By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — Blink and you might miss it.
The Hewitt-Trussville offense will be a fast-paced, no-huddle style this season, a balanced attack that first-year head coach Josh Floyd likes to run. He learned it from Gus Malzahn, the Auburn head man who used to be his coach at Shiloh (Ark.) Christian.
The offense takes what the defense gives it. When Floyd coached at Shiloh Christian, he had quarterbacks who threw for 4,000 yards. He also had other QBs rush for 1,000 yards.
“It’s very fast. I love it,” junior running back Jarrion Street said. “It’s very up-tempo, just like Auburn. I think it will be very effective.”
Floyd said it’s very similar to Malzahn’s offense. He has his own tweaks after years of running it, though. The philosophy is the same: Go fast and tire out the defense.
“Pace is a big deal for us,” Floyd said.
Junior quarterback Zac Thomas said last month that the team was learning the offense well after just a week of running it. Like Street, he said it feels a lot like Auburn.
“It’s just going to be like a total momentum change,” Thomas said. “Everything is fast now. We’re not slow. Everything is quick.”
The style has been criticized by some nationally as “gimmicky,” that it’s not traditional smash-mouth football. Floyd said the offense is physical. When his teams at Shiloh Christian won state titles, it was because they were physical up front. The center position is huge for this offense, which starts in the shotgun the majority of the time. Junior Brandt Selesky, junior Kyle Miskelley and senior Hunter Songer have seen time at the position this summer.
Senior Devin Reed and Street will be weapons in the backfield. Senior Cyle Moore is a versatile player with good hands. Others are rising up, too.
“I’ve been very pleased,” Floyd said. “I feel like they’re hungry to learn.”
Thomas will be the key for the offense, a dual-threat quarterback in an offense that caters to a signal caller who can get the job done through the air and on the ground.
“This is the kind of offense I’ve always kind of looked forward to running,” Thomas said. “I can’t wait to run it. It just fits everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.