Clemson's offensive coaches visiting run-happy Nevada this week

Clemson’s offensive coaches are visiting with Nevada’s coaching staff this week, according to a tweet posted Tuesday night by wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Jeff Scott.

Clemson’s coaches typically spend some time during the off-season visiting and sharing ideas with other coaching staffs.

Nevada is a telling choice for the Tigers, reflecting offensive coordinator Chad Morris desire to strengthen the running-game element in Clemson’s ‘smash-mouth spread’ attack.

Since head coach Chris Ault returned to the sidelines in 2004 after a stint as the school’s athletic director, few teams in college football have run the ball as effectively and consistently as the Wolf Pack.

Ault is widely credited with inventing ‘The Pistol’ formation as a way of introducing a power running game into a spread formation. In Ault’s offense, the quarterback lines up three or four yards behind the line of scrimmage, as opposed to 7-8 yards in a traditional shotgun, with a single running back aligned directly behind the quarterback.

An aspect of the Nevada’s offense obviously of interest to Morris is the utilization of a mobile, dual-threat quarterback as a primary component of the rushing game.

In 2009, Nevada became the first team in college football history to have three 1,000-yard rushers – one of them being the Wolf Pack’s quarterback.

Ault developed his offense as a variation of the power-I, which he used extensively during the early days of his coaching career. In the formation, the running back lines up in approximately the same position, relative to the line of scrimmage, as the running back in the I-formation.

Now in his 27th season at Nevada, Ault is the second winningest active FBS coach behind Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer.

Last season, Nevada ranked sixth nationally in total offense with 507 yards per game – and near-perfect balance with 248 yards per game rushing (8th nationally) and 259 yards per game passing (32nd nationally).

In Morris’ lone season at Tulsa, the Hurricanes averaged 506 yards per game, with 217 yards rushing and 289 yards passing per game.

Last season at Clemson, Morris’ offense averaged 440.79 yards per game. The Tigers were 21st nationally in passing, but just 59th in rushing (158.50), and were held under 100 yards rushing in four games.