Quarterback sneaks are a team effort at Kansas State

The play is called 32 Big T.J., but you don’t need to know its name to know when it is coming.

Anytime offensive lineman Terrale Johnson lines up behind quarterback Joe Hubener instead of front of him, alongside fullbacks Glenn Gronkowski and Winston Dimel, it’s a sure bet Kansas State is about to attempt a quarterback sneak. The Wildcats will snap the ball to Hubener and 10 teammates will push forward. The result is usually a first down or a touchdown.

If Hubener can’t gain yardage with his first effort, three of his strongest friends are standing by to help.

“It is just a matter of who can push who the farthest,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said.

No one at K-State cares how obvious the formation is. With five blockers and two tight ends on the line of scrimmage and three pushers, for lack of a better term, behind the quarterback, the play is so simple and violent that defenses struggle to stop it even when they see it coming.

It compares to a rugby scrum in which strength and determination mean as much as skill.

K-State began using the formation with two fullbacks behind Hubener against TCU. Last week, it added a reserve lineman to the mix as a third pusher. Hubener has scored four touchdowns out of the formation.

That’s what happens when you get 983 pounds — the combined weight of Dimel, Gronkowski, Hubener and Johnson — pushing in the same direction.

“We have had success with it,” Hubener said. “We have put some points on the board with it. I don’t know why having people push you through wouldn’t help. It has helped me tremendously.”

Hubener’s job on the play is easy. He surveys the defense, picks a spot to attack, takes the snap and drives forward. Then he holds on for dear life as his teammates try and force him ahead.

“As long as I pick the right hole,” Hubener said, “they will push me right through.”

K-State coaches created the play this season to take advantage of new rules that allow offensive players to assist ball carriers by pushing them forward. The Wildcats attempted more traditional quarterback sneaks at the beginning of the year, but unsuccessful attempts led to the change.

It is the team’s new go-to play in short-yardage situations.

“It has been around in college football forever,” Snyder said. “We have been doing it for a long time. You just add to it. We did it with a quarterback and a back. Then a quarterback and two backs. Now a quarterback and three backs. That is all they allow you to have back there, so that will draw the line.”

The only player with reason to dislike the formation is K-State center Dalton Risner. Whenever the Wildcats run 32 Big T.J. he ends up at the bottom of a pile, doing anything he can to protect his fingers and hands while battle for position above. He is always the last person on his feet when the play is over.

But he shares only positives about the play, saying it’s a lot more fun that the old version.

“We are doing it three or four times a game and I like it,” Risner said. “We used to always get stopped on the one-inch line and it was weird. But now I like it. I love the challenge. It is the whole team pushing.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Quarterback sneaks are a team effort at Kansas State."