Texas' Chiles means double trouble for OU
McCoy's backup a big part of Horns' offense
Texas' Chiles means double trouble for OU
Comments 
0
By John Helsley
Published: October 4, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas — Meet
John Chiles,
Texas' backup quarterback.
Wild card quarterback.
"Wildcat” quarterback, to borrow from
Tulsa offensive coordinator
Gus Malzahn, who popularized the terminology with
Darren McFadden at Arkansas.
Sometimes slot receiver.
And, upon further and future revelations, who knows what else.
Meet John Chiles, no-longer-secret weapon.
Texas is trend-hopping, increasingly incorporating Chiles — a mobile alternative to starter
Colt McCoy — into its offensive game plans the past two weeks. And Oklahoma's paying attention.
"John Chiles presents a challenge athletically, one-on-one, against virtually all your players defensively,” said
Sooners defensive coordinator
Brent Venables.
Athletically, Chiles was one of the top prospects in the country a year ago.
During his final two seasons at
Mansfield Summit High in
Dallas, Chiles combined for 2,036 yards passing, 1,248 yards rushing, 694 yards receiving and 56 total touchdowns. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder was rated as the nation's No. 2 "athlete” by
Rivals.com and the No. 5 overall prospect in the state of Texas after playing quarterback, running back and wide receiver during his prep career.
Chiles enrolled at Texas in January and has moved ahead of redshirt freshman
Sherrod Harris to become the backup quarterback.
Should McCoy show any lingering effects from mild concussion symptoms suffered in last Saturday's loss to
Kansas State, Chiles would be the Texas quarterback.
But his role isn't limited to McCoy's availability. If anything, Chiles' role is only growing, due to his varied skills.
"We need to continue to tweak those packages and expand,” said Texas offensive coordinator
Greg Davis.
"It's been very productive.”
A growing number of coaches are finding ways to get their top playmakers involved, regardless of position or apparent blockades on the depth chart. In the
Big 12 alone, the Longhorns are one of three teams, joining
Oklahoma State and
Kansas, utilizing quarterbacks at alternative positions.
Against Kansas State on Saturday, Chiles entered on UT's first offensive series, sending McCoy splitting out at wide receiver to the right. Chiles took the snap in the shotgun and took off, running for 11 yards and a first down.
On the next snap, he shifted into the slot as a receiver and took a pass from McCoy for a 9-yard gain.
Chiles was back in the slot later, taking a lateral pass for what was to become a double-pass before the play broke down.
"I didn't even know we had that stuff in our game plan, throwing him out there and him being able to move around like he did,” Texas linebacker
Scott Derry said. "I just think that adds a new versatility to our offense.”
And doesn't Derry know, having tried to corral Chiles in practice.
"John's a great quarterback, a really gifted athlete,” Derry said.
Said Venables: "There's a lot of things they can do out there. It creates a lot of issues that force you to really be sound because of the threat of double-throws and trick plays.”
At the minimum, it requires teams' attention when preparation time is already at a premium.
"It's a whole other deal, another package that you have to prepare to play,” Venables said. "And they (Texas' coaches) understand that.
"It takes time out of your practice time and your meeting time to get your guys on point.”
Comments
