httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa60YNgAG-Q
On the list of issues for the coaching staff to address this offseason, defending the RPO was near the top, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said.
“I think you have to reinvent your philosophy,” Dantonio said of defending RPOs.
In its most basic sense, an RPO is a play that involves a quarterback making a decision after the snap about whether to run the ball or pass it.
As RPOs have increased in usage, Dantonio has become more and more vocal about the need to make changes in stopping them.
The Spartans moved Snyder from coaching linebackers to coaching defensive ends, while Burton moved from coaching the entire defensive line to coaching solely defensive tackles.
The move was partially to balance out player-coach ratios, but Dantonio said he also wanted to put more focus on defensive ends, a position group he says has been significantly altered by the rise of RPOs.
“I just felt like defensive ends with all the RPOs right now, you know, they’re becoming a little bit more of a hybrid player,” Dantonio said.