Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Inside The Inside
August 10, 2021 | Football, Joel Coleman
Inside receivers in the Air Raid offense have to do it all.
STARKVILLE – There's a lot more to being an inside receiver for a Mike Leach Air Raid offense than just catching the football.
To the common eye, the guys in the slot are just additional weapons a Mississippi State quarterback could turn to. While that's true in some instances, the responsibilities are far greater than that. This isn't backyard football where pass catchers can just run blindly down the field. There's an art to it all says MSU inside receivers coach Dave Nichol.
"I kind of say we're the engine of the offense," Nichol explains. "We've got to block. We have to adjust routes. We have to block bigger people than us on the inside. We've got to do some play-action stuff. We have hot routes and have to adjust routes and then we're big time in the screen game. So we've got to get dirty on the inside, but still be able to have deep routes like we're outside receivers."
It's a jack-of-all-trades role, so to speak, and there's no mastering it overnight. It takes repetition. It takes doing it, again and again and again.
To watch a Mike Leach practice is, at times, like watching a video clip on repeat. That's no accident. Inside receiver Jaden Walley noted over the weekend that the Air Raid offense is easy to learn, but hard to learn how to run. So in practice, the Bulldogs run it until it becomes second nature.
It's a big reason why the second year of Leach at MSU has so much potential. Everyone, including the veteran inside receivers, are much more familiar with what their roles entail.
"I think we have a better understanding," inside receiver Austin Williams said. "Everybody is kind of moving a little faster and more efficiently. We know our spots and where we need to be. It's coming together."
Of course there are some newcomers getting their feet wet this month. The Air Raid rookies have a crash course in the upcoming weeks as they begin down the road towards perfecting their craft. There have been and will be bumps along the way. That's to be expected. But what determines how quickly an inside receiver can progress?
"You hope they come in here and it's like, 'Are they tough or are they not?'" Nichol said. "We feel like we're really happy with the kids we got. Some of that has to do with just an innate toughness. Then it's teaching them how to practice. I think you can teach toughness to a point. You hope you don't have to a ton, but that can be learned. In my group, with a [veteran like] Austin [Williams], he can say, 'Hey, here's how we do things around here.' They can hear it from me and they're going to hear it from me, but those kinds of things…I think that's how the young guys come along."
As the kids learn, it should give them confidence that Leach himself brought them all on board at MSU with the belief they could find success in his system. Leach has been overseeing the Air Raid for decades now. He knows precisely what he's looking for out of his inside receivers.
"You need a guy that understands space," Leach said. "It's a more complicated position than some. You want guys that have a good change of direction. Sometimes low center of gravity guys have that, but they don't have to be, as long as they can get out of their cuts and change directions."
Be versatile. Be athletic. Be smart. Be tough. That seems to be the primary ingredients for a Mike Leach slot receiver to excel. And yes, of course, catch the ball when it comes your way, as it often will in this scheme. Just be prepared, because even when it doesn't, you'll still have a job to do.
"It's different," Williams said. "You just have to work hard and you'll be alright."
To the common eye, the guys in the slot are just additional weapons a Mississippi State quarterback could turn to. While that's true in some instances, the responsibilities are far greater than that. This isn't backyard football where pass catchers can just run blindly down the field. There's an art to it all says MSU inside receivers coach Dave Nichol.
"I kind of say we're the engine of the offense," Nichol explains. "We've got to block. We have to adjust routes. We have to block bigger people than us on the inside. We've got to do some play-action stuff. We have hot routes and have to adjust routes and then we're big time in the screen game. So we've got to get dirty on the inside, but still be able to have deep routes like we're outside receivers."
It's a jack-of-all-trades role, so to speak, and there's no mastering it overnight. It takes repetition. It takes doing it, again and again and again.
To watch a Mike Leach practice is, at times, like watching a video clip on repeat. That's no accident. Inside receiver Jaden Walley noted over the weekend that the Air Raid offense is easy to learn, but hard to learn how to run. So in practice, the Bulldogs run it until it becomes second nature.
It's a big reason why the second year of Leach at MSU has so much potential. Everyone, including the veteran inside receivers, are much more familiar with what their roles entail.
"I think we have a better understanding," inside receiver Austin Williams said. "Everybody is kind of moving a little faster and more efficiently. We know our spots and where we need to be. It's coming together."
Of course there are some newcomers getting their feet wet this month. The Air Raid rookies have a crash course in the upcoming weeks as they begin down the road towards perfecting their craft. There have been and will be bumps along the way. That's to be expected. But what determines how quickly an inside receiver can progress?
"You hope they come in here and it's like, 'Are they tough or are they not?'" Nichol said. "We feel like we're really happy with the kids we got. Some of that has to do with just an innate toughness. Then it's teaching them how to practice. I think you can teach toughness to a point. You hope you don't have to a ton, but that can be learned. In my group, with a [veteran like] Austin [Williams], he can say, 'Hey, here's how we do things around here.' They can hear it from me and they're going to hear it from me, but those kinds of things…I think that's how the young guys come along."
As the kids learn, it should give them confidence that Leach himself brought them all on board at MSU with the belief they could find success in his system. Leach has been overseeing the Air Raid for decades now. He knows precisely what he's looking for out of his inside receivers.
"You need a guy that understands space," Leach said. "It's a more complicated position than some. You want guys that have a good change of direction. Sometimes low center of gravity guys have that, but they don't have to be, as long as they can get out of their cuts and change directions."
Be versatile. Be athletic. Be smart. Be tough. That seems to be the primary ingredients for a Mike Leach slot receiver to excel. And yes, of course, catch the ball when it comes your way, as it often will in this scheme. Just be prepared, because even when it doesn't, you'll still have a job to do.
"It's different," Williams said. "You just have to work hard and you'll be alright."
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