The option in football has been around nearly forever, with old school college football being reliant on it. This has evolved a lot over the years, with it even playing a big role in the NFL now. While more old school option sets were out of the I-Formation and such, the modern option game in both college and the NFL has moved move to shotgun sets. You already have the RPO options, but we are focusing on only the run with the very popular and useful Read Option.
How To Use Read Option
The Read Option can be found in a lot of different playbooks, with it needing a RB in the backfield with you to execute it. The way the Read Option works is that the ball will be snapped to the quarterback in the set you have chosen. Once you have the ball in your hand, the RB will run in front of you and you can either hand it off or keep it and run with the QB instead.
To hand it off to the RB, you just need to hold down X on PS4 as soon as the ball is snapped. At this point, it will become like a normal RB run play where you are trying to find a gap. If you did not hand it off, the QB will then take the other lane and try to get yards.
With the Read Option, what you’re going to be doing it reading the defense to decide which player you want running with the ball. By holding down R2 and bringing up the play you called, it will highlight one of the players on the outside line. This is the player you have to watch and see how he reacts upon the snap. If this defender makes a move inside and is going towards the QB, this is where you want to press L1 to lateral the ball to the RB. If he instead goes out to cover the RB, you should keep the ball in the hands of the QB and try to find a lane to get some good yardage. Depending on what defense the opponent calls, there is no guarantee that either will be open plays that will give you a lot of yardage, but it’s definitely worth trying.
