat to stay friendly for QB

Backside (2)

• Post-Curl
• Critical that P/C is adjustable rout
• Make it such that it is 4th read timing
• Years where it’s their most thrown/completed
• Push to 12, toe in the ground sell post to 17 yards, stick toe in ground and find grass back to the quarterback 

(4) Running Back 

• protect to swing
• Stretch to bottom of numbers to move the whole player out of the post curl

QB 

• Progression = MOR to Option to Cross to PC to Swing

Coach goes over the route in film here (click on image for video):

If you are running the cross now as your season continues, there are definitely some great coaching points that can help you enhance the concept in your offense.

If you are preparing for the next season, Coach Dykes provides a powerful plan for building your offense in his clinic “How to Put Together an Offense.”  The steps you take this off-season are critical in best matching your personnel to your plans. As coach said, “Players not Plays.” Be sure to study this entire clinic.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski