How LSU Coach Brian Kelly's Offenses Have Evolved Part II
The final six seasons of Brian Kelly’s coaching tenure at Notre Dame saw the biggest adjustments.
After the 2014 and 2015 seasons in which Notre Dame was an explosive down-the-field passing attack, the Irish continued to provide fireworks with the passing game. With explosive playmakers like Equanimeous St. Brown, Torii Hunter, Jr. and Kevin Stepherson at wide receiver, there were more vertical shots by the Irish offense.
The spread offensive attack continued but with a variable. The running game added more power to its arsenal.
The additional playmaker came by way of the running back position, and that would be
Josh Adams. He was the first true bruiser the Irish had at running back since 2011 when Jonas Gray was in the backfield for Notre Dame.
With the 6-foot-2 225-pound Adams toting the football downhill, he expanded the options for the spread attack. Quarterback Deshone Kizer had the option to use play-action passing even more than usual, and the offense was more versatile.
Although Head Coach Brian Kelly had been known to throw the football quite often during his tenure at Cincinnati and with Notre Dame, the 2017 season is when the Irish made the biggest offensive adjustment from one season to the next in Kelly’s tenure in South Bend, Ind.
With an offensive line that was absolutely loaded with NFL talent, and it was experienced, mind you, the Irish became a power football team. Adams ran wild behind now NFL stars Quentin Nelson and Mike McGlinchey among others, and that helped to offset a passing game that was not as good with the loss of Kizer a year early to the NFL.
Here’s the unique aspect of all this. Notre Dame still ran the spread, used similar formations as it did in 2014, 2015, and even 2016. Yet, even with a quarterback like Brandon Wimbush behind center that struggled to pass the football (just a 49.5% completion rate), Notre Dame bludgeoned most of its opponents.
Notre Dame averaged 269.3 yards on the ground that season. One season prior, Notre Dame averaged 163.3. Wimbush did well running the football, but Kizer was one heck of a runner, too.
This mindset of power football was more about a “We are better than you in the trenches” mindset than fancy play calls. Having Adams in the backfield helped, too. He ran for 1,430 yards and nine touchdowns on the season.
Inside zone, outside zone, and some traditional pin and pull running plays were the bread and butter of the offensive philosophy. Sometimes Wimbush ran the football, sometimes it was Adams. Bottom line, it was a smash mouth mentality. Here are a few of the notable rushing totals from the games that season.
After a poor rush offense against Georgia (55 yards), Notre Dame exploded from there with Boston College (515 yards), Miami of Ohio (333 yards), North Carolina (341 yards), Southern California (377 yards), North Carolina State (318 yards), and Wake Forest (380 yards) all being games the Irish went over 300 yards on the ground.
The next season, Notre Dame decided it needed more balance. That’s when Ian Book eventually took over for Wimbush at quarterback. He was also a runner, but a much better passer. He hit on 68.2% of his passes for 2,628 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while starting only nine of the 12 regular season games.
Again, spread offense, but more balanced. Adams was off to the NFL, and so was McGlinchey and Nelson among others. Coach Kelly and Notre Dame adjusted with more of a quick passing game, a balanced rushing attack with Dexter Williams taking over in the backfield and rushing for 995 yards, and making timely plays.
This was not nearly as explosive a passing offense as the 2014-2016 era; Notre Dame did not possess as many fast receivers. There were more big wide receivers, and that helped with red zone throws and throwing up jump balls to players like Myles Boykin and Chase Claypool, now two NFL receivers that both weigh over 220 pounds.
While the offense did not possess as much pizazz, the Irish averaged 31.4 points per game in 2018 after averaging 34.2 points per game in 2017. Two totally different teams just one year separated from each other, but that’s what adapting as a coach is all about. Coach Kelly and his staff found different ways for players to make plays that also fit their talents.
The 2019 offense might have been the most surprising in the Kelly era. Despite not having a truly dominant running game, Notre Dame still did very well offensively and averaged 36.8 points per game. The key here was still running spread, but with more tight ends involved in the offense that blocked and caught the football.
Now Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet emerged as a primary receiver with 43 receptions for 515 yards and six touchdowns. His ability to catch a screen pass or run a seam route and score helped to open up the perimeter for Claypool, who reeled in 66 receptions, 1,037 yards, and 13 touchdowns.
All of that transpired despite Notre Dame’s rushing attack not having a home run hitter at tailback with Williams headed to the NFL and playing running back. One could argue that this season presented some of the most unique challenges for Notre Dame because Coach Kelly did not have near the speed he was used to having in his lineup, yet the Irish still scored 36.8 points per game. That’s more than the highly talented 2017 offense.
In 2020, the Irish were about as pedestrian at wide receiver as any team in major college football. That aside, the Notre Dame offense averaged 33.4 points per game. No Claypool, no Kmet, but it was a very experienced offensive line and the emergence of running back Kyren Williams took place.
Williams rushed for 1,125 yards and 13 touchdowns despite the leading wide receiver being Javon McKinley with just 42 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns. Teams loaded up the box and the Irish still found ways to run the football.
That rushing attack was enough to offset the wide receiver deficiencies and allowed Notre Dame to move the football quite well. The key note from 2020, formations. Notre Dame switched back to more power football with the talent onhand dictating that it did so.
In 2021, the Irish played musical chairs at quarterback for the first one-third of the season, and then quarterback Jack Coan took over and ran an uptempo spread offense for the month of the season. Notre Dame introduced Kevin Austin to the college football world after being banged up the prior season, and he’s done very well at stretching the field with 42 receptions, 783 yards and six touchdowns. On the other side, Braden Lenzy was also healthy for the majority of the season and that really helped as well. He’s a pure burner and one that can stretch the field.
Lenzy caught 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. The Irish also used him on fakes when he came in motion, helping to create a diversion for the rushing and passing games. It was a good play design used throughout the 2021 season. The last piece of information from 2021 to note was the use of freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner. An incredibly talented runner, he often came into the game to operate the run-pass option game and add an element to the offense that Coan simply cannot.
Buchner has an average of 7.3 yards per carry this season, rushed for 336 yards and scored three touchdowns. He’s helped to open up additional running lanes for Williams and other running backs as well.
Overall, Coach Kelly continued to diversify throughout the back half of his Notre Dame coaching career. It was always a case of trying to use different play calls and formations that helped to utilize the talent on the Irish roster.
Now that he’s at LSU, there’s a chance to be even more diversified with all the wide receiver talent that LSU signs on a yearly basis.
Will Coach Kelly switch it up from year to year at LSU? Absolutely. If it’s a running team that he has, that’s what he shall do. If he needs to be a two tight end team, so be it. The need to be in a five wide receiver set will suit him just fine as well.
Coach Kelly has done all those things at Notre Dame. LSU fans will be watching an ever adapting offense with Coach Kelly now the head man for the Tigers.
