Inside Andy Kotelnicki’s Playbook: RPOs

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For new Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, the “why” behind his prevalent use of RPOs – the three-letter cornerstone of modern football that’s often treated like a repulsive four-letter word while keyboard thumpers melt on message boards – is best explained through a childhood toy for nerds.

It’s called a Hoberman Sphere. If your parents never bought you one, congratulations.

Invented before fun, the Hoberman Sphere is a colorful, plastic, finger-pinching geodesic dome capable of massive contraction/expansion that can be either symmetrical or irregular depending on which jagged joints are pushed and/or pulled. If you got suckered into chaperoning school field trips to any Science Center or Children’s Museum in the past 30 or so years, you’ve likely seen stacks of them in the gift shop go untouched.

So what the heck does this have to do with Kotelnicki’s catalog of RPOs?

Glad you asked, lazy transition device.

The philosophical tenet of Kotelnicki’s use of RPOs is to turn opposing defenses into the human embodiment of the Hoberman Sphere. Not the tight, fortified ball version. We’re talking the wonky, stretched out, misshapen mangled mess version of the Hoberman Sphere – seen here to the right on a PowerPoint slide Kotelnicki presented during an online coaching clinic back in 2020.

“The objective is to get the ball from one side of that sphere to the other,” Kotelnicki said during the free portion of this otherwise paywall’d video that we couldn’t afford to purchase (Buy a KOOZIE!). “You can push back that ball. You can throw over that ball. Or you can distort it, pull it apart, and go right through it.

“I think that’s what RPOs do a lot…we’re trying to create distortion.”

Prime Example:

3^rd and 10 from the Houston 12. Kansas is lined up in 20 personnel split back look with two receivers toward the field and one toward the boundary. Prior to the snap, the Cougars have 7 box defenders vs. what appears to be 5 Kansas blockers, assuming the QB hands off. HOWEVER, the pre-snap picture morphs when Kotelnicki sends the RB in motion, pulling two Houston defenders out of run support, thus “distorting the sphere.”

Now (with the other RB serving as a lead blocker) Kansas has 6 white hats vs. 5 red hats. The pulling center kicks out the OLB. The RB reaches the safety. And the boundary receiver occupies the corner with a dummy route to the back pylon.

Here’s another look:

Kotelnicki’s RPOs are sculpted to present the QB with obvious, easy-to-decipher, “this or that” choices that offer two-pronged escape routes for the offense should the defense show a formation that’s not advantageous for either the RUN or PASS option of the called RPO.

So on this past play, hypothetically, if only one Houston defender reacted to the RB motion, then Kansas QB 6-Jalon Daniels would have still chosen RUN on this Run-Pass Option – 6 blockers vs. 6 defenders. If NO Houston defender honored the RB motion, then Daniels would have thrown the ball, trusting the two receivers to pick up the two Houston corners capable of making a tackle.

On paper, there is no “right move” for the defense to pick…as long as the offense executes.

BASICS, WRINKLES, ADJUSTMENTS

As frequently discussed here on FTB, the Glance Route is one of the most effective tags you can add to a run concept for a couple reasons. For starters, the Glance times up very well with runs, making it nearly impossible for the “conflict defender” to simultaneously play both prongs of the RPO. Instead, that defender has to pick his poison: step up and assist in run support, or stay flat-footed/bail to cover the pass. Either way (again as long as the offense executes) there is no right choice for the defense.

Case in point:

Another reason why the Glance is a staple in Kotelnicki’s RPO package (and was a staple in Mike Yurcich RPOs, Kirk Ciarrocca RPOs) is the route itself. The sudden break at the top of the route aids receivers in creating separation, which is an answer for man coverage. The Glance route also fits within a popular offensive philosophy: throw the ball to receivers while they are moving toward the end zone (curl/sit/hitch routes would be the opposite). The thought process is simple: forward momentum heightens the possibility of RAC any time a pass is completed.

It just makes sense… wouldn’t you rather the ball be thrown to someone already running than someone frozen like a statue?

The rep you just watched is something that could be easily replicated in Happy Valley. Kansas comes out in a 31 personnel set. Diamond Formation (sound familiar?). Kansas calls a simple interior zone run concept with some eye candy in the backfield. One of the sidecar backs runs behind the quarterback taking what is typically a triple-option-type path. The sole receiver, aligned to the boundary, is running a basic 5-step glance… a slant/post hybrid.

What makes this play worth noting, though, is the QB mechanics: Kotelnicki adds a ‘flop read’ wrinkle to this play. Again, watch the QB:

In essence, a Flop Read means the QB is keying the safety OPPOSITE of the way he turns. Typically when running RPOs, whichever side the QB’s shoulders are squared to is the side in which he is reading a defender. When done over and over and over again, this tendency allows defenses to key in on one side of the field: it’s common practice against RPO heavy teams.

Adding a Flop punishes the defense for assuming, thus “distorting the sphere” to Kotelnicki’s advantage.

Of course, wrinkles like the Flop Read will only take an offense so far. Eventually, you’ll need to evolve offensively from a ‘Death by Glance’ approach once defensive coordinators take it away by playing man coverage with inside leverage (i.e., take away the inside breaking routes.) Kotelnicki’s counter to that chess move is fairly simple… run RPOs featuring out-breaking routes.

Below, Kotelnicki motions the H-Back into the box right at the snap to gain another hat in the run game. With 7 blockers, Kent State has to match up 1v1 on the perimeter. The slot receiver is matched up on a safety situated 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. This is an easy pitch and catch to the “Friday” concept — a fade route paired with a quick-out.

Here’s the same idea, only with a hitch route instead of the quick-out. If you are gonna play 10 yards off, you better be comfortable giving up easy backyard tosses for substantial gains.

Oh, and if you’re gonna keep playing man coverage – especially down toward the low Red Zone — Kotelnicki has something diabolical dialed up for that, too.

Love the simple but strategic way this play design stresses the defense; the well-timed WR motion forces the Texas Tech fieldside corner to umbrella above the Red Raiders’ second-level defenders, surrendering valuable steps in a pure footrace to the opposite front pylon. The split-zone run element of this RPO keeps linebackers from wandering off-script to assist in pass coverage and provides the QB a short-yardage Plan B handoff if the corner doesn’t travel across the formation and mirror the WR motion.

DREW ALLAR DILEMMA?

Let’s address the elephant in the room (even though elephants can reach speeds in excess of 25 mph according to the first entry of my Google search), shall we?

Sure, these Kotelnicki RPO clips sprinkled throughout this blog post are fun February football porn, but many of them feature a true dual-threat QB. And, obviously, the guy Kotelnicki will hand the keys to on Saturdays this fall, Drew Allar, isn’t exactly Vanilla Vick…which begs the question: how much of what we just witnessed will be off the table, and/or how drastically will Kotelnicki have to tailor proven RPO concepts to hide Allar’s deficiencies?

I get your concern. But, honestly, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue…as long as Allar shows a WILLINGNESS to run and Kotelnicki is given permission to expose Allar to risky punishment as a runner.

Because, as we’re about to witness in this brilliant two-play sequence vs. West Virginia in 2022, the secondary purpose of Kotelnicki’s RPO featuring a QB run isn’t to immediately gain massive yardage chunks on the ground, but rather to bait the defense into a trap on the next snap.

Play 1, The Set Up:

This RPO pairs a QB draw with a smoke screen to the trips side of the field. The QB determines pre-snap whether he’s running or passing using a fundamental math equation: Do we have more blockers than defenders in the box? If so, it’s a run. Every team blocks “draw” a little bit differently, but generally the tackles will pass-set to open up wide lanes for the QB while the interior linemen + RB work the nose guard and linebacker(s).

Play 2, The Pay Off:

Next play. Exact same play. Only difference, the RB bluff-blocks the West Virginia linebacker and darts upfield uncovered for a gift TD toss.