A two-time All-American quarterback at Valdosta State, Chris Hatcher threw for 11,363 yards and 121 touchdowns during his playing career. His coaching career began with his alma mater right after graduation as a student assistant. Hatcher then was an assistant at Central Florida and Kentucky before becoming Head Coach at VSU. In seven seasons the Blazers had an overall 76-12 record and a National Championship.
Hatcher was hired by GSU last year. A school with a rich football tradition, GSU has won six National Championships under near legendary coaches Erk Russell and Paul Johnson. But having fallen on hard times, the Eagles finished 3-8 in 2006. Hatcher immediately helped turn the program around, finishing 7-4 in his first season. In the process, Georgian Southern upset Division I-AA (FCS) National Champion Appalachian State. Coach Hatcher recently spent a few minutes with Gridiron Strategies.
What was the transition like going from Valdosta State last year to the Division I-AA (FCS) program at Georgia Southern? What were your priorities in making the change?
From a tactical standpoint there wasn’t much of a transition. Both conferences – the Gulf South and the Southern Conference – have great coaches and great players. Our first priority was to change attitude more than anything else. I was the third coach at Georgia Southern in 13 months. Besides a change in attitude, we had to ensure that the players trusted us and bought into the way we were going to do things. And, of course, that’s an ongoing process. There was so much negativity from a 3-8 season that we also decided to build off the great tradition of GSU football – 6 National Championships. We wanted to build off that great tradition and it became our rallying call.
What was the process in evaluating talent before incorporating your system into the GSU offense?
We only had 11 days to recruit after we came to GSU so we decided to do what we could to give us the best chance to win. I met with all the players and gave them the opportunity to tell me what position they wanted to play. Our Nickel Back said he wanted to be a running back and he worked in the spring as a tailback. We then moved him back to Nickel during the season and he started every game for us. We also found we had a great running quarterback in Jayson Foster. He had been playing wide receiver but we thought having him at quarterback gave us the best chance to win. So we ran basically the same offense. Foster ran for 1,800 yards and we led the nation in rushing. We modified our offense running the Zone Read option out of the shotgun. While our normal ratio is 70 percent pass to 30 percent run we went to 90 percent run and 10 percent pass. It gave us the best chance to win.
Your mesh route at VSU was one of the more productive plays in your offense. Did you have to adjust based on the talent of the team?
It wasn’t a staple in our offense last year because of Jayson’s great running ability. I think we ran the play four times last year but it was successful when we did so. This year, with Jayson gone, it will be more a part of our offense. The terminology doesn’t change year to year but we have more balance with our offense this coming season.
Your no huddle offense has also been successful. Explain the tempos you use in the no huddle? What do you look for when your quarterback looks to you before the snap?
We have three versions: a play fast version that sets the tempo; a melting the clock version that helps eat up time; and a regular huddle up version that is more traditional. We may use just one throughout a game or mix them up depending on the situation. In our National Championship run in 2004 we used the melting the clock version quite a bit. The key is to use the one that controls the tempo of the game.
When the quarterback is about to call the play we’re really looking for open grass; that is, a spot on the field to attack. Depending on the experience level of the quarterback I will give him some freedom in calling an audible if he sees something that we don’t.
Do you have a ‘ go to’ shift, trade or motion to gain a mismatch or numbers advantage on the defense?
We really don’t shift a lot but use motion primarily for one of three reasons: 1. to gain leverage on the defender; 2. to help a WR that’s having trouble at the line; 3. and to see if our opponent is playing zone or man-to-man. Motion oftentimes will help the WR who’s being jammed or held up at the line of scrimmage.
What is your most productive running play and in what formation is it most productive?
It was clearly the inside zone play. Because of our personnel we were a zone read team last year and were able to lead the nation in rushing. Because our quarterback was so athletic, the defense had to commit two or three players just to him. We used the inside zone out of a multiple number of formations and not specifically one set. Because we were not consistent in throwing the ball we saw a number of defenses with 8 or 9 men in the box. That’s how the defense countered. u
If you have any questions you can email Coach Hatcher at ChrisHatcher@GridironStrategies.com