Tuesday, April 7, 1998
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Dan Robinson, expected to compete for UH's starting
quarterback job next season, gets a feel for the new offense
as he hands off the ball during the opening
of spring practice yesterday.
’Bows weigh
their options
The UH football team is
By Paul Arnett
adding some veer option to its
offensive package
Star-BulletinPerhaps University of Hawaii offensive coordinator Don Lindsey should give Tom Osborne a call to see if he would like to make a trip to Honolulu in late August. The former University of Nebraska head coach could serve as a consultant for the Rainbows, who unveiled their own version of the Cornhuskers' veer option offense during yesterday's opening of spring practice at Cooke Field.
"I'd love to have him," Lindsey said last night. "The only problem is, he'd probably cost us around $10,000 an hour."
That's probably a little pricey for the financially strapped program. So instead, Hawaii's offensive players will have to be satisfied with the film Lindsey procured of Nebraska games to help him emulate the most successful collegiate running game this decade.
"We've got film of them and we've got some plays drawn up," Lindsey said. "Now, if we could only execute the offense like they do, things would be great."
The Rainbows had their moments yesterday with the option phase of the offense Lindsey plans to unveil in the season opener with the University of Arizona.
Quarterbacks Josh Skinner and Dan Robinson took turns making inside handoffs to fullbacks Calvin Mims, Anthony Diieso and Avion Weaver. They also worked on perimeter pitch plays to tailback Charles Tharp. And they even kept the ball now and again to show they could break off the big gain.
"Did I prove to everybody I'm not just a dropback passer," Robinson said, then smiled. "I can handle the option. I like it. It makes teams have to prepare for more than just one offensive style."
And therein lies the method to Lindsey's madness. No, the Rainbows aren't going to become an option team once more. But they do plan to use some veer plays to help them establish the run.
"I know as a defensive coordinator I always hated playing an option team," Lindsey said. "It's tough to prepare for because it forces a defense to play assignment football.
"There are a lot of things the veer makes you do defensively, especially if you execute it well. We want to get the ball on the perimeter to force the defense to react. The best ways to do that are with quick passes, screens, sweeps and the option."
Lindsey's offense eventually will have all four in its arsenal. Before he's through, Lindsey might even put in a few student body right and student body left sweeps in the playbook.
"But those are tough to do, unless you have a lot of speed at running back because defenses are so fast," Lindsey said. "We're going to try a little bit of everything -- I formation, split backs, one back, whatever. You have to be able to mix it up to be effective."
All of this suits top returning quarterback Josh Skinner just fine. He particularly likes the option phase of the game. So does Weaver. Both players used the veer option in high school.
"I love running it," Skinner said. "It's what I did in high school. I know this kind of offense. I'm comfortable making the decisions when we're in it."
Weaver -- who figures to compete for a starting job at fullback this spring -- also likes this part of Lindsey's plan.
"The fullback is very important in this offense," Weaver said. "If you establish the running game with the fullback, then everything else falls into place. You have to be able to block and run, which is something that fits my game."
Tharp likes the idea of the veer because the tailback gets a chance to make big plays out on the edge.
"Running backs love the opportunity to get the ball on the perimeter," Tharp said. "It gives you a chance to make somebody miss you in the open field."
And if it works, the dropback passing game becomes that much more effective.
"People forget what a high percentage of passes Nebraska completes," Robinson said. "They complete 60 percent or better because everybody has to respect the run first. We can even add regular plays to this offense because our basic formation is the I. It gives us a lot of flexibility."
That's something UH head coach Fred vonAppen wants to have this season. The Rainbows have floundered on offense the last two years. He's counting on Lindsey to be as successful on offense as he was on defense.
"In two years, Don took our defense to No. 20 in the nation and we only had three wins," vonAppen said. "That's quite an accomplishment.
"I believe he can get our offense moving in the right direction as well, or I wouldn't have asked him to be the coordinator. We were raw today, but I still saw some good things on the field."
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