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Usage of presnap motion, RPOs generates early optimism about Iowa’s 2024 offense
One defensive player likens Tim Lester-led ‘creative offense’ to Green Bay Packers, but spring hope in Iowa City has not always led to fall results
John Steppe
Apr. 14, 2024 6:00 am
IOWA CITY — Iowa’s offense has created some “confusion” in practices. A good type of confusion.
“They got us thinking a lot more out there,” defensive end Max Llewellyn said of the offense this week. “A lot of motions, RPOs, all that jazz, so we kind of got to have all areas of the field covered.”
The talk from Llewellyn and many others on both sides of the football about the Iowa offense’s presnap motion and RPOs — run-pass option plays — are early signals of what could be a different-looking Iowa offense in 2024.
“A lot of the motions we make — it definitely sets off the defense in a way that, just like that, real quick, we get certain different answers,” wide receiver Kaleb Brown said. “So it’s definitely fun to pick apart the defense.”
The new wrinkles have made the offense “a little more complicated than what we’re used to” facing as a defense, safety Xavier Nwankpa said.
“It’s been a new, really creative offense, in my opinion, similar to the Packers,” cornerback John Nestor said. “They keep you on your toes every play.”
The offense’s RPO threat, as defensive lineman Aaron Graves sees it, has forced the defense “to get better at transition rushing.”
“It’s been a lot harder for us, especially the interior guys, to get sacks this spring ball because of that,” Graves said.
However, quarterback Deacon Hill “wouldn’t say we’re like super RPO-heavy.”
“We have a couple here and there,” Hill said. “It just adds another level to the offense, another phase I guess you could say.”
In terms of personnel groupings, tight end Luke Lachey said the offense has been “doing a lot of 12, a lot of 11, some 13 now.” The offensive line has made some adjustments as well.
“I don’t want to spoil the party too much, but if you look at some NFL offenses in terms of how they run those plays, I think that’s where things are a little bit different,” offensive lineman Nick DeJong said. “If you ask, ‘Are you still running outside zone?’ Yes. ‘Are you still running inside zone?’ Yes.”
One of the questions going into Tim Lester’s hiring was how much freedom would the new offensive coordinator have to make necessary changes. The offense, Hill said Thursday, is “kind of Lester’s show right now” while Kirk Ferentz “has been with the O-line, like he always is.”
Hill’s indications align with what Ferentz said at the end of last month about Lester’s transition: Iowa is “taking his playbook material and going with it.”
“It's going to look different, but I think philosophically we're in line,” Ferentz said at the time.
Of course, optimism about the offense is not a new concept at this time of the year in Iowa City. Take what punter Tory Taylor said almost exactly two years ago as an example.
"There might be a few less punts this year from the way things are going,“ Taylor said on April 12, 2022. ”And there’s certainly a lot more balls in the end zone from what I’ve previously experienced.“
The NFL-bound punter’s comments preceded a season in which the Hawkeyes ranked 120th or worse nationally in points per game, yards per game, yards per play, third-down efficiency and other metrics.
Media were allowed to see the first 20 minutes of practice Thursday, but that is a particularly small sample size — less time than it takes for an airline to board a flight — and a portion of that window was devoted to punting work.
The Hawkeyes’ open practice on April 20 will be the first extended look at the Lester offense. Even then, it will carry a few asterisks. Quarterback Cade McNamara has been limited in practices as he continues his injury recovery, prompting Hill to take first-team reps.
Hill is among the players learning three different offenses in the last three years. The ex-Badger worked in Wisconsin’s offensive scheme in 2022, Brian Ferentz’s scheme in 2023 and now Lester’s scheme in 2024.
When looking more closely at the Wisconsin situation, it’s more like four offensive schemes in four years because the Badgers “did add some new stuff” when Bobby Engram came in as offensive coordinator in 2022.
It does get “a little bit” easier when Hill is so familiar with the unfamiliarity of a learning a new scheme.
“Conceptually, there’s not a ton of stuff you can do differently from a bunch of other schools,” Hill said. “The verbiage is different. How you want to motion is different. The verbiage is definitely probably the hardest part because last year we were all numbers, this year we’re all words.”
Whether it be with numbers or words, the new-look offensive brain trust’s embrace of RPO and motions may seem like bad news for Iowa’s defense in the spring.
“Oh yeah, it’s annoying,” Llewellyn said from the defensive perspective. “I hate it. It’s awful. But got to do it.”
How good of news will that be for Iowa’s offense starting on Aug. 31? Time will tell.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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