Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“There's going be an emphasis on physicality” - Q&A with Offensive Coordinator Bodie Reeder
2/21/2024 3:57:00 PM | Football
The new MTSU playcaller lays out his vision for the future of the Blue Raider offense
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It took no convincing from Derek Mason to get Bodie Reeder on staff at MTSU as his offensive coordinator.
Even with all the success the former Eastern Illinois quarterback was having as the offensive coordinator at Northern Iowa, with a Top 15 passing offense and a Top 10 red zone offense at the FCS level, reuniting with Mason, who Reeder met while on staff at Auburn, was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
"I would've walked to Murfreesboro to work here," Reeder said. "I have a great deal of respect for Coach Mason, previously working with him. I feel like our ideals align. It was a no-brainer. What you see is what you get with him and that's how I see myself."
Reeder didn't have to walk to Murfreesboro, but that sort of ambition and drive hasn't let up since he arrived on campus, diving into both recruiting and teaching what he wants to on offense to eager Blue Raiders, who have been a constant presence in his office and in the offensive staff conference room on the second floor of the Murphy Center since Reeder arrived.
"They're really excited right now to see what it's going to look like," Reeder said. "It's like that Christmas present that you're waiting for on Christmas morning. You don't necessarily know what it is, but you just can't wait to unwrap it... There's some anxiety there, obviously, with a coaching change and that's our job to ease that anxiety, that we're here for them and going to do what's best for them."
Key to that process has been Reeder and his staff figuring out what the Blue Raiders can do on the field through copious amounts of film study, with the start of spring practice still ahead of the team on the schedule at this point in the semester. Ensuring his players get the alignments and assignments right early in spring practice is the first goal as Reeder introduces his philosophies and schemes to the Blue Raiders.
But by the end of spring ball, Reeder's hope is that he'll have earned the trust of the most important room for any offensive coordinator: his quarterbacks.
"As you progress on, you want to see what it looks like through 15 spring practices," Reeder said. "I'd like to see the quarterback operating at a high level. We're going to ask the guy to check runs, we're going to ask the guy to check protections, we're going to ask him to kill plays. That's what I can control."
GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton sat down with Reeder earlier this month to chat about Reeder's offensive philosophy, how he assesses quarterback play and how working for a defensive coach like Derek Mason helps shape this particular iteration of Reeder's offense.
The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for space and clarity.
---
One thing that stood out as I looked over where you've coached in your career is that you've worked for a lot of offensive coaches that are known for completely different styles of offense. You've adapted to fit what they want to do with what you want to do offensively, which you've described before as "run for yards, throw for miles." What does that mean on the field?
When we think about our offense, the first foundation is we want to have a downhill, physical run game. That's not necessarily any one particular scheme. That means to me we have to find the scheme in which our offensive linemen can execute well and then hang our hat on and give our backs a chance to be downhill. Once we can establish a run game, then that allows us to be explosive in the passing attack.
Once you start getting the run game going, you start getting the coverages that allow you to be explosive and throw the ball down the field. I think that's why we've had success throwing the football at my different stops. We haven't necessarily thrown it 60 times a game, but when we throw, we try to throw it down the field.
The third thing is creativity. We don't want our guys to run a million different schemes, but we want to make it look like we're running a million different schemes to the defense. That creativity is trying to use formations and personnel and shifts and motions to put dressing on it. We need elite quarterback play. It doesn't matter if you're running triple option or you're running five-wide spread, the quarterback that plays the best wins the game.
How much is the quarterback a part of that downhill running attack? Does it depend on who the quarterback is?
We have a good amount of offense, if you look at a playbook. Like I said with the offensive line, we're going to run what they're good at. We're going to throw what the quarterback can complete. We're going to run what the quarterback is capable of doing. The past couple of years, we've had a non-running quarterback. So it's been more play-action based to get him involved in the running game. When we went to the national championship game at Eastern Washington, our quarterback was a runner. Now, he was a big part of the run game.
I think the key is you can't be hardheaded. You have to do what the quarterback is good at.
Right now, y'all haven't even been on the field yet with the team and just have the tape from last year to go off of. How do you figure out what the team can run when you're just able to plan right now?
The first thing we did as an offensive staff is we evaluated the guys that we had. We watched the tape from last year. We knew that what we wanted the offense to look like six months down the road when you're ready to play the first game, but you have to cater it to what we have. I think we have skilled players, obviously Coach Stockstill did a great job here and we have good talent. We're going to try to get to that point on what we want the offense to look like six months down the road with our players in mind.
Do you anticipate a lot of personnel changes in the base schemes? Obviously with air raid background of the previous offensive staff, MTSU has run a lot of 10 personnel (one running back, no tight ends) in recent years.
I see us basing out of 11 (one running back, one tight end) and then our second personnel being 12 (one running back, two tight ends). That doesn't necessarily mean we're going to line up in I-pro. What the tight end position gives you, the ability to give different looks to the defense and then it forces them to have to fit more gaps in the run. The passing game is still there. It may look a little different than what people are used to seeing. But the expectation of the productivity is still there.
You've touched on this a little bit already, but what's impressed you about the guys in the building when y'all came in that you can build around?
The first thing I noticed when I came in is that I think they're really, really tight. It was on me, and still is on me, to gain their trust, because they already trust each other. They're really close. The locker room is really close. It's my job right now to get them to buy into me. I can lay out expectations and rules and all these things, but ultimately, I've got to earn their trust. That's what stuck out to me immediately was how close they are. Those guys are about MTSU, they're not about themselves. It's impressive the type of chemistry they have.
What does the quarterback have to do in your system to be successful?
Ultimately, how we'll judge a quarterback is how he performs on third down and how he protects the football and how many points he scores. Statistics are out of it. We can throw for 5,000 yards, but if we're not winning games, we're all going to be judged off the win-loss column. What wins games is third down, protecting the football and scoring points. How that looks may differ. But he's got to keep us on the field, which is third down. He's got to protect the football and he's got to score.
There's certainly room for improvement on third down. But a common topic of discussion I'd have with the previous staff was the offense getting into poor third down situations based on their first and second down execution. How do you separate the downs from one another?
There's truth in that. I'm sure what they meant, because I've heard that before, is that you're a lot more likely to convert third and one than you are third and 10, so your productivity on first and second down are critical.
Third down is a team down, meaning everyone on the field has to be able to execute at a high level. If it's third and 10, the center, both guards, both tackles better have great protection. Our routes better be able to beat multiple coverages. Our tailbacks need to be tuned in for blitz and our quarterback has to be on time and accurate. If it's third and one, everyone has to do their job. Running the football, IDing the correct people, our tailback has to be disciplined, downhill, our quarterback has to make the right run check. Third down is a team down, and that's how we're going to get better at it.
Y'all have brought in a lot bigger offensive linemen in the signing class than MTSU has had in recent years. What does having more size on the line unlock that you maybe couldn't run otherwise?
Coach Mason, being a defensive coach, there's going be an emphasis on physicality. I've worked for offensive coaches before where there was other emphasis, right, wrong or indifferent. It's going to be a physical scheme. We're going to run gap schemes, we're going to run power, we're going to run counter and run things that allow us to create double teams to move people off the ball. It's going to be less plays in space and more punching it at people.
Even with all the success the former Eastern Illinois quarterback was having as the offensive coordinator at Northern Iowa, with a Top 15 passing offense and a Top 10 red zone offense at the FCS level, reuniting with Mason, who Reeder met while on staff at Auburn, was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
"I would've walked to Murfreesboro to work here," Reeder said. "I have a great deal of respect for Coach Mason, previously working with him. I feel like our ideals align. It was a no-brainer. What you see is what you get with him and that's how I see myself."
Reeder didn't have to walk to Murfreesboro, but that sort of ambition and drive hasn't let up since he arrived on campus, diving into both recruiting and teaching what he wants to on offense to eager Blue Raiders, who have been a constant presence in his office and in the offensive staff conference room on the second floor of the Murphy Center since Reeder arrived.
"They're really excited right now to see what it's going to look like," Reeder said. "It's like that Christmas present that you're waiting for on Christmas morning. You don't necessarily know what it is, but you just can't wait to unwrap it... There's some anxiety there, obviously, with a coaching change and that's our job to ease that anxiety, that we're here for them and going to do what's best for them."
Key to that process has been Reeder and his staff figuring out what the Blue Raiders can do on the field through copious amounts of film study, with the start of spring practice still ahead of the team on the schedule at this point in the semester. Ensuring his players get the alignments and assignments right early in spring practice is the first goal as Reeder introduces his philosophies and schemes to the Blue Raiders.
But by the end of spring ball, Reeder's hope is that he'll have earned the trust of the most important room for any offensive coordinator: his quarterbacks.
"As you progress on, you want to see what it looks like through 15 spring practices," Reeder said. "I'd like to see the quarterback operating at a high level. We're going to ask the guy to check runs, we're going to ask the guy to check protections, we're going to ask him to kill plays. That's what I can control."
GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton sat down with Reeder earlier this month to chat about Reeder's offensive philosophy, how he assesses quarterback play and how working for a defensive coach like Derek Mason helps shape this particular iteration of Reeder's offense.
The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for space and clarity.
---
One thing that stood out as I looked over where you've coached in your career is that you've worked for a lot of offensive coaches that are known for completely different styles of offense. You've adapted to fit what they want to do with what you want to do offensively, which you've described before as "run for yards, throw for miles." What does that mean on the field?
When we think about our offense, the first foundation is we want to have a downhill, physical run game. That's not necessarily any one particular scheme. That means to me we have to find the scheme in which our offensive linemen can execute well and then hang our hat on and give our backs a chance to be downhill. Once we can establish a run game, then that allows us to be explosive in the passing attack.
Once you start getting the run game going, you start getting the coverages that allow you to be explosive and throw the ball down the field. I think that's why we've had success throwing the football at my different stops. We haven't necessarily thrown it 60 times a game, but when we throw, we try to throw it down the field.
The third thing is creativity. We don't want our guys to run a million different schemes, but we want to make it look like we're running a million different schemes to the defense. That creativity is trying to use formations and personnel and shifts and motions to put dressing on it. We need elite quarterback play. It doesn't matter if you're running triple option or you're running five-wide spread, the quarterback that plays the best wins the game.
How much is the quarterback a part of that downhill running attack? Does it depend on who the quarterback is?
We have a good amount of offense, if you look at a playbook. Like I said with the offensive line, we're going to run what they're good at. We're going to throw what the quarterback can complete. We're going to run what the quarterback is capable of doing. The past couple of years, we've had a non-running quarterback. So it's been more play-action based to get him involved in the running game. When we went to the national championship game at Eastern Washington, our quarterback was a runner. Now, he was a big part of the run game.
I think the key is you can't be hardheaded. You have to do what the quarterback is good at.
Right now, y'all haven't even been on the field yet with the team and just have the tape from last year to go off of. How do you figure out what the team can run when you're just able to plan right now?
The first thing we did as an offensive staff is we evaluated the guys that we had. We watched the tape from last year. We knew that what we wanted the offense to look like six months down the road when you're ready to play the first game, but you have to cater it to what we have. I think we have skilled players, obviously Coach Stockstill did a great job here and we have good talent. We're going to try to get to that point on what we want the offense to look like six months down the road with our players in mind.
Do you anticipate a lot of personnel changes in the base schemes? Obviously with air raid background of the previous offensive staff, MTSU has run a lot of 10 personnel (one running back, no tight ends) in recent years.
I see us basing out of 11 (one running back, one tight end) and then our second personnel being 12 (one running back, two tight ends). That doesn't necessarily mean we're going to line up in I-pro. What the tight end position gives you, the ability to give different looks to the defense and then it forces them to have to fit more gaps in the run. The passing game is still there. It may look a little different than what people are used to seeing. But the expectation of the productivity is still there.
You've touched on this a little bit already, but what's impressed you about the guys in the building when y'all came in that you can build around?
The first thing I noticed when I came in is that I think they're really, really tight. It was on me, and still is on me, to gain their trust, because they already trust each other. They're really close. The locker room is really close. It's my job right now to get them to buy into me. I can lay out expectations and rules and all these things, but ultimately, I've got to earn their trust. That's what stuck out to me immediately was how close they are. Those guys are about MTSU, they're not about themselves. It's impressive the type of chemistry they have.
What does the quarterback have to do in your system to be successful?
Ultimately, how we'll judge a quarterback is how he performs on third down and how he protects the football and how many points he scores. Statistics are out of it. We can throw for 5,000 yards, but if we're not winning games, we're all going to be judged off the win-loss column. What wins games is third down, protecting the football and scoring points. How that looks may differ. But he's got to keep us on the field, which is third down. He's got to protect the football and he's got to score.
There's certainly room for improvement on third down. But a common topic of discussion I'd have with the previous staff was the offense getting into poor third down situations based on their first and second down execution. How do you separate the downs from one another?
There's truth in that. I'm sure what they meant, because I've heard that before, is that you're a lot more likely to convert third and one than you are third and 10, so your productivity on first and second down are critical.
Third down is a team down, meaning everyone on the field has to be able to execute at a high level. If it's third and 10, the center, both guards, both tackles better have great protection. Our routes better be able to beat multiple coverages. Our tailbacks need to be tuned in for blitz and our quarterback has to be on time and accurate. If it's third and one, everyone has to do their job. Running the football, IDing the correct people, our tailback has to be disciplined, downhill, our quarterback has to make the right run check. Third down is a team down, and that's how we're going to get better at it.
Y'all have brought in a lot bigger offensive linemen in the signing class than MTSU has had in recent years. What does having more size on the line unlock that you maybe couldn't run otherwise?
Coach Mason, being a defensive coach, there's going be an emphasis on physicality. I've worked for offensive coaches before where there was other emphasis, right, wrong or indifferent. It's going to be a physical scheme. We're going to run gap schemes, we're going to run power, we're going to run counter and run things that allow us to create double teams to move people off the ball. It's going to be less plays in space and more punching it at people.
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