Ohio State Football: Can Kevin Wilson fix J.T. Barrett?

Scheme

The scheme Wilson will install will be a run heavy system based on outside zone. Kevin Wilson uses a few different types of outside zone in his blocking scheme. But don’t get me wrong, OSU is still going to throw the ball. In 2015 at Indiana, Wilson’s quarterback Nate Sudfeld threw for 3,500 yards while having two running backs eclipse 1,000 yards rushing.

While outside zone won’t directly improve Barrett, it will indirectly benefit him. Wilson will get the offense into better down and distance situations, and will get Barrett out of situations where the drive or game are dependent upon his arm. He can use play-action passing instead of 5-step drops where his accuracy and technique will be under pressure.

Below, outside zone with fan blocking. What that means is the offensive line tries to push the defensive line and linebackers to the sideline and the back tries to cut underneath it (think: Denver Broncos 90’s run scheme).

Below, reach blocking the defensive line (a wide step where you get turned and get your hands on the outside shoulder, trying to turn the defensive lineman back inside). Now the back can sprint outside the tackle and get upfield like this.

The outside zone scheme has some intricate details which you can find here. I’ve also put together a primer of the offensive line run blocking responsibilities.