Cat, Hog or Rebel…It’s Still Wild

“Wildcat” formation becoming a trend around the football world.

by Matt Reynolds
Tiger Rag Assistant Editor

(At left) Darren McFadden set the standard for the Wildcat (WildHog) formation

For years, prep high school football programs all around the nation have capitalized on the utilization of their better athletes in the offense scheme.

For many programs, that has been implementing the now trendy “wildcat” formation.

It’s no longer just double double-A high schools in Iowa running the popular offensive attack to success, as many college coaches and even NFL teams now use some form of this run-based assault to catch their opponents unprepared.

What are the origins of this recent spike in wildness in offensive backfields around the country?

Look no further than the madman Huston Nutt himself.

The scheme for the wildcat formation is widely credited to being first used and popularized on the college level by the 2005-06 (and 2006-07) Arkansas Razorbacks.

The idea was brought to Nutt by former Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who coached at the high school level in the state of Arkansas for a number of years.

The Razorback coaching staff was attempting to find a way to get maximum production from their talented running backs Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. Also, the Hogs had an inexperienced and fairly immobile quarterback in Casey Dick.

Malzahn and Nutt found just the solution in the “wild-hog”.

Last season Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden embarrassed the LSU defense in this formation in a 50-48 Arkansas victory over the Tigers in triple OT. The Hogs accumulated 385 yards on the ground to spoil the Tigers Thanksgiving.

In theory, the wildcat calls for the quarterback to line up either in the slot or out wide as a receiver and for the snap to go directly to one of two backs staggered in the backfield.

With the highly regarded success of Jones and McFadden last season, NFL teams picked up this trend while watching scouting films on the two backs while preparing for the draft.

“Arkansas didn’t have a mobile quarterback; they had a passer, so they put McFadden back there,” Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Steelers.com. “It all stems from everybody watching Arkansas tape in preparation for the draft.

“People in this league saw that if you don’t have a mobile quarterback, you can still attack in this way by putting the back, back there and splitting the quarterback out.”

LSU coach Les Miles and his staff was one of the first to try and defend the formation in ’06. Miles understands the reason it is so successful.

“The quarterback carry is certainly the best carry and one that we have an opportunity that if you play coverage on the remaining players, the numbers are best to run the football,” Miles said.

The Miami Dolphins were the first to test the Wildcat offense in the pro ranks. In the third week of this season, the Dolphin’s used running back Ronnie Brown to completely confuse division rival New England. Brown had four scores that resulted from the direct snap against the Patriots.

Since then, Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has also scored in the formation, and teams like Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are starting to implement the package into its offense.

Nutt brought the idea over to Oxford with him this season, but success in the “wild-rebel” hasn’t been as abundant has the “hog”.

Junior receiver Dexter McCluster (72 carries for 457 yards and four touchdowns and 34 catches for 498 yards and one TD) has been the playmaker for the formation for the Rebels. But Ole Miss has rarely used formation in the last four weeks, and its lone score out of the formation this season was against Florida.

“The problem with Ole Miss using it this season has been that no player has shown they can throw the ball out of the wild-rebel,” said Neal McCready, who covers Ole Miss for Rivals.com. “Ole Miss has basically become a running team that can stop the run. That’s their MO. While they have had some success out of the formation, it’s obviously nothing to the affect of how Arkansas was able to use it.”

McCluster is 0-for-6 with two interceptions while trying to throw the ball. McFadden passed for five touchdowns at Arkansas.

LSU has even tried its hand with the “Wild Tiger” at times this season with running back Richard Murphy, but with minimal success.

“There’s plenty of deception,” Miles continued. “They bring the wide receiver in motion. They start the flow to one side and can come back across the grain. They have any number of reverses and perimeter issues. Then, they can attack you right straight up the gut with a quality ground game, so it’s a very capable formation.”

While it looks as if “wild-rebel” may not burn too many teams for the remainder of the season, it still serves as a valuable tool for Nutt.

“It’s really more of a recruiting tool for them (Ole Miss) this year,” McCready said. “The kids love it. In recruiting it’s a real pull to be able to tell that athlete that they will have the opportunity to come and be the guy in the wild-rebel.”