Scarlet Sunrise: Tempo to be 'side order,' not 'main course,' of Ohio State offense in 2024

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Tempo to be ‘side order,’ not ‘main course,’ of Ohio State offense in 2024

The word “tempo” was synonymous with Chip Kelly when he coached at Oregon. His final season in Eugene, the Ducks averaged 2.92 plays per minute of possession, according to SB Nation, while they averaged 6.6 yards per play — tied for 10th nationally — and 49.6 points per game, the second most in the country.

Kelly took his high-octane approach to the NFL. His Philadelphia Eagles initially turned heads, especially on the ground. They ranked first in rushing DVOA in 2013 and 13th in that category in 2014 (Note: DVOA stands for “Defense-adjusted Value Over Average,” and it’s a measure of how successful a team is compared to the league average on down-and-distance of each play that season).

But after posting back-to-back 10-win seasons, Philadelphia went 7-9 in 2015 while allowing 26.9 points per game, the fifth most in the league that year. The Eagles ran the second-most offensive plays of any NFL team that season and had the lowest time of possession in the league, holding the ball for an average of 26:06 per game. Kelly’s strategy backfired. He was fired.

“I think when I left in 2012 to go to the National Football League, Oregon was the only team that was playing really, really fast and had shiny helmets,” Kelly said this week. “And when I came back in 2017, everybody had shiny helmets, and everybody was playing fast. So I think the game is always gonna go up and down. There’s going to be different cycles that it goes through.”

Kelly, though, doesn’t follow trends. He sets them.

So when he returned to the college ranks as UCLA’s head coach, he ultimately moved away from his mile-a-minute offense.

“I think tempo is part of an offense, but I don’t think it’s an offense in itself,” Kelly said. “I think it’s more of like, if you go to dinner, it’s a side order. You know, it’s not the main course. But it’s always good to have it. So I think there’s times when you’ll use it, but you’re not going to use it extensively the entire game.

“Just like you’re not going to throw the ball every single snap in a game. You’re not going to run the ball every single snap in the game. There’s not a game of absolutes anymore. I think the ability to be diverse and have it as a tool in your toolbox, so to speak, is really how we would look at using it here.”

“Here” as in Ohio State, where Kelly is the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He’s reunited with Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, who echoed Kelly’s sentiments last week.

Day, after all, was on staff with the Eagles under Kelly in 2015 and with the San Francisco 49ers under Kelly in 2016. Long before that, Day played for and then worked for Kelly at University of New Hampshire.

He knows how Kelly adapts as the sport evolves.

“At that time,” Day said, referencing Kelly’s no-huddle days that peaked in the 2010s, “it was innovative to be fast — that was new. So I think he’s always been innovative on how he’s done things and put his players in the best situation to be successful.

“And so what does that look like right now in college football in 2024? That’s the journey that we’re on right now. Will tempo be a part of it? Yes. Will we go fast every single play? No. Will we huddle every play? Probably not. But maybe. I mean that’s part of it.”

Ohio State is hoping to bounce back offensively after averaging only 30.5 points per game last season, by far its fewest since Day joined the program as OC/quarterbacks coach in 2017. Years after ranking as high as fifth nationally in plays per game under Day in 2018 while eclipsing the 80 barrier, according to Team Rankings, the Buckeyes have averaged fewer than 70 plays per game each of the last two seasons.

Day went out and hired a play-calling OC with NFL head coaching experience not once but twice. First he got Bill O’Brien, who returned home to become Boston College’s head coach. Then he got Kelly, his longtime mentor-turned-colleague who has a reputation for his creativity in general, not just tempo.

Day added: “Every team’s a little bit different. And so it’s not cookie cutter. But I think the point is that he’s always been innovative in everything he’s done. If we continue to be that way this year then we’ll have a chance to reach our goals.”

‘He’s a supernatural athlete:’ Caleb Downs turning heads early in spring practice

Caleb Downs is the Ohio State defender who’s been the talk of the town so far in spring practice. The second-year safety being there in the first place is a spectacle, considering he was a second-team AP All-American at Alabama last season.

Downs became the first true freshman to lead the Crimson Tide in total tackles since at least 1970. He’s expected to immediately star for the Buckeyes, too.

Lettermen Row rounded up what Ohio State players and coaches are saying about the sophomore.

Check it out here.

Photos: Key returners, up-and-comers fill second Ohio State spring practice

Wish you were at Ohio State spring practice? Well, Lettermen Row does its best to bring the action to you, especially with this photo gallery from the second day of spring ball.

If you’re looking for a chance to spot key returners and up-and-coming underclassmen, this is the place for you. Jersey changes and weight changes are on full display, too.

Check it out here.

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Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 174 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 265 days

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