Today’s Tidbit… The Sidesaddle Quarterback and Tennessee Formation

Football’s early quarterbacks aligned directly behind the center or slightly offset to receive the snap as the ball rolled or bounced back after the center snapped the ball with his foot. Since the player receiving the snap -typically the quarterback- could not run with the ball, he quickly tossed or handed it to a teammate.

When the rules changed early last century, allowing the player receiving the snap to run with the ball, some thought another deep back might replace the quarterback position. Instead, offenses like the Single Wing kept the quarterback for his play-calling and blocking roles, though they often moved him one or two positions down the line on the strong side.

Bob Neyland and Tennessee staff use checkers to diagram plays. (1941 Tennessee yearbook)

An alternative approach was the sidesaddle quarterback, made famous in Bob Neyland’s Tennessee Formation that took the Volunteers to the Sugar, Rose, and other bowls in the 1930s. The sidesaddle was essentially a Single Wing with the quarterback positioned just behind the line and between the quarterback and strong side guard. Uniquely, the quarterback stood or squatted perpendicular to the scrimmage line facing the formation’s weak side.

(Image from http://www.coachwyatt.com/oct07.htm)