RELEASE: KLENAKIS JOINS IOWA STATE FOOTBALL STAFF

**bosco** · 01-26-2013, 08:41 PM

I'm very excited about this. The engine of any offense is the line and we just got a guy who was at ground zero of the offense that is making noise in the NFL.

**CNECloneFan** · 01-26-2013, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

You do realize the pistol is a variation of the spread offense, right? The only real difference being instead of the HB lining up next to the QB he lines up behind him.

True,
But doesn't that mean the HB will get the ball in stride, rather than standing flat-footed next to the QB?
At least that was my impression of last season.

**BigLame** · 01-26-2013, 09:10 PM

Well, he has 4 returning starters to begin with, Dika who would have been a starter, and any others that could supplant any of the starters who, by most views, under-performed this past season. Looking forward to the changes this will bring. Very good hire

**jay moe** · 01-26-2013, 09:12 PM

So is Messingham still going to be calling the plays or what? Or has this been addressed and I missed it?

**megamanxzero35** · 01-26-2013, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by CNECloneFan

True,
But doesn't that mean the HB will get the ball in stride, rather than standing flat-footed next to the QB?
At least that was my impression of last season.

Correct. But the pistol still is a variation of the spread. Like how the Air Raid is a spread system, the Pistol is too.

the biggest differences are the HB lining up behind the QB to get the ball in stride. The QB is also closer to the line. This allows him to read the defense better for option running plays and passing plays.

**Clonefan94** · 01-26-2013, 09:39 PM

All Caps from CW, this must be good. Welcome aboard good sir!

**Frak** · 01-27-2013, 02:55 AM

Originally Posted by megamanxzero35

Correct. But the pistol still is a variation of the spread. Like how the Air Raid is a spread system, the Pistol is too.

the biggest differences are the HB lining up behind the QB to get the ball in stride. The QB is also closer to the line. This allows him to read the defense better for option running plays and passing plays.

Doesn't the QB line up closer to the LOS in the pistol?

**temperflare** · 01-27-2013, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

You do realize the pistol is a variation of the spread offense, right? The only real difference being instead of the HB lining up next to the QB he lines up behind him.

I do, which is why I had a question mark at the end. It is still a change I welcome given the resume this guy brings to the table.

**temperflare** · 01-27-2013, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by megamanxzero35

Correct. But the pistol still is a variation of the spread. Like how the Air Raid is a spread system, the Pistol is too.

the biggest differences are the HB lining up behind the QB to get the ball in stride. The QB is also closer to the line. This allows him to read the defense better for option running plays and passing plays.

Hopefully it also means we hit the hole faster. Our RB's always seemed to be a half step late hitting the holes and I believe it had to do with the time it took for our QB to read and make a decision. Maybe this change will pick up that half-step, but also create a more effective play-action. We will see.

**temperflare** · 01-27-2013, 09:05 AM

Thought this was a good read:

The future is already here: How the Pistol Offense is changing the NFL - SBNation.com

The potency of Ault’s offense peaked during the 2009 season when they finished the season with three 1,000-yard rushers – two running backs as well as lanky junior quarterback, a Colin Kaepernick, who added another 2,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. The following offseason Roman – along with many other coaches from across the country – visited Ault. He wanted to learn how to add some Pistol looks to the pro-style offense he ran at Stanford under head coach Jim Harbaugh. During their visit, Ault was, according to Roman, “very accommodating and it was very interesting as a coach to go really learn something totally new,” he said, adding, “That was very valuable time spent.”

**jbhtexas** · 01-27-2013, 09:06 AM

Looks like a great hire, and I'm thrilled to see CPR taking action to help out the offense.

**temperflare** · 01-27-2013, 09:15 AM

Another link that I found useful:

More on the “Pistol” offense | Smart Football

**clonedude** · 01-27-2013, 10:18 AM

Not only do I like the pistol offense better than what we have been running, it's also becoming a popular offense in the NFL as well, which will help in recruiting as well.

A big problem with the college spread offenses was that the NFL was not running them, so it was sometimes difficult to get a good QB to come to your school if you didn't run a pro-style offense. But with more NFL teams going to this pistol offense, kids will want to go to schools that run it.

I hope we go almost exclusively to this pistol offense. It doesn't really require that you revamp your entire playbook. In fact, they say you can run your same pro-style power running plays the exact same way in the pistol as you would from under center, virtually no difference.

**bigsag** · 01-27-2013, 10:50 AM

Wow.... What a nice coincidence. (Provided there are no changes between now and signing day) we have recruited a QB that passed for 2950 yards and rushed for nearly 1400 yards while primarily operating out of a pistol formation. Trevor Hodge has alot of experience running a pistol offense.

**bosco** · 01-27-2013, 10:54 AM

I'm excited too for what the pistol can do but I'm also concerned if ISU can execute it as well as what we have seen. Ault had success at Nevada but he also had Kaepernick who has turned out to be a freak athlete. Washington is also running some pistol but of course RGIII is running that show.