Football to unleash new ‘Wildcat’ offense

UK football head coach Rich Brooks is bringing a non-traditional look to his offense next season, but he’s leaving the package with a familiar moniker.

Over the past few seasons in college and professional football, a growing trend has been an offensive formation featuring a running back or wide receiver lined up at quarterback.

The formation has become known as the Wildcat. In the coming season, Brooks will make some changes to the team’s look, and one of them will be instituting the unusual formation.

Utilizing the Wildcat formation will be easy for the Cats because of rising sophomore Randall Cobb’s athleticism, Brooks said. Cobb spent a lot of time at quarterback last year, even earning Southeastern Conference All-Freshman honors under center.

“We have a package for Randall at quarterback, and we’re trying to refine that package now,” Brooks said. “We’ll utilize him in that role at different points in any game, and we’re calling it our Wildcat package.”

Brooks said Cobb will spend most of his time at wide receiver in 2009, but he acknowledged the Wildcat formation will put Cobb at quarterback from time to time — assuming rising junior Mike Hartline, currently No. 1 on the depth chart, stays healthy.

“If something were to happen to Hartline early (in the season) and we think Randall would be the next best guy, he’d have to start taking more snaps at quarterback,” Brooks said. “We’ll see how that all plays out once we get the rest of our team in here this fall.”

When the Cats practiced Wednesday morning, Brooks randomly threw in plays in the Wildcat formation during the 11-on-11 portion of the practice. Without making substitutions, Cobb would switch from receiver to quarterback, and Hartline would line up as a receiver.

“You know, I don’t know if they’ll throw the ball to me,” said Hartline, whose inexperience as a receiver in the formation could be offset because of his 6-foot-6 frame. “I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team out and in the Wildcat, I’ll line up at receiver. Use me as a decoy, glimpse my way — if I’m out there, I hope I can help the team no matter what.”

Hartline said he enjoys running the Wildcat because it’s a surefire way to get the ball in the hands of Cobb, who Hartline called “an absolute playmaker.”

Cobb also ran the Wildcat with rising junior Will Fidler at quarterback. Fidler is considered the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart right now, which may change once highly touted incoming quarterbacks Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski step foot on campus in the fall.

In the meantime, Fidler is also taking reps and getting to know the Wildcat just in case.

“I think it’s a good package for us, it’s something else defenses are going to have to prepare for so they can’t key in on everything else,” Fidler said.

Fidler said the odd scheme doesn’t work everywhere, but a player like Cobb makes it possible for the Cats.

Fidler said it’s more natural to UK than it would be to most other teams in college and the NFL that use it mainly as a gimmick, simply because of Cobb’s experience at quarterback.

The foreign offense should pay familiar dividends, Fidler said.

“Mainly, it’s attributed to Randall’s athletic ability, and we always want to get the ball in our best athlete’s hands. It’s really a chance to mix it up and keep winning.”