Depth Chart observations from Brent Venables’ time at Clemson and Jeff Lebby’s time at Ole Miss

With a change among the coaching staff comes a change in how the roster is constructed. Through the transfer portal and the recruiting cycles we see how they’re looking to add talented players across the board, but are putting an emphasis on front seven players on defense.

Some of that is due to the success that Brent Venables has had as a defensive coordinator that started with elite play along the defensive line and at linebacker.

Taking a look at depth charts from Venables’ time at Clemson and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s time at Ole Miss, there are certain things that simply look different to the way the depth charts were constructed under the previous coaching staff. Hopefully, one of those things is the “or” designation that didn’t really delineate a starter.

As we look to the future though, here are five observations from the depth charts from Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby’s last stops on the coaching trail.

No Wide Receiver Designations

Oct 30, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Marvin Mims (17) runs for a touchdown as Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive back Malik Dunlap (8) chases during the first quarter at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Under Lincoln Riley, depth chart projections or official releases from the team came with designations for the wide receivers such as “X,” “Y,” and “Z.”

The “X” receiver plays on the line of scrimmage and is typically your most physical receiver, someone who can beat press coverage as the DB can literally line up right across from the “X.”

The “Y” is the slot wide receiver. This player can line up on the line of scrimmage or off, but typically because they are aligned in the slot, they get cleaner releases as the coverage player doesn’t want to have to fight through mass of players to keep his coverage responsibilities.

The “Z” wide receiver is often the guy you want to get the cleaner release on the outside. It isn’t to say they can’t beat press coverage, but you want to give them more space to allow their quickness and speed to challenge the wide receiver.

Looking back at Ole Miss’ depth chart from 2021, Jeff Lebby didn’t designate his wide receivers with particular positions. Now, they might have had those designations in-house, but that wasn’t for public consumption.

Two of their top three receivers had more than 155 snaps from the slot as well as more than 120 snaps on the outside. This indicates Lebby and his staff were willing to move their players around to find favorable matchups.

Marvin Mims, who led the Sooners in receiving yards, had more of an imbalance to where he played his snaps for OU in 2021. He played more than 200 snaps in the slot and fewer than 70 snaps on the outside. Michael Woods, Jadon Haselwood, and Mario Williams were primarily outside receivers, playing fewer than 40 snaps in the slot. Drake Stoops was the only other receiver to play a significant amount of snaps in the slot, with 92% of his snaps coming from the inside.

What does this mean for OU? Look for Marvin Mims to move around a lot more. While he’ll get snaps in the slot, it’s likely he’ll see a fairly equal amount on the outside as well.

11-personnel the Base Offensive Formation

Dec 29, 2021; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Jalil Farooq (14) attempts to elude Oregon Ducks cornerback Dontae Manning (8) in the 2021 Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On depth chart projections for Ole Miss, three wide receivers were listed as starters. Looking back at Ole Miss games, you see the Rebels in 11-personnel early and often. 11-personnel is one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers. Not dissimilar to what Lincoln Riley ran, but the Sooners used a lot of 12 or 21 personnel, however you want to define the H-Back.

They used two tight end/h-backs on the field together a lot. Jeff Lebby will opt to spread things out a bit more, which will get more speed and playmaking ability on the field in the passing game.

Back to the Tight End

MANHATTAN, KS – OCTOBER 02: Tight end Brayden Willis #9 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs up field between defensive back Ekow Boye-Doe #25 and defensive back TJ Smith #7 of the Kansas State Wildcats, during the second half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on October 2, 2021 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

The Oklahoma Sooners have made the H-Back position pretty famous. They’ve had great players that played the hybrid role. Not quite a fullback, but not quite a tight end. Under Jeff Lebby, there wasn’t an H-Back designation on his depth chart. That doesn’t mean he didn’t deploy them as such, but look for a guy like Brayden Willis to be used more like a traditional tight end.

Casey Kelly, who led the Rebels in tight end snaps in 2021, played a fairly equal amount of snaps in-line (lined up next to the tackle on the line of scrimmage) as he did in the slot.

Traditional 4-3 Defensive Depth Chart

(AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Looking back at Brent Venables defensive depth chart from Clemson, it looks like you’d expect one to look. Instead of designating a “rush linebacker,” which operated similarly to a 3-4 outside linebacker with pass rush and coverage responsibilities, Venables played with two traditional defensive ends on the edge.

His depth chart also lists two defensive tackles instead of a “nose tackle” and “defensive tackle.”

Because Venables’ depth chart doesn’t use the “rush linebacker” designation and he runs with four down linemen, one would think he has a slot or nickel cornerback among his starters. Venables sees five defensive backs, or nickel personnel as a sub-package. Meaning his base defense on the depth chart will consist of four defensive linemen, three linebackers, and four defensive backs.

Slot Corner vs. Sam Linebacker

Oklahoma’s Key Lawrence (12) and Justin Broiles (25) chase after Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel (13) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Oklahoma won 28-21. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Slot corner isn’t a designation on the depth charts that I could find. It appears that his Sam linebacker is a hybrid linebacker-safety type that can help in run support and play in coverage. Like Isaiah Simmons, who played a multiple defensive role for the Clemson Tigers.

While Billy Bowman and Justin Broiles occupied the nickel corner role for the Sooners, look for them to use someone like Key Lawrence or maybe Jaren Kanak in that spot. Someone who has the size to hold up against opposing run games, but offers something in coverage as well because of their speed and athleticism.

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