Football

Shafer calls Georgia Tech’s cutting linemen difficult to defend, officiate

By Stephen Bailey

There’s a reason Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer has been preparing his team for Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense since the summer.

Not only is it difficult to defend, but Shafer said it’s equally hard to officiate. With quarterback Vad Lee joined by three other backs behind the offense line, and all five of those linemen capable of cutting any way on each play, Shafer said it’s easy for an already engaged defender to get caught on a cut block.

“We get cut in other schemes, but it’s different because of the way your eyes progress,” Shafer said at his weekly press conference on Thursday. “Your eyes have to be more disciplined than they are any other week. And with that, you’re a little more vulnerable with guys coming out of your blind side.”

Shafer said the coaching staff has instructed players to keep their peripheral lines of vision opened. Focusing solely on one’s gap responsibility may leave them on the ground after their legs get taken out. That blocking ferocity is a main reason why Georgia Tech averages 290.3 rushing yards per game, ranking first in the Atlantic Coast Conference and sixth in the nation.

But often times these cut blocks made by pulling linemen are on the fringe of legality. NCAA regulations stipulate that an offensive player may not block an already engaged defensive player below the knees, but Shafer said if the pre-engaged offensive player is trying to shed his block to get to the second level, that adjacent offensive blocker’s chop is legal.



“That umpire in the middle is watching that and saying, ‘What is it? And, by the way, am I going to get hit by that safety coming down?’” Shafer said.

Shafer said he’s never directly coached against an option offense as a coordinator, but he’s done all he can to prepare his team for what’s to come on Saturday.

Defensively, it will come down to vision. Avoiding blocks means tackling the ball carrier for a shorter gain. Getting caught in them could mean a long afternoon in Atlanta.

“The biggest thing is you can explain it, you can tell it, you can describe it, you can watch it on tape, but until you’re in the fight you don’t realize how quick it happens to you as a player,” Shafer said.





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