Flexibility, adaptability and the means to take advantage of a defense’s weakness. Any offense would aspire to these things, and Utes offensive coordinator Troy Taylor refers to each as virtues of his system.
Perhaps Exhibit A for Taylor’s offense comes in the form of the run-pass option. The RPO, a staple of the offense, represents one of the latest variations on an old-school idea.
The triple-option gave the quarterback the responsibility of reading the defense and deciding whether to hand to the fullback on a dive, keep himself or pitch to the halfback. RPO takes the next step and allows a signal-caller like Tyler Huntley the freedom on the fly to turn the play into either a handoff or play-action pass.