A whole new season starts for Valdosta State Saturday, with both opponent and intensity changing.
When the No. 13 Blazers (8-2, 6-2 in the GSC) host No. 21 Carson-Newman (7-3, 5-2 in the SAC) Saturday at 1 p.m., VSU will face an offense completely different from most it has seen all season.
The Eagles run a veer option offense, and have done so for the 29 years Ken Sparks has been their head coach.
“They’re experts at what they do, and they do it very well,”
VSU coach David Dean said. “It’s one of those things you don’t see very often.”
The Eagles have the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense, running for 323.5 yards.
Carson-Newman quarterback Alex Good leads the veer offense, rushing for 856 yards and 12 touchdowns, while throwing for 1,231 yards and 13 touchdowns. Buck Wakefield has the most rushing yards for the Eagles, going for 859 yards on 94 carries, an average of 9.1 yards per carry.
“They love to run the dive and the veer. That’s their main two plays,”
VSU defensive tackle Mark Sibenaller said. “They don’t really like to do anything else.”
Sibenaller faced the Eagles when he played for Tusculum, a South Atlantic Conference rival.
“They have a very clock control offense,”
Sibenaller said. “In order to play well, you have to respect them.”
The Blazers will combat the option with assignment defense, sticking someone with the quarterback, the dive and the pitch man.
Playing in the Gulf South Conference, VSU doesn’t face teams which run an option offense, so it will be a new look for the defense. Southern Arkansas switched just this season from an option offense, although they still run a few plays out of the wishbone. But aside from the Muleriders, it will be VSU’s first matchup against the veer.
“We have to be sound in our assignments,”
Dean said. “They’ll lull you to sleep in the secondary, and try to get you to think they’re running every snap, and all of a sudden, they’ll pull the ball out and throw it deep.”
Valdosta State has been preparing for the offense throughout the week, as its scout team has been running the veer. VSU backup quarterback Doug Pilcher ran the veer at Thomas County Central High, coached by his father Ed, and has been around the offense his whole life.
“The scout team is doing a very good job giving us a look at the offense, and what they’re trying to do,”
Sibenaller said. “Of course, it’s not going to be game speed. That’s something we’ll have to adjust to.”
VSU expects the speed to be a little off at the start of the game, but then will look to keep up with the Eagles’ running attack in Saturday’s first round.
Blazers expect a challenge
