The offense has spread like wildfire throughout college football and even the NFL, now being utilized by the UCLA Bruins, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and, of course, the Alabama Crimson Tide. The offense clearly showcased his talents since the San Fransisco 49ers traded up in the draft to take Kaepernick with the 36th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. His quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, also ran the ball for 1,206 yards and 20 touchdowns while keeping the aerial attack deadly, throwing for 3,022 yards and 21 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. Last year, Nevada running back Vai Taua ran for 1,610 yards and 19 touchdowns. This offense was wildly successful on the stat sheet, too. He did this by having the quarterback line up four yards behind the center and have a running back behind him, about seven yards from the line of scrimmage, thus letting the QB see the defensive alignment from further back - making reads more easily but having the running back run downhill to the ball in a run play.Īult did so very successfully, as you would know if you watched his Wolfpack last season, who dashed Boise State’s BCS dreams in a big upset on the way to a 13-1 record and a 20-13 win over Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl as the co-Western Athletic Conference champions. The glory of football’s most recent innovator should belong to Nevada head coach Chris Ault, the inventor of the Pistol formation.Īult invented the offense to combine the big play capabilities and aerial attack options of the shotgun formation with the running abilities of the I-formation of the Ace singleback formation. The glory may go to these coaches, but most recent of these innovators, Bellard, coached in the 1970s and 1980s, and Camp goes all the way back to the late 1800s.

Some of football’s biggest innovators include Emory Bellard, Red Hickey, Walter Camp and Amos Alonzo Stagg, for inventing the wishbone, shotgun, Power T and I-Form offenses, respectively.

Pistol action basketball