The SEC's Veer-and-Shoot Boom Is Coming for Texas in 2026

College football is a copycat sport, and there is a new trend that has quickly, yet quietly, taken the SEC by storm.

Despite only being introduced to the conference in the mid-2010's, the 'Veer-and-Shoot' offense is now the primary scheme for seven of the conference's 16 teams.

Art Briles developed the system at Stephenville High School in the 90's and brought it with him as he went from an assistant under Mike Leach at Texas Tech to the head coach of Houston and then Baylor.

After being disseminated across Texas' college ranks, the strategy made its way to the SEC, first through then Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel in 2016 and then in earnest via the hiring of Jeff Lebby, Briles' former assistant and son-in-law, and Kendal Briles, Art's son, as the offensive coordinators at Ole Miss and Arkansas, respectively.

From there, the scheme rapidly gained acolytes like Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh, Tim Cramsey and John David Baker, all of whom will be calling the shots for an SEC offense in 2026. Its early practitioners were celebrated as visionaries, with Heupel and Lebby landing head-coaching gigs at Tennessee and Mississippi State.

Here is a look at what the Veer-and-Shoot offense is and how it works.

Tomorrow will be an examination of how Texas' new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp can shut it down.

What is the Veer and Shoot?

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Veer-and-Shoot offense, so called due to its blending of route patterns from the Run-and-Shoot and run-blocking concepts from the Veer, has three main hallmarks.

First, extremely wide splits for its receivers; second, a heavy dose of up-tempo or even no-huddle offense; and third, a near-constant usage of 'choice routes,' wherein receivers can run any number of routes based on the look they get from their defender.

These three factors force defenses to cover every inch of grass on the field while guaranteeing the offense a leverage or numbers advantage on every play. Here is an example of how the spacing of the Veer and Shoot stresses defenses.

Tennessee Volunteers football — A moment from the Tennessee Volunteers' 2023 game against the Kentucky Wildcats | Carter Long

Tennessee lines up in a 2x1 set to the wide, or 'field,' side with a running back to the passing strength and an H-back away from it.

This forces Kentucky to roll their weak safety, circled in blue, to a relatively shallow eight-yard depth to help against the run while their strong safety, circled in red, stays deep on the far hash to prevent in an in-breaking route, leaving the boundary corner one-on-one in press coverage at the bottom of the screen.

Tennessee, of course, exploits this matchup.

After a run fake that pulls the weak safety even further downfield, Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton waits just a moment before launching a touchdown pass to wideout Chas Nimrod, who easily beats his man after a quick stutter step.

Here is where the choice routes come in: had the boundary corner been playing five-yards off instead of press, Nimrod would have run a deep curl or a quick screen; if he would have prevented him from releasing outside, Nimrod would have run a 15-yard in. Milton and Nimrod would both know all of this before the snap without having to say a word to each other.

Once Heupel is able to scare defenses into protecting the end zone on every down, the Volunteers begin punishing light boxes with downhill runs. Here is what that looks like.

This time the Volunteers line up in a 2x2 formation with a back to the wide-side of the field. The Wildcats are forced into a middle-field-open look, leaving just six defenders in the box.

In order to make up for this, Kentucky calls a blitz that gives their MIKE linebacker, No. 54, the first step downhill.

This gives them the ability to effectively control all six gaps while keeping their WILL, No. 32, free to read and react to the running back, a seemingly perfect plan to plug up any run. Unfortunately, the Veer and Shoot just causes too much stress.

Tennessee runs a counter play with the left guard, No. 78, pulling across the formation to block the blitzing MIKE while the right tackle and right guard perform a combo block on the four-technique, No. 0, before climbing to the WILL. This leaves the end, No. 90, who is circled in white, unblocked with an opportunity to stop the play for a loss.

However, he has to respect the threat of Milton pulling the ball and running it himself, causing him to hesitate just long enough to give running back Jaylen Wright a crease that he explodes through.

Due to the extreme spacing of the formation, Wright is able to get a full head of steam before he beats the strong safety, the only man standing between him and the end zone.

This is how the extreme spacing of the Veer and Shoot puts defenders in conflict. Things get even more drastic when these offenses mix in run-pass option plays and quick boundary screens.

Put simply, the ultra-wide splits and adjustable routes of the Veer and Shoot place constant vertical pressure on defenses while forcing them to pick between leaving their corners unprotected and giving the offense a light box.

This exhausting task is exacerbated by the use of tempo, repeatedly stretching defenses in every direction until they eventually make a mistake.

The Longhorns will need to study this offense extensively, as they play five of the seven SEC teams that use the Veer and Shoot in 2026.

So, how can they stop it?

Well, Muschamp may just have found an answer back in 2023, which will be looked at in the next segment of this series.

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