If Elija Lofton is the “best” player on offense then get him the damn ball

Elija Lofton is the talk of practice sessions once again. Will that turn into more than just another Greentree All-American? Or will Lofton unfairly be judged on the burden of the social media hype machine?

The Miami Hurricanes coaching staff has called Elija Lofton the best player on the Greentree Practice Field for two years now. Lofton, a former four-star tight end out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, was worked into the lineup in all 13 games in 2024 between offensive and special teams reps.

Lofton is a 6-foot-2, 240 pound spark plug that screams former Tennessee Titans H-Back Frank Wycheck more than TE’s like Antonio Gates or Greg Olsen. As a true freshman, Lofton caught nine balls for 150 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Lofton carried the ball two times for 30 yards (including a fake punt) and a score.

Juszczyk, Byars, and Stick Routes

My favorite run concept as a fan and as a former offensive coordinator and offensive line coach is split zone. It’s a simple but effective concept that plays with the OODA Loop of the linebackers and safety run help box rotation.

How can a young H-Back type of TE be useful for an offense? Of course on kick outs when running concepts like SZ. In the clips of Kyle Juszczyk above, he’s laying some nasty kick outs on D-Ends for the San Francisco 49ers.

Split Zone is also a great concept for variations. I’ve talked many times on SOTU about how I’m a “Tecmo Super Bowl” play caller. I want the concept, it’s counter, and some kind of play-action (or RPO) off of that run concept. It’s a very Wing-T or system style of play calling.

Technically, SZ is a ‘counter’ play to the base zone and inside zone plays. On base zone the back side OT gap-hinges and blocks the 5-technique DE. On IZ the back side OT avoids the BSDE, and works to a LB.

One tag off of split zone is a “slide” read for the TE as a Run-Pass Option. Above– the QB can either handoff to the RB who runs split zone, or pull and throw the slide route (flat arrow route to the LOS). Whether thrown to a big body WR like Jeremiah Smith, or a TE like Lofton- any play should work that has the perimeter blocking that Brian Hartline got from his WR crew to the top of our screen.

Keith Byars was an all time weapon as a fullback in the NFL. Byars, a former OSU Buckeye and Miami Dolphin, was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Bo Jackson in 1984 and scored 46 TD’s (one passing) in two seasons as a full-time starter for OSU while averaging 26.8 yards per kick return to boot.

Byars broke his foot before the 1985 season and never quit had that same burst from ‘84 again, but played 13 seasons in the NFL as a one-time Pro Bowler.

With Carson Beck at QB in 2025, Miami is going to have to rely on the ground game more than they did with Cam Ward at QB in ‘24. Ward had uncanny escapability in the pocket and outside of it, while Beck is more of a traditional pro style passer.

An area where Lofton can truly contribute is replacing Damien Martinez as the 1-yard and a cloud of dust back that picks up tough 4th down and deep red zone conversions. Above, Byars takes a handoff on a man blocked dive play and breaks it 77-yards in the snow for the Dolphins. Byars flexed soft hands, hard shoulders, and could flash that speed that made him a star at OSU before his injury even into his pro career.

Another clip from Juszczyk above, he’s used in motion and works to a dropout on the sideline. If Beck can deliver these sideline throws this could be a good space creating move for OC Shannon Dawson with Lofton. Juszczyk clearly has that Xavier Restrepo speed but he can work open and make a contested tight rope catch.

My favorite passing concept as an OC and player of College Football ‘25 is Stick. As a former Air Raid OC and someone that loved the Mike Leach offense I think Stick is an essential pass concept to have installed.

In order to make Stick work you don’t have to have a 6-5 TE who can go up over guys. You can use the shorter, TE’s like Lofton. Stick is more of a space-based route where the TE will settle and turn at 5-6 yards but if he’s got a LB on his shoulder he’ll work to the sideline.

It’s often paired with a deep out from the outside WR and a quick “shoot” or arrow concept from the RB in a 2×2 set. If it’s a 3×1 set with the Stick concept the #2 (slot WR) will run a slide while the #3 (TE) will run the stick.

When Miami had David Njoku they threw the big TE bubble screens on RPO looks with Brad Kaaya at QB.

As you can see above, this is another Kyle Shannahan play using the TE/FB type of position. This time on the bubble out in space. Miami needs to drastically improve its perimeter blocking in order to trust a bubble in -10 territory.

Teams like Kansas State are doing more with less and have been for two decades first under Bill Snyder and now Chris Klieman. Klieman has been in Manhattan, KS since the 2019 season and has ran off five winning seasons in six years while making five bowl games and finishing ranked in the top-25 twice.

Prior to KSU, Klieman won four FCS National Championships at North Dakota State in five seasons using TE’s, FB’s, and a variety of QB types both behind and under center.

Klieman gets cute in the clip above with a FB shovel pass from a winged set in the shotgun. Motion for window dressing going away from the shovel along with the RB working left as the TE works right for the shovel look. The safety box rotation works to the motion to the left of the offense, while two pullers come from left to right to give KSU numbers at the point of attack (POA).

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The Wrap

If Elija Lofton is the “best player on the offense” as the coaches at the University of Miami like to advertise then they have to find multiple ways to get him the ball in ‘25. Beck liked having Bowers as his safety net and while Lofton doesn’t have the same skillset as Bowers he can be used in varying ways like Bowers, even if just differently.

If he’s not the “best” player then the Greentree All-Americans and their personal branding services need to slow it down and stop putting unnecessarily high expectations of players because of a scrimmage here or unpadded 7-on-7 winter reps there.

If Lofton can throw the rock like Kelce, Wycheck or Byars now is the time to show it off during the spring. I loved the Texas to Texas play from Elijah Arroyo to Ward in ‘24, maybe we can see a Florida connection in ‘25.