A radical new look in high school football

I'm not sure I completely comprehend this new A-11 offense, but what I gather is it is a further enhancement of the spread offense that exploits a loophole in football rules to allow all 11 players on a team to become eligible pass receivers.

Here's the theory behind it. If you don't have a quarterback under center to receive a direct snap and instead place him at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, you have a kick formation, the kind used for field goals and punts. In kick formations, interior lineman are not required to wear numbers 50 through 79. Any player wearing 1 through 49 or 80 through 99 is eligible to receive a pass under the current rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The A-11 formation was devised by coaches at Piedmont High School in California who were trying to stay competitive with bigger schools with bigger players. Piedmont's scheme features a center flanked by two guards who are essentially tight ends. Two players, either of whom may be the quarterback on a particular play, line up seven yards deep and three wide receivers split on either side of the line. Under football rules, seven players must begin each play on the line of scrimmage and only five are allowed to go downfield to receive a pass, but the A-11 disguises who those people are. To keep defenses completely off balance, prior to each Piedmont play, only the center initially goes to the line of scrimmage. The two “guards” and the split receivers each stand one and a half yards off the line. Then, just before the ball is snapped, Piedmont shifts into formation for the signaled play.

Rules at the college and pro level prohibit the use of the A-11, but Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, known for his wide open offensive approach was quoted as saying the A-11 “presents some ideas all of us should think about.”

The A-11 has not been greeted with universal acceptance even at the high school level, however. It is has been approved in 40 states, Texas not being one of them.