Hmmmm…I’m not so sure that either the wishbone or the option attack can’t be the basis of a winning program.
Regarding recruits, in particular skill players, it is true that the upper-echelon would eschew an option-based program. However, the way the option is run (and by “option” I mean both what Nebraska used to run and the wishbone), you don’t need top-flight receivers. What you need are individuals who can block, have sure hands, and decent - not blazing - speed. The whole idea of the passing game in an option attack is to catch the defense by surprise - run it at them with success until they commit so many defenders that the receivers can slip behind them. The key phrase being with success.
Assuming that the team running the option recruits the correct offensive lineman, running backs and quarterback, there’s no reason that formula won’t work. But you would have to have exceptional speed in the backfield, and stud-hosses in the offensive line. I, for one, think that Nebraska could still do that - there are far more quarterbacks that can run an option attack than can run a passing attack. Running backs want the ball - something the option affords them to far greater effect than a passing attack.
True, some backs may not go for it - they may want to catch passes out of the backfield in preparation for a shot at the pros. But all-in-all, I think most high school running backs don’t think that far in advance…they want the ball. And there is little doubt that for an offensive lineman, run-blocking beats pass-blocking. Like running backs, there may be a few that want to go to a passing school to enhance their chances at being drafted, but, again, I doubt most think that way.
Regarding defensive speed that an option attack faces, there are two ways to counter that - or that argument. First, since so few teams still run the option, it means a defense has less time to prepare. This doesn’t mean that coaches don’t have the knowledge to defense the option - it means that there is frequently not enough time to teach the players to defend it correctly. Couple that with the second point - that option attacks are specifically designed to read the defense to see how they are committing, and to “move” to the open or undefended player or area.
Today, so many of these pure athletes rely on just their athletic abilities - and don’t bother with proper technique. It’s tough, with just three or four days of practice, to “break” a defensive end from crashing down, or making a blind rush up field. That plays right into the hands of the option attack.
And, again, if the offensive line can open sufficient holes in the middle to cause the defense to commit inside, then the edges become vulnerable.
I don’t think, in recent years, that Nebraska’s offense was inherently flawed…I feel that the level of talent - especially in the offensive line and at tailback - was the culprit. I’d be willing to bet that with a commitment to recruit the right kind of talent, Nebraska could still win with the option.
On the other hand, I’m a dinosaur, and never have coached, so what do I know? Still, I hate to see it go - it’s part of what made Nebraska unique and wonderful. And it still remains to be seen whether the top-flight skill position players want to come to the cold mid-west rather than to sunny California, Florida or Texas. That’s one of the reasons I’m a little worried about the use of the West Coast offense; why would an urban, warm weather kid - one who is unmindful of tradition - want to go to a cold weather school that does not have the kind of urban setting he is used to?
With the option attack, Nebraska was a natural selection for the kinds of players that can make the attack go - strong run-blocking offensive lineman, quarterbacks who ran first but could pass adequately, receivers who lacked the blazing speed but understood the value of a well-executed downfield block and who had sure hands. Seems that the West Coast offense moves Nebraska away from its natural “constituency”, so to speak.
Wishful thinking, but I like it.