Playbooks
Power Read out of Shotgun Y Trips is a zone read run play built with an inverted veer blocking scheme, pulling the backside guard while the quarterback reads the play side defensive end to decide between handing off or keeping it himself. This is a run-first concept with no passing routes attached, designed to punish defenses that crash hard on the running back or overpursue with the edge defender. The primary read progression starts and ends with the quarterback keying the unblocked edge defender: if he sits or squeezes down the line, pull it and attack the alley, if he widens or bites on the handoff fake, give it to the running back on the power path.
Watch the play side defensive end or edge defender first, since he is the primary key for the quarterback read and determines give versus keep every time. Identify whether the defense is running a scrape exchange, where the defensive end sits on the running back and a linebacker scrapes over the top to account for the quarterback, since this shuts down both options if executed cleanly by the defense. Check for a nine technique or wide alignment from the edge defender pre-snap, since a wider alignment usually signals contain responsibility and favors the give to the running back. Look for safety rotation after the snap, if a safety fills down into the box quickly this signals run support and the quarterback should look to bounce the keep outside the numbers. Beware of a user linebacker spying the quarterback, since this eliminates the keep read and forces you to commit to the handoff every time regardless of the edge defender's action.
Run this out of neutral or short yardage situations like second and short or third and one where defenses expect a conventional handoff and load the box accordingly.
Check the defensive end and outside linebacker alignment pre-snap, if the edge defender is crashing hard on every snap in your game history, key him for a quarterback pull to the perimeter.
Use the trips side receivers as window dressing to bait the defense into rotating a safety down, which opens up cutback lanes for the running back on the give read.
Pair this with PA Read from the same set to keep linebackers honest, since both plays start with similar backfield action but one is a legitimate run threat and the other opens up shot plays downfield.
Avoid calling this against defenses that show a mug front with extra defenders crashing the point of attack pre-snap, since the numbers advantage disappears and the quarterback keep option becomes risky in short yardage.