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Quick Reference
Not in any team playbook.
Breakdown
RPO Read Out lines up out of Shotgun Flex Y Off Close with 11 personnel, giving you a run/pass alert built on a run fake to the backfield and an out route to the perimeter. The two inside receivers run vertical stems (a seam and a hitch/seam combo) to hold the linebackers and safety, while the outside receiver breaks hard to an out route that stretches the sideline as the true pass-side answer. Up front the offensive line executes an inside zone blocking scheme with the running back reading the box count, making this a true RPO that beats light boxes on the ground and attacks off-man or soft zone corners with the out route on the pass side. Primary read progression is box count first (give the ball on the zone run if the count is favorable), then the out route to the boundary if the defense sells out against the run or leaves the corner outside soft.
Defensive Reads
As the defense, key the running back's eyes and hips at the snap since he mirrors the quarterback's zone read and will tell you run or pass a split second before the ball moves. Corner alignment on the out receiver is the biggest pre-snap tell: press man alignment invites a blitz or jam to disrupt the timing of the out route, while soft or off coverage is begging to get picked on by the pass side of the RPO. Spy or crash a linebacker on the running back's zone read lane to shut down the give, forcing the quarterback to pull and throw into a tighter window. Sitting a zone defender (cover 2 or cover 3 cloud corner) directly on the out route's landing spot takes away the primary pass read and forces a checkdown or scramble. Watch for user-controlled defenders sinking underneath the out route or robbing the flat, since a disciplined zone shell with a flat defender reading run/pass keys can bait a pull and pick.
Usage Tips
Check the box count before the snap: if there are six or fewer defenders in the box, favor pulling and throwing the out route since the numbers favor the pass. Use pre-snap motion or a quick glance at the corner over the out receiver, if he is playing off or bailing into zone, the out is a near automatic completion on the perimeter. Hot route the two inside vertical routes into quick option or slant breaks against teams that sit hard in zone to give yourself an underneath answer if the out is covered. This play pairs well with Inside Zone and Counter Y in the same set since all three sell the same run action, keeping linebackers honest and setting up the RPO read later in a series. Best called on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short to medium) where defenses are more likely to load the box or play conservative zone shells, letting the RPO logic dictate the correct answer.
