Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Photo by: @MTAthletics
RUN-Pass Option Gives Blue Raiders a new look in 2021
8/14/2021 6:00:00 PM | Football
Coach Brent Dearmon’s scheme is giving both offense and defense a chance to develop in camp
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- If you ever get a chance to hear Brent Dearmon break down RPOs, take that chance.
Not only will you get your usual football coaching talk of gaps, routes, and blocking schemes, expertly laid out in digestible form for coaches across the football landscape from a guy who literally wrote the book on RPOs, the Saraland, Ala. native will also throw a wide variety of references to make things even easier to understand, for both his players and for those of us who aren't Division I coordinators.
Need a metaphor for what the Run-Pass-Option offense is trying to do? Dearmon has a Bible Belt way to express it.
"Matthew, Chapter 6, says that you can't serve two masters," Dearmon said at the final Blue Raider Blitz of the preseason. "Coach Shafer is trying to get his defensive players to serve the run fit and their pass responsibility. So that's the best way to describe the RPO. Our job is to try to put those players in conflict."
Want your quarterbacks to understand how confident he has to be to go for the "gift" route on a pre-snap read? Tell him it's like proposing marriage: if you have a moment of hesitation, don't go for it.
And if you're trying to explain how to best use your H-backs, your quarterbacks, your wide receivers? Use your son's toys to help out.
"My son has got a little Fisher-Price toy, with a star, and if you're trying to fit it into that square peg, it doesn't work out so well," Dearmon said. "So we're trying to figure out what they do best."
Early days in his first camp for the Blue Raiders, and the Dearmon RPO offense continues to be a point of emphasis for both sides of the ball. Run with a heavy amount of responsibility for the quarterback reading gaps and exploiting what the defense shows him both before and after the snap, often with at least three different options for how the play can be executed based on those reads, it's an offense that has the potential to gash opposing defenses, particularly when Middle Tennessee Football's trademark tempo is thrown into equation.
After Saturday's 115-play scrimmage, quarterback Chase Cunningham pointed out there has only been 22 practices between spring ball and fall camp, plus non-supervised coach workouts throughout the summer, for the team to get acclimated. So there's still plenty of growth to be had on the offensive side of the ball. But early results, particularly with the mental side of the game for the whole unit, have been positive.
"Coach Dearmon does a great job just explaining why we're running what we're running," wide receiver Jarrin Pierce said. "We now know the whole thing, the whole scheme, why everything is happening. Why everybody is running their route. It makes us play even faster, especially when the tempo comes in."
The key with any RPO offense, including Dearmon's, is running the ball, particularly through the team's tailbacks, something the Blue Raiders struggled with in 2020. The quick route concepts (double slants, for example) central to RPOs are only so effective if the defense can afford to drop back in coverage rather than sell out to stop the run.
Offensive line coach Rick Mallory thinks he has the guys to make that point of emphasis work. Both in his unit and in the backfield.
"I have never met an offensive lineman that's worth anything that wasn't a run first guy," Mallory said. "I think we do have some run-first guys. Plus, we've got some backs, we've got some dudes, so it's fun to see that and get rewarded for busting our tails up front and guys hitting where they're supposed to go."
Defensively, MT has been defending forms of the RPO for several years thanks to its proliferation throughout college football. But the benefits of going up against an offense like that every day during practice are evident.
"Coach Dearmon is doing a phenomenal job showing us different looks," cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap said. "It's been a great opportunity for us to work our eyes and work our eye progressions. Because the game of football is changing. Now it's more man-to-man football. You have different variations of coverages, but it's all about match-ups as well. It's really helping us."
The key to a defense countering the RPO differs slightly from unit to unit within the defense. At the line of scrimmage, defensive end Jordan Ferguson points out that staying in run technique and stopping the run is key, because the ball is usually going to be handed off or come out quickly. In the defensive backfield, safety Reed Blankenship and cornerback Quincy Riley focus on having good eyes, sticking with their man when matched up, and creating leverage for the tackle in the event of a handoff.
It's a tricky balance, to be sure. But after so many reps during camp, it is a balance the defense hopes will carry over to attacking other team's option plays when the calendar turns over to September.
As the second weekend of camp rolls on, however, building on what you've already learned is key. Cunningham said the team's offensive capabilities are "levels of improvement" from where they were in the spring. And as they get more comfortable with those gaps, Dearmon knows his guys will be able to execute.
"I think our guys did a really good job this spring of learning overall football," Dearmon said. "I basically taught them starting day 1 like they were an offensive lineman. So they can understand gap play, so they can understand what's happening in front of them all the time, and how that correlates to those extra run defenders.
"I'm really proud of our guys."
Not only will you get your usual football coaching talk of gaps, routes, and blocking schemes, expertly laid out in digestible form for coaches across the football landscape from a guy who literally wrote the book on RPOs, the Saraland, Ala. native will also throw a wide variety of references to make things even easier to understand, for both his players and for those of us who aren't Division I coordinators.
Need a metaphor for what the Run-Pass-Option offense is trying to do? Dearmon has a Bible Belt way to express it.
"Matthew, Chapter 6, says that you can't serve two masters," Dearmon said at the final Blue Raider Blitz of the preseason. "Coach Shafer is trying to get his defensive players to serve the run fit and their pass responsibility. So that's the best way to describe the RPO. Our job is to try to put those players in conflict."
Want your quarterbacks to understand how confident he has to be to go for the "gift" route on a pre-snap read? Tell him it's like proposing marriage: if you have a moment of hesitation, don't go for it.
And if you're trying to explain how to best use your H-backs, your quarterbacks, your wide receivers? Use your son's toys to help out.
"My son has got a little Fisher-Price toy, with a star, and if you're trying to fit it into that square peg, it doesn't work out so well," Dearmon said. "So we're trying to figure out what they do best."
Early days in his first camp for the Blue Raiders, and the Dearmon RPO offense continues to be a point of emphasis for both sides of the ball. Run with a heavy amount of responsibility for the quarterback reading gaps and exploiting what the defense shows him both before and after the snap, often with at least three different options for how the play can be executed based on those reads, it's an offense that has the potential to gash opposing defenses, particularly when Middle Tennessee Football's trademark tempo is thrown into equation.
After Saturday's 115-play scrimmage, quarterback Chase Cunningham pointed out there has only been 22 practices between spring ball and fall camp, plus non-supervised coach workouts throughout the summer, for the team to get acclimated. So there's still plenty of growth to be had on the offensive side of the ball. But early results, particularly with the mental side of the game for the whole unit, have been positive.
"Coach Dearmon does a great job just explaining why we're running what we're running," wide receiver Jarrin Pierce said. "We now know the whole thing, the whole scheme, why everything is happening. Why everybody is running their route. It makes us play even faster, especially when the tempo comes in."
Just the Playmaker doing what he does best.
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) August 14, 2021
Jarrin Pierce finds the end zone. 🙌#BlueRaiders | #EATT pic.twitter.com/2l9uEE1aGY
The key with any RPO offense, including Dearmon's, is running the ball, particularly through the team's tailbacks, something the Blue Raiders struggled with in 2020. The quick route concepts (double slants, for example) central to RPOs are only so effective if the defense can afford to drop back in coverage rather than sell out to stop the run.
Offensive line coach Rick Mallory thinks he has the guys to make that point of emphasis work. Both in his unit and in the backfield.
"I have never met an offensive lineman that's worth anything that wasn't a run first guy," Mallory said. "I think we do have some run-first guys. Plus, we've got some backs, we've got some dudes, so it's fun to see that and get rewarded for busting our tails up front and guys hitting where they're supposed to go."
O-Line makes a path, J-Mont takes it home.#BlueRaiders | #EATT pic.twitter.com/qK88isTkoi
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) August 12, 2021
Defensively, MT has been defending forms of the RPO for several years thanks to its proliferation throughout college football. But the benefits of going up against an offense like that every day during practice are evident.
"Coach Dearmon is doing a phenomenal job showing us different looks," cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap said. "It's been a great opportunity for us to work our eyes and work our eye progressions. Because the game of football is changing. Now it's more man-to-man football. You have different variations of coverages, but it's all about match-ups as well. It's really helping us."
The key to a defense countering the RPO differs slightly from unit to unit within the defense. At the line of scrimmage, defensive end Jordan Ferguson points out that staying in run technique and stopping the run is key, because the ball is usually going to be handed off or come out quickly. In the defensive backfield, safety Reed Blankenship and cornerback Quincy Riley focus on having good eyes, sticking with their man when matched up, and creating leverage for the tackle in the event of a handoff.
𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙖𝙘𝙠 🗣
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) August 14, 2021
Reed Blankenship makes a play during the first fall scrimmage.#BlueRaiders | #EATT pic.twitter.com/qkBPM7bKWe
It's a tricky balance, to be sure. But after so many reps during camp, it is a balance the defense hopes will carry over to attacking other team's option plays when the calendar turns over to September.
As the second weekend of camp rolls on, however, building on what you've already learned is key. Cunningham said the team's offensive capabilities are "levels of improvement" from where they were in the spring. And as they get more comfortable with those gaps, Dearmon knows his guys will be able to execute.
"I think our guys did a really good job this spring of learning overall football," Dearmon said. "I basically taught them starting day 1 like they were an offensive lineman. So they can understand gap play, so they can understand what's happening in front of them all the time, and how that correlates to those extra run defenders.
"I'm really proud of our guys."
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
CB
/ FootballBlue Raider Breakdown Postgame Show - October 8th
Thursday, October 09
MTSU Football vs. Missouri State post-game press conference – 10/8/25
Thursday, October 09
MTSU Football vs. Missouri State post-game press conference – 10/8/25
Wednesday, October 08
Raider Report Game 6 - MTSU vs. Missouri State University
Tuesday, October 07
