Alabama runs all kinds of spread elements. They are not some conventional pro-style offense at all. In fact, they use all kinds of things they learned from Tom Herman.
Herman recalls what intrigued Saban the most during their time together: "If you go more up-tempo, how do you practice the spread way and the no-huddle way and yet stay physical and sound on defense?"
Here they are stealing plays from Urban:
At that point Urban Meyer turned to an old school gap scheme play with a wrinkle. The Buckeyes went with a power run play known as counter, but ran it out of an unbalanced set with jet motion.
And another:
The Buckeyes went with another counter out of a different set. This time Ohio State ran the jet motion counter out of a deuce formation.
The spread does not mean soft. The Buckeyes have as much run game diversity as any team I have studied. Whether it’s gap or zone schemes they always have multiple options and adjustments to make their running game effective and efficient. Often times just their motion "blocks" the play side force player before the ball is even snapped. Using timing and waiting for that S to run with the jet motion player until it is his time to pass him off, they snap the ball at the moment the force S is furthest away from the counter they are wanting to run. Essentially making the defense have 10 players to make the play.
Alabama saw this in their game with Ohio State and stole it. This again is a series of primary and secondary blocks. The primary block is set by the pulling right guard who neutralizes the outside linebacker/nickel corner. The secondary block is then the tight end who takes away any threat from the outside corner or the middle linebacker depending on if the run is between or outside the tackles. Ohio State runs it to the outside, and Alabama ran it as a counter to the outside as well Finally the outside wide receiver is able to engage the free safety as the defender’s first few steps were towards the middle of the field when the receiver in motion started to go across the backfield before the snap.
This is essentially the exact same play as what they saw from Ohio State and is a clear influence of Tom Herman and his power spread. All of that happened in a matter of three seconds, and all of it had to work in unison for the RB to have the space he did when he housed it for 70+ yards.
I don't want to disparage anyone on the board, but sometimes people get an idea in their head and instead of evolving as the evidence changes, they dig their heels in as to why things are the way they remember them.
PS- Tom Herman is going to be a star. His system evolves and changes and has an answer for everything the defense does. He is aggression personified in everything he does. Really happy with Richt, but as I've gotten to know Herman better and what he does as his own man now, he'd have been my
#1 choice.
