The Miami Hurricanes football program’s biggest move this offseason was hiring Shannon Dawson from the University of Houston as their new offensive coordinator. Dawson replaces Josh Gattis, whose offense struggled to put up points in 2023, averaging just 23 points per game.
Dawson is known for his high-powered spread offense with “Air Raid” concepts, which are designed to spread the defense out and attack the entire field. His offenses are characterized by their tempo, spacing, and balance, emphasizing creating mismatches and big-play opportunities. Dawson’s teams like to play fast to keep the defense off-balance and tire them out over the course of the game. Dawson’s offense is a simple offense with simple concepts and based on repetition. It is this constant repetition that allows players to master their system and produce positive results. Shannon is very detail oriented and he expects his players to execute the same number of plays over different formations and execute them properly.
His offense is also simple enough that freshmen players can come in and become day-one contributors right away. For example, last year a star freshman running back was able to produce 961 rush yards and score 16 touchdowns under Dawson’s offensive system. In contrast, Gattis’ offense relied heavily on slow-developing plays, which gave the defense time to adjust and limit big-play opportunities. This resulted in a lack of production on the offensive end, with the Hurricanes struggling to put points on the board and failing to meet expectations in 2023.
Dawson’s offense, in contrast, should provide a spark for the Hurricanes in 2024. He brings a wealth of experience to the program, having coached at a number of high-profile schools, including West Virginia, Southern Mississippi, Kentucky, and Houston. In each of these stops, Dawson’s offenses have put up impressive numbers, ranking near the top of the country in scoring and total yards. With Dawson as Houston’s offensive coordinator in 2022, the Cougars amassed the number eight passing offense in the nation, with Houston’s top wideout Nathaniel Dell leading all FBS in receiving touchdowns with 17 yards with 1398.
One of the strengths of Dawson’s offense is its emphasis on balance. While his teams like to spread the field and throw the ball around, Dawson also places a strong emphasis on the running game. Dawson doesn’t run tempo for the sake of running tempo but uses it strategically seeking a balance between a run spread approach and an Air Raid approach.
He uses a variety of running plays to keep the defense off-balance, and his offenses often have a 50-50 split between run and pass plays. This approach should benefit the Hurricanes, who have a talented group of running backs, including Henry Parrish Jr, TreVonte’ Citizen, Don Chaney, and the two-star freshmen speedsters Chris Johnson and Mark Fletcher. His balanced attack will remind Canes fans of Lashlee’s offense and also put an emphasis on tempo, spacing, and balance.
One key difference between Lashlee’s offense is his approach to the running game. While Dawson believes in a balance between the run and pass game, Lashlee emphasizes the running game more heavily. Lashlee’s offense is characterized by a lot of inside and outside zone running plays, using a variety of formations and motions to create running lanes for the running backs. This can be an effective strategy for controlling the clock, wearing down the opposing defense, and opening up opportunities for big passing plays off of play-action. A disadvantage that Miami Hurricane fans know all too well was the lack of creativity in the red zone as Lashlee’s inside zone play calls were seemingly the only run plays that were called in the red zone. With Dawson, the inside zone will continue to be used, but unlike Lashlee, there will be variety in the run game as Dawson likes to call counters that have proven to be very reliable in the red zone:
Another key aspect of Dawson’s offense is his use and development of the quarterback. He likes to use the quarterback’s mobility as a weapon, running designed quarterback runs, read-option plays, and RPOs to take advantage of the quarterback’s ability to run the ball. This should be a good fit for Miami’s starting quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke, who is a dual-threat quarterback with the ability to make plays with his arm and his legs. After being considered as a possible Heisman candidate last year, Tyler Van Dyke struggled under Josh Gattis’ system producing a QBR score of just 52.9. But Hurricane fans should be encouraged as Dawson is not only a premier play caller but also an excellent quarterback developer. At Houston, he inherited Clayton Tune, who set the AAC single-season touchdown pass record with 40 touchdown passes thrown last season. Under Dawson’s leadership, Tune was able to improve his completion percentage from 50.4% as a freshman to 67.3% in his senior year.
Dawson’s Air Raid offense is also known for his use of multiple receivers. He likes to spread the ball around to as many different receivers as possible, creating confusion for the defense and making it difficult for them to key in on one particular player. This helps create opportunities for big plays and allows the offense to attack multiple areas of the field. Dawson also likes to use pre-snap motion to create mismatches and confusion for the defense. This involves moving players around before the snap to create misdirection and force the defense to adjust on the fly. By doing this, Dawson can create favorable matchups for his offense, making it easier for his players to make plays and score points.
In addition to the quick passing game and multiple receivers, Dawson also uses vertical passing plays to stretch the field and create big-play opportunities. This involves sending receivers deep downfield and creating one-on-one matchups with the defense. If the receiver is able to get past the defense, the quarterback can make a deep throw, potentially resulting in a big gain or touchdown. Expect the Hurricanes to significantly improve in the passing game and expect big years from Xavier Restrepo, Ray Ray, and Brashard Smith at the slot position. If Miami lands a true #1 wide receiver in the portal in May or if Jacolby George takes a step forward, expect aggressive vertical play calls.
Rollo’s Take:
Mario Cristobal surprised everyone by hiring someone outside of his offensive philosophy. Dawson’s offense last year produced 36 points per game making it one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. This offense, which is simple, up-tempo, and uses spacing to take advantage of one-on-one matchups, is the perfect offense for the skill position players which South Florida produces. It is also a balanced offense that does not abandon the run and incorporates the Air Raid Concepts that make it dangerous vertically, while also staying true to the run game, which has seen teams like Alabama and Georgia deploy to win National Championships. Every wide receiver should take a look at what Tank Dell, Houston’s top wide receiver, has done under Dawson, and take notice because that is exactly the type of production that they can expect with Dawson as offensive coordinator. I wrote here that the top 25 teams last year had one thing in common: Their offenses scored at least 34 points per game. With Dawson calling plays at Miami, I expect the Canes’ offense to hover around 33-35 points per game in year one and as talent acquisition improves, I expect Miami to have a top-ten offense in a couple of years. For Mario Cristobal, this hire was not a flashy hire like last year, but I believe this hire has the potential to provide the Hurricanes with long-term stability at the offensive coordinator position with one of the brightest young minds in the game leading the charge.
Rollo Grade: A
