Malzahn brings his chaotic offense to TU
Malzahn brings his chaotic offense to TU

By George Schroeder

Published: July 5, 2007

The idea hatched during one of those wild, desperate rallies that make football so fun.

A young high school coach watched a defense get shredded in the final moments. And he wondered: If the two-minute drill worked for two minutes, why wouldn’t it work for 48?

Turned out, it would.

Thus was born the philosophy that propelled Gus Malzahn to big success in the high school ranks, to his even- tual hiring as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator — and to his abrupt departure last winter for the same position at Tulsa.

We’ll get into the reasons for that stunning move later. For now, the offense.

Malzahn calls it the hurry-up no-huddle. Others call it a gimmick. Or sandlot football. Or …

“Recess,” says Bartlesville coach Ron Smith. “Like third-graders on a playground.”

Understand that Smith, the father of Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith, isn’t belittling. He’s praising a frenzied attack with so much motion, so much misdirection — so much chaos — “while you’re trying to figure out what they just did to you, they’re on to the next play.”

Over the last decade, Malzahn’s teams set records and piled up points and Arkansas state championships. He built a reputation, wrote a book, produced a how-to video.

But this fall, Malzahn will bring recess to college. Will it work for 60 minutes?

He thinks so, and one thing’s certain: He’s committed to finding out.

At this point, full disclosure is in order — and let’s hope Malzahn’s reputation can survive the revelation: He and I go way back. We’ve been friends since he was a young upstart coaching in Arkansas’ Delta region. Since before he conjured up the hurryup no-huddle.

Back then, Malzahn’s teams didn’t pass the ball all over the place. They didn’t have the personnel. But they won anyway. And when he had the right parts, Malzahn created a unique attack — or, as he prefers, philosophy — that relies on three intertwined principles: Speed up the game. Lengthen the game. Wear down the opponent.

The ideas aren’t new. Teams at all levels run the spread. Plenty go without a huddle and try to play really fast.

Malzahn freely admits to taking bits and pieces from various offenses. But he married the no-huddle to a frenetic pace — his teams want to snap the ball in less than five seconds — and determined to do it all game long.

More important, he’s married to the idea, which produced three state titles and led to Malzahn’s big leap up the coaching ladder.

His hiring was big news across the border. Springdale High had just steamrolled to a state championship. Arkansas had just stumbled through its second straight losing season. And it certainly didn’t hurt that several high-profile Springdale recruits, including the nation’s top prep quarterback, followed their coach to Fayetteville.

The big buzz gave way to success, then to chaos, though neither came from the hurry-up no-huddle.

Malzahn doesn’t talk much about his year at Arkansas, except to call it “a learning experience.” But it’s clear the fit was uncomfortable all the way around.

Although Houston Nutt promised he would “let Gus go” and “turn him loose,” it never happened. The hurry-up no-huddle wasn’t a part of the equation after the second game. And as the season went along, Malzahn worked in increasingly tighter shackles.

Still, Arkansas won the SEC West. Mitch Mustain, the freshman quarterback from Springdale, went 8-0 as a starter. Malzahn was credited with innovations, including the “Wildcat” formation, which allowed tailback Darren McFadden to blossom into one of college football’s most dangerous weapons. He was named national offensive coordinator of the year by Rivals.com.

But even as the Hogs were winning, a soap opera — with far too many subplots to get into here — was unfolding. Still is, long after Malzahn’s departure for Tulsa and Mustain’s transfer to USC.

Anyway, Malzahn won’t get into it, except to say Mustain and Damian Williams, another Springdale product who transferred to USC, are “great kids.” He prefers to talk about how happy he is at Tulsa, how much he enjoys the working environment. If you want to infer something from that, go right ahead.

And then there’s this: “I’ll get to run my offense.”

Don’t underestimate that part.

“It’s what I do,” Malzahn says. “It’s what I want to do from here on out.”

Will recess work in college? We’re about to find out.

Tulsa’s new playbook does not include a huddle.