A look at how Josh Heupel’s offense differs from other veer and shoot play-callers.
Colorado’s emergence offensively has been at the forefront of the 2023 college football season through three weeks.
Sean Lewis is part of the veer and shoot coaching tree and is in his first season as the Buffaloes’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He served as Kent State’s head coach from 2018-22.
Lewis’ offensive coordinator at Kent State was Andrew Sowder.
Sowder played and coached at Baylor in the veer and shoot offense under head coach Art Briles.
Lewis is running a veer and shoot offense at Colorado like he did with Sowder at Kent State.
Josh Heupel has executed a veer and shoot offense since serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Missouri in 2016, and continues to do so as Tennessee’s head coach.
A difference in Heupel and Lewis’ veer and shoot offense is mesh. Lewis’ offense features mesh, while Heupel’s does not.
One example of Colorado executing mesh is on third-and-goal at TCU in Week 1. Lewis’ play-call of slot and tight end mesh can be watched below.
Another coach who installed the veer and shoot offense at the FBS level in 2023 is Kevin Decker with Old Dominion. His offense features mesh with the Monarchs.
Decker previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Fordham from 2019-22.
He installed Heupel’s offense during Fordham’s downtime during the coronavirus shutdown.
Decker and Fordham hired David Weeks as an offensive quality control coach in 2020. He was elevated to tight ends coach in 2021.
Weeks came to Fordham after serving as a student assistant quarterbacks coach from 2018-19 at UCF under Heupel. At UCF under Heupel, Weeks was responsible for helping provide input and breaking down opponent and self-scout film, creating cutups of opponent and self-scout specific film, creating weekly post-game packets and charts, a weekly red zone report, and drawing weekly installs.
“In 2019 we would study it, but wouldn’t run it,” Decker previously told Vols Wire of installing Heupel’s veer and shoot offense. “Then Covid happened and we were still able to get in 10 practices in the fall without a season. I said this is an opportune time to get this stuff on film and see how it looks. It’s really different, but the biggest thing to stress to your guys is to don’t overthink it, run fast and make full speed decisions, you’re always right and run to green grass — that’s it. Our kids really loved it, and because it allowed them to play fast and to play without thinking.
“We kind of made the full blown adjustments and we obviously reaped the benefits with some success this year. I love it, and as a play-caller, when you spread a team out wide, you really get to see what their attention is.”
Decker and Old Dominion played at Virginia Tech in Week 1 and executed mesh during the contest. Below is one example of Decker calling slot mesh with a quarterback run to get a first down on third-and-three.
Kevin Decker discusses installing Josh Heupel’s offense
Tennessee defeated Austin Peay, 30-13, in Week 2 at Neyland Stadium.
Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden hired Lanear Sampson as a co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach ahead of the 2023 season.
Sampson played wide receiver for Briles at Baylor from 2008-12. He was an offensive quality control coach under Heupel at UCF in 2020.
Walden’s offense features mesh, as well as operating with a spread tempo, going no huddle, wide splits, while snapping the ball every 12 seconds.
Scotty Walden discusses Austin Peay football, connections with Tennessee
