Except One Game (2)
In football, what we call an 'offensive system' is the basic framework that combines passing and rushing to grind out yards and put points on the board.
The starting point is building your line and assembling multiple personnel groups (PG); the second step is layering in each player's individual traits to find the plays that fit them best.
Plunge.
Reverse.
Bootleg.
Route.
Screen.
Hail Mary, and so on.
Once a wealth of detailed plays has been drawn up, you have to settle on the strategy that will express them most effectively.
Option.
RPO (Run-Pass Option).
Spread.
Air Coryell.
And once the strategy is set, you assign a rotating menu of play calls so the opponent can't read your intentions.
It starts with colors — green, blue, red — and expands to words designating specific players, formation types, tackle direction, the shape of the handoff, the routes, and even the rushing lanes. All of it.
At the huddle.
I do the same thing dozens of times a day.
"Gun. Right swing. Hello Kitty Left 1…."
▷ 1st Quarter – 13:51
00 – 00 CLEMSON (5)
00 – 00 GEORGIA (1)
"Z-Flip. 121 Cross. Shallow Right Mamba."
Clap!
This is exactly what a quarterback is supposed to do.
For a single try.
Five play calls.
Four routes called out.
The bench had given me exactly one — Hello Kitty.
The rest, I pieced together myself.
"Ready-!! Hut!!"
Gun.
Simply put, shotgun formation.
Right Swing.
The direction of the tackle.
Hello Kitty Left 1.
Kitty means direction one, from the left.
And in case that didn't work out.
I'd stacked additional calls behind it.
Z-Flip.
A play for the Z-receiver, Jordan.
121 Cross.
The routes for the X, Y, and Z receivers, in order.
Shallow Right Mamba.
An attack concept using only the X and Y receivers.
The snap came to me.
I faked the handoff to Zamir.
But didn't actually give it to him.
Why?
Because this play call had no running-back strategy in it.
Which naturally made him a blocker.
First, Kitty.
"…."
Dead.
My eyes drifted naturally to George, the X-receiver behind Kitty — and he looked about to get swallowed up by both safeties.
One Mississippi.
I made my call in under a second.
And looked the other way.
The ball in my hand was getting hotter by the moment.
I needed to get rid of it, fast.
Jordan, sprinting forward, stopped dead on a dime and turned back toward me — and the instant I confirmed it, I whipped my arm forward without hesitation.
Thud!!
"Oof!"
Half a second later, and I'd have been sacked.
The impact came with the hit.
I went down onto the field.
Chris Fowler (ESPN Play-by-Play): "Excellent decision there. Georgia picks up the first down quickly on the game's first third-down conversion."
Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN Analyst): "It looked like they wanted to use the tight end, but the moment Clemson's defense reacted well, he switched targets immediately. You could see Moi's great field vision here, and the pass was lightning quick and dead on target."
Clemson has a backfield problem this year — one that shows up plainly in the numbers.
But that doesn't mean.
You go straight at it.
The basic instinct is to hide your weaknesses as much as possible.
Which means early on, they'll have it wrapped up tight.
So you have to attack somewhere else first.
Make the opponent expose the weakness on their own.
Midfield.
First & 10.
Having called a rushing play, I stood.
Under center.
"Turbo, set!!"
After taking the snap, I turned back.
And tossed the ball to Zamir, standing a step behind me.
The ball sailed the short distance and landed perfectly in his hands.
Zamir, positioned deep to build up acceleration, took off on his designated path in search of yardage.
While Darnell, turned full-time blocker, sealed Clemson's left defender, Number 22 charged at Zamir.
The two collided.
And we picked up seven yards.
I turned my head toward the bench.
"Gun. Left swing. Zeus 1 Left. Two on two."
Clap!!
This time the play call was very short.
Probably the shortest call.
I'd brought with me all day.
Shotgun again.
Tackle direction, left.
The key here is a run concept called Zeus, built around Zamir — and everything is packed into that 1-Left call.
In football, the gaps between the linemen are designated by numbers.
Take today, for example.
Clemson brought a 4-3 defense.
That makes the gap between the defensive tackles on the line of scrimmage point 0, and the gaps between the tackles and the ends on either side point 1.
And outside the tackles is 2.
The moment Zeus is called, every receiver has to recognize that their job is not to run routes but to block — to clear the way for Zamir to run.
Zeus 1 Left.
It means Zamir will attack point 1 on our left — which means the O-linemen have to slide their tackle left and then pry open the gap between Clemson's right tackle and end.
In football, they call this 'making a hole.'
And Zamir is going to dive into that hole.
A rushing attack continuing from the first try.
"Ready-!! Hut!!"
Clap!!
The second my hands came together.
The snap came flying back to me.
I put the ball straight into Zamir's stomach.
Zamir moved exactly as the play demanded.
Clemson's Number 24 stepped up to cut him off.
But then.
Chris Fowler: "Zamir White heading for the left sideline — into the secondary! Oh! He's through! Zamir White running free down the sideline!! Nobody can stop him!! GEORGIA!! TOUCHDOWN!!"
Clemson's free safety, Nolan Turner, went down with a single juke move from Zamir.
His limited lateral mobility, his shaky zone understanding.
His tendency to play too high.
Every flaw the scouts had flagged came out in one fell swoop — and with that, dismantling this game for the rest of the day just got a whole lot easier.
Having confirmed the score, I walked slowly toward the sideline, and the head coach met me halfway, patting me on the back with a job well done.
I pulled off my helmet first.
Then went to Coach Monken's side.
"I'm curious how Number 24 responds on the next drive."
"Tell the tower."
"Yes, Sir."
Chris Fowler: "Georgia converts its opening drive into points yet again today. That's five times in eight games this season. You could call it the single biggest change since Dwayne Moi Stone enrolled. Seventy-five yards on four plays, capped by a touchdown."
Kirk Herbstreit: "Zamir White's talent shone through there, but as you said, it's worth noting how consistently Georgia scores on its opening drive. When you come out swinging and get ahead early like this, managing the rest of the ballgame becomes that much easier."
Podlesny knocked through the extra point with ease.
The game was off and running, 7-0.
"Nice Job! Nice Job!"
After greeting my teammates.
I stood on the sideline wearing my headset.
And traded words with the play-calling tower.
"Want to make a bet with me?"
"Clemson's first offensive play."
I know exactly what type Trevor Lawrence is.
Talent, yes. Heart, no.
When momentum's on his side, he looks brilliant.
When it isn't, the bottom of his bag shows.
If Trevor were a freshman alongside me this year, who knows. But.
He's already a third-year. A junior.
You think Dabo Swinney doesn't know that?
Absolutely not.
He may not be quite our head coach, but Dabo Swinney is a good coach.
So.
"He's going to run a screen pass."
"A screen pass. He'll send the tight end and running back to the right, send out the Z-receiver, and pick the slot first. Just watch the formation."
During the non-conference week before we faced Mississippi State, and again last week, I watched every single one of Clemson's games this season.
I had some time to kill.
So I watched last year's games too.
The Top 10 matchups and the bowl games.
And the championship game.
In every big game like that, Dabo Swinney had run the screen-pass concept with high probability.
I could guess why.
It's an easy question if you think about it for a moment.
A quarterback who needs coddling.
If the first step goes wrong, the whole day goes wrong.
But starting slow with the run won't help.
After all, that's not the quarterback's doing at all.
So he designed the first try as an easy screen pass — a guaranteed completion on Trevor Lawrence's first passing attempt, a way to set the tone.
I've said it before.
If I were an NFL head coach, Trevor Lawrence is the one player I'd never, ever draft.
The hype has outpaced him in every way that matters.
Chris Fowler: "Clemson's first offensive play. Shotgun formation. The pass goes backward — and Amare Rodgers hauls it in nicely. And he's pushed out of bounds along the sideline."
"Told you."
It had played out exactly as I said.
Down to the inch.
Through my headset receiver.
A voice came through, equal parts stunned and flustered.
"I'm kind of a genius, that's all."
"How long am I supposed to spoon-feed you?"
"Yes, Sir."
If my prediction had been wrong this time.
I'd have felt a flicker of tension for the remainder of the drive.
But it went exactly as I'd said.
"…."
I lifted my gaze to the far sideline.
And watched Dabo Swinney calling in plays.
He knows exactly what his starting quarterback is.
He'll keep trying to plant good impressions, one after another.
However early in the game it may be.
The problem is that the head coach is doing that at all.
Because he's watching his quarterback's mood.
Not his opponent across the line.
That's why I say Trevor Lawrence is overhyped.
To get his talent to show up on the field.
Too many things have to be handled for him.
Clemson's first drive. Second try.
This time they jet-swept the running back left and went with yet another screen pass.
But right now.
Nakobe Dean read it perfectly.
Never losing sight of Travis Etienne's movement, Nakobe Dean chased him down calmly and brought him to the turf with a precise tackle — and in that instant, Clemson lost every yard they'd worked so hard to gain on the previous try.
Second & 4.
Became Third & 11.
And that little punk.
He's really protecting himself out there.
Maybe it's the NFL Draft. Maybe he wants excuses banked in advance for if he loses today. But if he wasn't planning to actually compete, then there was only one thing left for me to do.
Destroy him.
Clemson, forced to attempt the third-down conversion.
Once again, Trevor lined up in shotgun.
The play call. The clap.
Clap.
And the snap.
The moment Trevor released the ball toward Number 17 on the slant, inside linebacker Monty Rice shot both arms upward.
The ball kissed his palms and popped into the air.
And Christopher, lingering deep behind the play, came down with it.
Interception.
Barely two minutes and fifty seconds in, the defense had won the ball back and were leaping all over each other in celebration — and I quickly calmed the offense down, shouting as I jogged onto the field.
"Death Valley?! Screw that!! Today, this place is their GRAVE!! LET'S GO!!"
They say the famous banquet never has enough food to go around?
Well, today I'd make sure it did.
Kirk Herbstreit: "Chris, I have to say it — you can't shake the impression that Trevor Lawrence rushed that throw. The pocket was completely clean, and as you can see, Monty Rice was right in his field of vision. Freeze the frame at the release… see it? Three defenders were bracketing Cornell Powell. Maybe it's the magnitude of the game, maybe all the stakes riding on it, but Trevor Lawrence needs to cool his head down."
"Forty-four yards. Moi. Play action. Right sideline! He's got it! George Pickens! A beautiful grab in one-on-one coverage! Georgia enters the red zone — and they're right back in scoring position in a flash! This is definitely not the script anyone expected."
▷ 1st Quarter – 08:47
00 – 00 CLEMSON (5)
07 – 07 GEORGIA (1)
When the injuries began to pile up, starting with George Pickens, Georgia had genuinely faced a crisis.
The holes on defense could be papered over with their enviable depth, but losing the team's most trusted X-receiver threatened to translate directly into lost scoring.
But that was when Dwayne Moi Stone threw his full weight behind Jordan Addison — and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"Good."
At the 19-yard line.
First and ten.
Georgia's head coach Kirby Smart wanted to try squeezing out a few more yards on the ground.
The play-calling coaches, Todd Monken included, were furiously flashing signals, and Moi, having gathered the huddle, began adding his own touches.
Kirby Smart had originally preferred the spread.
Now his team was something else entirely.
Spread offenses often skip the huddle altogether, but this season that had happened exactly once — the final two minutes against Florida.
And even then, the quarterback had been left to handle it on his own.
"Marching Band?"
"Bold. I like it."
The reason the spread is so beloved in college football is that the play-calling itself is far more intuitive.
College players can't wear headsets.
There's simply not enough time to relay complex plays.
So coaches wanted to distill their philosophy into short, punchy words on the field — and when Urban Meyer achieved massive success with the spread, it became a full-blown trend.
But Kirby Smart boldly threw away his own style to extract one hundred percent of Dwayne Moi Stone's abilities.
Option.
West Coast.
He installed schemes that demanded intricate play-calling, and thanks to that, Georgia's offense this year had become dramatically more colorful.
Even now, only two words or so had been relayed.
But out on the field, five separate plays were already woven together.
Red Right.
A pro-set formation built on a 2-2 personnel group.
Layered onto it — Pull Trap.
A blocking scheme.
Pull.
Drag them across.
Trap.
Run him into where the defense has laid its snare.
Pull Trap is the blocking tactic where the O-linemen — everyone except the man responsible for the spot where the ball-carrier will arrive — charge past the D-line and attack the linebackers.
And Moi added Marching Band on top of it.
Presumably the running lane would open on the right side.
Where two extra receivers stood.
He intended to use the tight end lined up on the right as a blocker alongside the right-side defense, while sending the two O-linemen on the left sprinting rightward to serve as his bodyguards.
How ingenious an idea is that?
Moi had been running plays like this all season long.
What a remarkable young man.
Kirby Smart waited for the snap.
Soon, Moi barked the play call.
"Turbo, set!!"
From under center, Moi took the ball, turned back, faked the handoff to Zamir White on his right — and chose James Cook on the left as his carrier.
While that happened, everyone else moved exactly as designed.
Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer swung around behind the O-line toward the right side, and while Tre' McKitty threw his block, right tackle Peter Skoronski charged at the linebacker.
The moment one defender, assigned to stop the runner's charge from behind, found himself isolated on a one-on-one mark, James Cook gobbled up the yards with ease.
Inside the 10.
Georgia had claimed another first down.
Chris Fowler: "Georgia is knocking on the door now. This was always a defense-first program, but with Todd Monken joining this year, the offense has visibly transformed as well."
Kirk Herbstreit: "That play design was gorgeous right there. Look at it. That's signature Georgia football. Those massive O-linemen escorting the ball-carrier down the field. It's not just a brilliant offensive scheme — it's a joy to watch."
The moment it became First & Goal.
The signals came in from the sideline.
Georgia's recent offense inside the 10 had been locked into option plays, and whenever Dwayne Moi Stone requested a specific personnel group, the bench would assess the situation and relay the final call.
And this time, too, the request was audaciously bold.
Empty the backfield entirely.
He wanted five receivers on the field.
Considering Clemson's secondary didn't have the depth to spare, flooding the field with one-on-ones seemed bound to expose cracks.
Kirby Smart made his decision and signaled for trips.
The signal flashed.
Moi gave a thumbs up.
Right after, the huddle broke.
And Kirby Smart raised his head.
And stared at the scoreboard.
Not even half the first quarter had run off the clock.
And yet, already, a second scoring chance.
You have to grab the moment when it comes.
There was no need to doubt that the game was flowing well.
Life stacks luck upon countless coincidences, and success and failure split along those seams — and the field is no different.
So when the chance arrives.
You simply squeeze it with everything you have.
Kirby Smart lowered his eyes back to the field.
Three receivers set to the right.
A split end and tight end to the left.
By bunching them close instead of stretching the field wide, he'd made sure the space would be waiting the moment those receivers ran their routes.
The routes would be assigned.
The targets would be decided.
When Dwayne Moi Stone, standing in shotgun, clapped his hands, Trey Hill's snap traveled back to him.
At the same instant, Georgia's receivers scattered in every direction.
Dwayne Moi Stone found his target fast.
The ball knifed through a gap about two meters left of the D-line and landed in the hands of Jordan Addison, sprinting straight for the end zone.
The second touchdown.
Death Valley quietly changes hands.
Chris Fowler: "TOUCHDOWN!! 13-0, GEORGIA!! With Jordan Addison's third touchdown of the season, Georgia strikes first and strikes hard!! Nobody saw this coming!!"
Kirk Herbstreit: "Dwayne Moi Stone is on a rampage early. He's completed all five of his pass attempts and has a touchdown to show for it. And you can hear what he's shouting at Trevor Lawrence. 'Hey, Trevor. How about handing back that title right now?' He's declaring, loud and clear, that the best quarterback in the NCAA is standing right here."
Watching the touchdown unfold, Kirby Smart embraced his coaches and shared in the joy.
And after that.
He asked the play-calling tower.
"That was that play from earlier, wasn't it?"
"Haha. Magnificent."
At practice this week.
Dwayne Moi Stone had proposed a play.
Its name was 'Mama Told Me to Come Home.'
A tactic he'd used at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl two years ago, he said — and if he scored with it today, it would twist the knife in Trevor Lawrence that much deeper.
Like 'Mac Jones Who?' before it, it was one of those moments that told you everything about the kind of man Dwayne Moi Stone was.
What luck this kid has.
Vowing never to let go of the fortune he'd seized for the next two and a half years, Kirby Smart reached out his hand to the approaching Moi.
13-0.
Georgia pulls far ahead, early and fast.