In a scenario akin to Drake teaching a class on poetry or LeBron James lecturing on relocating, Mouse Davis was invited to offer tips on the run-and-shoot offense to the University of Hawaii football coaches and players.
“I think it’s a good surprise for our guys to hear the roots of it,” said UH coach Nick Rolovich, who is resurrecting the run-and-shoot with the Rainbow Warriors after a six-year absence. “We’re doing a lot of stuff he created.”
Davis, 85, is considered the hanai father of the run-and-shoot, a four-wide passing attack that emphasizes speed over size, zig-zags over X’s and O’s.
Rolovich, who will call the Warriors’ offensive plays, learned the concepts from former UH coach June Jones, who learned it from Davis, who plucked it from Glenn Tiger Ellison’s 1965 book, “Run-And-Shoot Football: Offense of the Future.”
“He thought you should run all the time,” Davis said of Ellison. “He was old school. The more we got into it, I found little pissants who could run. I was coaching high school. You’d get a whole bunch of pissants who could run. You can’t get a whole bunch of strong kids who could knock you off the ball: the tight end, the fullback, the lead blocker — you don’t have that.”
Counter-attacking the defensive coverage, Davis let loose small but quick receivers. The point of the reception did not matter; the plays were designed for post-catch running. Davis proved the scheme could work at the high-school level, in college and in the pros.
“I still think it’s a lot easier to recruit receivers and sign a whole bunch who could really play,” Davis said. “The ball’s not real heavy. The little guys carry that sucker pretty good. We put little guys in air and fly them up the field.”
While watching Monday’s practice from the sideline, Davis marveled at the Warriors’ speed. He noted when a receiver turned the wrong way or if a quarterback held the football too long.
“They’re doing a good job here,” Davis said. “Nick (Rolovich) has a good understanding. Brian (Smith, UH’s offensive coordinator) has a good understanding. They’ll do a good job. They’re really coming along.”
Davis, who had two coaching stints at Hawaii (2004-06 and 2010-11), said the run-and-shoot is an equalizer, comparable to basketball’s 3-point shot.
“It gives you a way to win every snap,” Davis said. “I like the veer. The veer is another way to win. It is not nearly as much fun as ours. If you’re going to get a quarterback, he’d much rather prefer to play in (the run-and-shoot). In the veer, he’s going to get the crap knocked out of him.”
After Greg McMackin was dismissed as UH head coach in 2011, Davis segued into retirement. As a parting gift, he gave Rolovich a Rolodex. There was an inspirational thought for each day of the year.
“It had good stuff in there,” Davis said. “I said, ‘You want it, take it.’”
The Rolodex is a prominent fixture in Rolovich’s office.
One omission is the origin of the offense’s name. “That came from one of you from Portland, a newspaper guy,” Davis recalled. “I told him, ‘I don’t like run-and-shoot.’ Where do you guys get that stuff?’ He said, ‘Well, what would you call it?’ I said, ‘I’d just call it the four wide with motion.’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s real catchy.’ I said, ‘I guess you’ve got a point.’”
