By: Dan

In every year that Urban Meyer has been the head coach at Florida, his version of the spread offense has seen subtle changes.
A rash of injuries in the receiving corps slowed the spread tremendously in 2005, Meyer’s first with the Gators. In 2006, with a less than stellar offensive line, Meyer used fullback Billy Latsko liberally. The Buchholz alumnus played a critical role in the UF’s championship run.

In 2007, basically all of the offense fell on the broad shoulders of Tim Tebow. The sophomore quarterback was called on early and often. On one play, he would be a battering ram, slamming into a host of defenders. On the next, he would do the patented “Tebow Step” – where he fakes like he’s going to run and pulls up to throw – and hit a receiver over the top for a big play. While the offense was dynamic in 2007, there wasn’t much in the way of balance.

Last year, the offense featured a lot more balance, particularly in the running game. Even though Tebow again was the primary ball carrier (176 carries for Tebow, the next closest player had 84), the yardage was very evenly distributed. Tebow led all rushers with 673 yards, but three other players – Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps – all rushed for more than 600 yards.

With all the minor tweaks that have been made to the offense over the years, one has to wonder what the offense will look like in 2009, especially because for the first time in Meyer’s tenure, Dan Mullen is not the offensive coordinator. Steve Addazio is the new offensive coordinator, and it will be interesting to see if he brings a different attitude to the offense, given the fact that he’s also the offensive line coach.

One interesting note on the offense: On Monday, The Gainesville Sun reported that Florida is experimenting with the I-formation. That makes sense given the fact that Florida has three capable running backs in Demps, Rainey and Emmanuel Moody. So far, however, it doesn’t seem like the team is adjusting very well to the new formation.
“I’m not sure how that I-package is going to be sticking around in here,” Meyer was quoted as saying in the Sun article. He has said time and time again that he doesn’t have a set offense. It all depends on the personnel. It will be interesting to see what the offensive personnel dictates.