Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Option out of Shotgun Trey Y-Flex sends the halfback on an option route out of the backfield where he reads the leverage of the flexed defender covering him, breaking outside or working up the seam based on how that defender plays it. On the backside, the three receiver Trey bunch runs a switch release combo with a deep out, a corner breaking route up top, and an in-cut underneath, while the Y-Flex tight end releases vertically up the sideline. This is a man beater built around the HB option leverage read with the trips side serving as a zone beater flood concept, and the primary progression starts with the HB option read before working to the tight end vertical and then to the trips side breakers if the option gets taken away.
Defensive Reads
Watch the defender assigned to the HB at the snap, if he sinks into a zone drop instead of mirroring the HB the option read is neutralized and the QB should look elsewhere Man coverage on the HB with tight leverage is the biggest tell that this play is live, since the HB can break away from that leverage for an easy completion Zone shells with two deep safeties can bracket the trips side flood, so track whether a safety rotates over the top of the corner route to shut down the deep shot Look for a linebacker blitzing off the edge or up the middle, since a hot HB option read against a blitzing backer with no coverage help is an explosive gain Cornerbacks playing off coverage on the trips side can undercut the underneath in-route, so if the corner sits low the QB should progress to the corner route instead
Usage Tips
Presnap identify whether the defender aligned over the HB is a linebacker or safety since that leverage dictates whether the option route breaks out or up the seam
Use motion or a quick glance at the flexed defender to confirm man coverage before the snap, then trust the HB option read as your first look against man
Against zone shells key the flooded trips side since the deep out, corner, and in route stress three levels of the same zone and force a defender to cover two threats
Combine HB Option with HB Draw and Read Option from this set to keep the defense honest on backfield touches before hitting them with the option route out of the same personnel and alignment
Call this on early downs or in obvious passing situations where linebackers cheat toward pass drops, since a slower linebacker reaction opens up the HB option break immediately
