How adding under-center snaps can help Ohio State offense

The speculation, debate and conversations about Ohio State never end, and Lettermen Row is always ready to dive into the discussions. All week long, senior writer Austin Ward will field topics about the Buckeyes submitted by readers and break down anything that’s on the minds of the Best Damn Fans in the Land. Have a question that needs to be tackled, like the one today about Ohio State adding more under-center snaps? Send it in right here — and check back daily for the answers.

I read Justin Fields talked about taking snaps under center. Any insight as to what that looks like as far as formation, personnel, and purpose?

— SPIҜΣ (@Spike_Mon) August 5, 2019

Ohio State is once again going to have a quarterback under center.

How often will he be there? That is going to be a secret the Buckeyes keep pretty close to the vest heading into the season opener at the end of the month. And for a variety of reasons, pinning down an exact number is going to challenging because it depends on if Justin Fields wins the job, the type of offense Ohio State wants to build and even just the situations it faces from game to game.

But one way or another, the Buckeyes will have that option in the playbook — which should at least put a quarterback sneak back in play coming off a season where the coaching staff wouldn’t call one because it didn’t practice anything other than shotgun snaps.

There are several reasons why Ryan Day has toyed with the idea dating back to the first practice of spring camp. First of all, it potentially allows a running back to get downhill with a better head of steam than some of the shotgun designs Ohio State has used in the past. From a development perspective, it allows Fields or Gunnar Hoak to do some things that would prepare them to be professional passers. There’s the obvious potential benefit in short-yardage situations of allowing a 6-foot-3, 223-pound athlete like Fields to move the pile.

And then there are some truly intriguing wrinkles that could really expand the rushing attack and put strain on a defense, with the possibility of using a guy like Jaelen Gill on jet sweeps to borrow an idea that has really been successful previously at Wisconsin.

“Yes, it’s something, and we’re going to look at a lot of different things,” Day said earlier this year. “What does this team look like? We’re always trying to be on the cutting edge of things, and we’ve studied a lot of different film and we’re trying to find what the next step is for us.

“What is the thing that keeps us ahead of everybody else? So, we’re going to look at some under-center stuff.”

It’s somewhat amusing that going back to a more traditional approach is actually considered innovative right now, but it’s the truth with the way the spread offense and shotgun snaps have become so common around the country. That’s still going to be the backbone of the Ohio State attack, but it never hurts to have more flexibility and present different looks to defenses.

And with the personnel the Buckeyes have to work with this season, the thought of getting guys like Gill or Demario McCall involved in the H-back role as rushing threats or potentially shifting a second tight end like Rashod Berry or Luke Farrell into a sort of fullback role to lead block could boost a ground game that struggled at times a year ago.

And it might also be a benefit for the passing attack since working from under center can create more believable play-action fakes to confuse linebackers and secondaries.

“It mixes things up,” Fields said. “It keeps the defenses honest, and it will also prepare me for the next level.”

The Buckeyes aren’t going to be there on a full-time basis, and it’s possible they’ll only just sprinkle the under-center snaps into the mix. But they’re definitely going back there, and the benefits could be significant.

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