Veer

The Veer is an option running play often associated with option offenses in American football, made famous at the collegiate level by Bill Yeoman's Houston Cougars. It is currently run primarily at high school level, with some usage at the collegiate and the professional level where Veer's blocking scheme has been modified as part of the zone blocking system. The Veer is an effective ball-control offense that can help minimize mismatches in a game for a team. However, it can lead to turnovers with pitches and handoff option reads.

The Veer can be run out of a variety of formations. However, it was primarily designed to be run out of the split-backed, aptly named veer formation. It has been used out of the I-formation (and its variants, including the Power-I and Maryland I) and the wishbone formation. Some variants of the triple option have now made the jump to the shotgun formation, which has become a popular option formation since Eric Crouch and the Nebraska Cornhuskers used the shotgun option during his 2001 Heisman campaign.

The Veer option is generally regarded as a "triple option." It is designed as a three-back attack with one player taking a dive course, one taking a pitch course and another being a lead blocker on the perimeter of the offensive formation. The QB makes reads on defensive players and then distributes the ball according to the defensive reaction to the offense. A typical play proceeds as follows (we will assume that this is an "outside veer" going to the right side out of the split-back formation): the quarterback takes the snap. He then does what is called "opening up:" The quarterback goes from his two-point stance, facing forward, and takes (in this situation) his opposite side, left foot, and pivots ninety degrees on his right foot, extending the ball toward the sideline he is facing. The split-back halfback on the right side, who in this situation is the "dive back," goes forward into the line to where the quarterback is and meets in an area called the "mesh point." This is where the idea of the Veer begins to take shape: the offensive line has left one man unblocked here, most likely a defensive tackle (although it can be a linebacker) or even a defensive end.

This unblocked defender is being Read by the QB. The defender is forced to choose between tackling the dive back or the quarterback. The dive back explodes forward and puts his arms around the ball that is being extended but does not take it. The quarterback, in his open stance, is reading the man being veered, to decide whether to "pull" the ball from the dive back and go through the hole, or to give the dive back the ball and have him go through the hole. This is where the name of the offense, the veer, comes from. This is just one part of the four-part option. If the quarterback keeps the ball, he attempts to cut up the field with the opposite side halfback, who has been running right towards the dive back's original position. He is the pitchman.

He attempts to maintain proper pitch relation to the quarterback, technically a few yards outside the quarterback and moving laterally so that the quarterback may pitch the ball as he goes down the field. This entire action takes no longer than a few seconds.

The fourth player in the split-veer would be a wide receiver or tight end. His job, depending on the formation, would be to block the force player who is responsible for the flat on the side being attacked. The offense relies on the quarterback making the proper reads, turning up the field (if he decides to keep the ball) and gaining yardage. The dive back must remember not to take the football from the quarterback, rather the quarterback must give it to him. The pitchman must maintain proper spacing from the quarterback to ensure that the quarterback can make an effective pitch that can ensure more yardage.

The College Football Hall of Fame credits Bill Yeoman with the invention of the veer formation. Yeoman ran that offense with the Houston Cougars beginning in the mid-1960s and continuing through his career at Houston, which concluded in 1986.

When an offensive system is devised for a team, the coach must take into account his players, so the veer can be applied to several situations. It can be used for undersized players so that double teams and angles can be used to block defenders. It can be used to isolate defenders and create predictable responses to the offense's actions. If a team is very disciplined it can take advantage of an undisciplined defense that cannot execute their responsibilities precisely on each snap of the game.