Georgia Tech Football: 5 reasons the option is running on empty

Sep 14, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson talks to quarterback Vad Lee (2) on the sidelines aginast the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

#3 – Recruiting Top-Flight Athletes to Skill Positions is Near Impossible

You want to win games in Division 1 football, you need to have the best athletes in the country. It’s no coincidence that the teams with the top-ranked recruiting classes and with top NFL prospects are the ones who are in the thick of the hunt for conference and national championships.

There are some who say not every player wants to be an NFL star, and that there’s a lot of talent out there that wants to play for a particular school regardless of what offense is run. This may be true, but I can’t think of an instance in the last few decades when a team with a roster full of B-list players was a contender to win it all.

Top quarterbacks who are not dual-threat QBs shy away from the option because of the punishment they are sure to take (Hello, Vad Lee), and top wide receivers aren’t interested in playing for an option system because they know they’ll be doing much more blocking and getting blocked than running downfield for circus catches. Even running backs aren’t fond of the option because they know that it’s going to be a “by-committee” approach for the most part.

Top players want to be showcased and highlighted, and that’s just not the way the option is built.