When Urban Meyer, Tom Herman, and the rest of their offensive staff began installing Ohio State's new offense in the spring of 2012, players inside of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center were introduced to seven different formations in their new coach's spread-to-run shotgun system. While the most notable change from the prior regime appeared to be the permanent removal of a fullback in favor of an additional receiver, the new system would look to stretch the field both vertically and horizontally with multiple receivers lined up from sideline to sideline.
But of the seven new alignments introduced to the Buckeyes that spring, four of them would overload defenses by featuring three receivers to one side.