At the end of the 2024 season, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell knew he had to make sweeping changes to his staff. One of those was the hiring of former UCF head coach Gus Malzahn as the new offensive coordinator. This news came with mixed reactions. On the one hand, FSU was getting an experienced play caller that I would consider a “high floor” hire given his proven track record. On the other hand, the concern of whether Malzahn’s best days are behind him is a valid argument.
However, for Mike Norvell, it was a low-risk hire that he could trust to hand over the keys to the offense at a time he can’t exactly afford to take chances. Besides, it’s not often you get the opportunity to hire the top of your coaching tree. Early in Malzahn’s career, he made a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks, going from a high school head coach to a Power 5 coordinator and then landing his first college head coaching job in a span of 7 years. Almost every program he joined saw an immediate improvement in the win column. Most notably, Auburn went from 3-9 in 2012 to 12-2 and played for a national championship in 2013. The question for Seminole fans is whether he will have the same impact in Tallahassee?
Malzahn’s most successful days might be in the rearview mirror, but he leaves behind a trail of success. He won a national title as a coordinator, played for another one as a head coach, has three conference titles to his name, and won various awards like Coach of the Year in 2013 and the Broyles Award in 2010.
Most recently, Malzahn spent the past four seasons as the head coach of Central Florida, where he produced mixed results. There were challenges associated with his time there, such as transitioning to the Power 4 and a lack of strong NIL backing. Nonetheless, that chapter has closed, and he is embracing his new role at Florida State, where he can place his sole focus on running the offense. It’s a move that hopefully allows him to regain his spark and one that I ultimately feel will be good for him, Mike Norvell, and FSU in the long run.
With this new hire comes a similar but new offensive system. Coming from the same coaching tree, Malzahn and Norvell share the same offensive foundation. He even mentioned in his introductory press conference that it helped make for an easy transition because the systems share many common principles and terminology. So, what is FSU getting in their new OC? Let’s first look at some numbers to get an idea of his body of work, and then we’ll dive into the system.
I always like to start with the numbers because they don’t lie. Looking at Malzahn’s career averages, the numbers tell us he’s a guy who can get you 30-ish points per game, and in this era of college football, with a solid defense, that will give you the opportunity to win games. It’s not the most prolific offense, but it works.
As a play caller, Malzahn has averaged 34 points per game (31.9 as HC and 36.2 as OC). He averaged over 30 PPG in 16 of his 20 seasons. As purely an OC, which is his role at FSU, Malzahn averaged over 41 PPG in 3 of 6 seasons. The last time Gus Malzahn and Mike Norvell stood on the same sideline, they put together some record-setting offenses at Tulsa (2007 -2008).
During his time at UCF, the Knights’ offense averaged 31.6 PPG and over 30 PPG in all four seasons. He guided 3 top 20 total offenses, 2 top 20 offenses in yards per play metrics, and 3 top 20 rushing offenses. Now, I want to be clear that this wasn’t scoring over 30 in every game. There have been times when opposing teams put the brakes on this offense. One tradeoff that comes with Malzahn’s run-heavy scheme is the lack of a prolific passing offense. He has only produced one top 50 passing offense in the past 8 years.
Gus Malzahn’s offensive system is a high-tempo, spread-option offense rooted in simplicity, adaptability, and relentless pace. Rooted from the old school Wing-T offense, Malzahn’s adaptation falls into the smashmouth spread style, combining a power running approach with the space-creating aspects of a spread offense. The foundation of his offense is a downhill run game, vertical pass game, and pushing the tempo for four quarters.
Malzahn’s Hurry-Up, No-Huddle (HUNH) offense thrives on speed, aiming to snap the ball every 10-20 seconds to exhaust defenses and limit their ability to adjust. This tempo creates a “five-quarter game” by maximizing offensive plays, increasing opportunities for explosive plays, and wearing down opponents physically and mentally. He’s on record saying he doesn’t care about time of possession, only offensive snaps, and the more the better. This type of philosophy can create lots of scoring opportunities but can also backfire if the offense falters.
Why It Works: The rapid pace prevents defenses from substituting or scheming complex coverages, forcing them into simpler, predictable alignments. The HUNH is most effective with a well-conditioned team due to the physical demand of playing at a 2-minute pace the entire game. Another essential component is a quarterback who can process plays quickly. It shines against defenses that rely on heavy substitutions or complex schemes.
UGA HC Kirby Smart on the difficulty of preparing for a Gus Malzahn Offense
Run-Heavy Spread with Wing-T Roots: Malzahn’s system is a spread offense with a run-first mentality, heavily influenced by Wing-T principles. It uses multiple formations and pre-snap motions to disguise simple run plays. The offense emphasizes a balanced rushing attack, distributing carries among the quarterback, running back, and other skill players.
Why It Works: The spread formation stretches defenses horizontally, creating gaps and lanes, while Wing-T-inspired misdirection (e.g., jet motion, reverses) manipulates defensive pursuit. A dynamic, dual-threat quarterback and a strong offensive line are critical. Having a dual-threat quarterback makes the defense account for an extra run threat, oftentimes giving you a numbers advantage in the box, which helps create mismatches elsewhere. When his offenses have been at their best, it has gotten close to 1,000 yards rushing from the quarterback position. Thankfully, we’ve seen Tommy Castellanos put up those kinds of numbers in the past.
From an offensive line standpoint, Herb Hand loves winning the point of attack to eliminate negative plays. This was displayed by UCF leading the country in “OL Yards” or yards before contact on running plays last season.
Primarily using an inside zone running scheme helps make life easy for the offensive line with straightforward assignments that create a lot of double teams. Hand also likes to recruit massive offensive linemen to help move the line of scrimmage. This is evidenced by an average weight of 324 pounds in his retooled unit for 2025. While at UCF, Malzahn and Hand produced a rush attack that averaged over 200 yards per game in three of four seasons (the other was at 196 YPG), and Malzahn has a career average of 225 rush yards per game.
Malzahn’s passing game is built on play-action off the run game, using formations and motions to confuse defenders. The passing game is selective, prioritizing high-efficiency throws to keep the quarterback in comfortable situations, combined with deep shots in the vertical pass game to keep defenses honest.
Malzahn has stated that when his offenses were at their best, they were near the top in the country in yards per completion, highlighting his desire to push the ball downfield. Although this is a run-first offense, it only works if defenses must respect the threat of a functional passing game.
Why It Works: Defenses keyed on stopping his run-heavy offense are vulnerable to play-action, as linebackers and safeties are drawn in by run fakes. Malzahn’s use of jet motion or fake sweeps pulls defenders out of position, creating open passing lanes. Over the past two seasons at UCF, Malzahn’s use of play action has risen to over 40%, the highest in the past 8 years. The passing game thrives with a quarterback who can make quick reads and a receiving corps capable of exploiting man coverage. It’s most effective when the run game is dominant, forcing defenses to stack the box.
Malzahn uses pre-snap motion and unbalanced formations to create mismatches, such as forcing a cornerback into a run fit or pulling a safety out of position. Plays like the jet sweep or end-around capitalize on defensive overreactions. Expect to see lots of formations and motion to try and confuse the defense.
It’s not the deepest playbook, but each play contains multiple options within itself that can be disguised in different ways. Another big part of this offense is sequencing plays. Gus likes to run one of his base plays, see how the defense reacts, and then try to counter that reaction the next time a play is run. They will hunt for matchups to exploit mismatches on the defense.
Why It Works: Motion and formations stretch defenses, creating numerical advantages. This approach keeps defenses guessing, as the same play can look different based on the setup. The system excels against defenses that struggle to adjust to motion or lack disciplined pursuit angles. It requires receivers and H-backs who can block effectively in space. Perimeter blocking has been an area of focus in fall camp, according to receivers coach Tim Harris.
Inconsistent Passing Efficiency: The heavy reliance on play-action can falter if the run game is ineffective. Disciplined defenses with strong rush defenses can limit the run game, forcing Malzahn to rely on a less developed passing attack.
Physical Toll: The HUNH’s tempo can wear down the offense if not properly conditioned, especially in long games or against physical defenses.
Gus Malzahn’s offense is a masterclass in leveraging tempo, misdirection, and simplicity to overwhelm defenses. Its core principles—HUNH tempo, a run-heavy spread, play-action passing, adaptability, and mismatch exploitation—create a system that’s both explosive and sustainable when executed well.
The offense shines with a dual-threat quarterback, a strong offensive line, and a conditioned team that can maintain its breakneck pace. While vulnerable to elite rush defenses or inconsistent passing, its ability to adapt to personnel and exploit defensive tendencies makes it a formidable system. Malzahn is a big believer that you must commit to the system. You can’t abandon your core principles, or it won’t work. This may leave fans frustrated at times, but it’s how the system functions.
So, how has Gus adapted his offense over the years, because let’s face it, this offense hasn’t been new to the college game since the early 2000s. Incorporating more spread looks to create space is one example. Typically, Wing-T formations are tight, and we saw a lot of that in his early days at Auburn. While you will still see a lot of those formations, over the past few seasons at UCF, Malzahn has incorporated more spread-out looks to create space for his playmakers.
The H-back is another modern adaptation, as the traditional fullback has all but become a thing of the past. Now, we see these more hybrid types of players who are a cross between a fullback and a tight end (think Jaheim Bell or Randy Pittman Jr). These players, along with a more traditional tight end, have also become a bigger part of the pass game.
Inside Zone blocking scheme. In a traditional sense, you’ll still see some power/gap run schemes with pulling linemen. However, Malzahn and offensive line coach Herb Hand primarily employ a zone blocking scheme. Last year at UCF, they ran the second most inside zone plays in the country.
RPO concepts are another big part of this offense and help them hit explosive plays, especially in the vertical pass game. The majority of passes in this system will fall between 0-19 yards. A staple of the Malzahn system is creating one-on-one matchups in the vertical passing game. This is where the speed of Squirrel White and the size of Duce Robinson will pay off.
While the foundation is built on a strong rushing attack, the passing component is equally important. No, they aren’t going to light up the skies through the air. His offenses have averaged around 223 passing yards per game over the past 8 years and rarely finish top 50, but the threat of a functional pass attack is key to making the run game work. This is an offense that likes to stress a defense with multiple ways to attack, so it’s hard to key on taking away one specific aspect.
Gus Malzahn is a proven commodity as a play-caller with an impressive track record. I believe that functioning solely as the offensive coordinator will be a great move for him, as will Mike Norvell transitioning into more of a CEO role. Malzahn’s mixed results at UCF can largely be attributed to an offense that was not supported by a good defense. Gus does share responsibility, being that he was the head coach, but that’s not his problem at FSU. While with the Knights, he never had a defense that finished in the top 40. This is where Tony White comes into play. He has produced top 40 defenses the past three years at two different schools.
With a solid defense, if Malzahn’s offense can produce somewhere around 30 points per game, it will put FSU in a good place to win games. Being at Florida State will also provide both Malzahn and White with more talent than they’ve previously had to work with, which further opens the possibility of success. And I again reiterate, the last time Norvell and Malzahn roamed the same sideline, they produced some record-setting offenses.
The main questions I have coming into this season for the offense are. Can a rejuvenated Malzahn get back to what made him one of the best play-callers in the game? Can Herb Hand finally be the one to fix FSU’s offensive line problems that have plagued them for the better part of a decade? Does FSU have the pieces to run this offense effectively? Can Tommy Castellanos be an effective trigger man in this offense while also producing the results needed with his legs?
These are all things that need to be answered as fall camp unfolds. While it is closed to the media, early reports are that things are progressing well, which is encouraging. After producing one of the worst offenses in program history last year, it’s only up from here. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
Up Next: QB Position Preview: Can Castellanos Spark the Malzahn Magic?
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