It’s no secret that Florida Head Coach Billy Napier is a fan of the 12-personnel grouping, which consists of one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers. 30% of the Gators’ offensive snaps came in 12-personnel in 2023, the 4th highest percentage in the SEC, according to SEC Stat Cat.
The following list is the percentage of plays SEC teams ran in 12-personnel last season, ranked in order from highest to lowest.
1. Alabama: 36.6%
2. Auburn: 34.2%
3. Kentucky: 33.5%
4. Florida: 30.0%
5. Georgia: 25.3%
6. Texas A&M: 22.9%
7. Vanderbilt: 21.0%
8. Arkansas: 16.6%
9. South Carolina: 16.5%
10. Missouri: 12.7%
11. Miss State: 11.4%
12. LSU: 5%
13. Ole Miss: 4.7%
14. Tennessee: 3.3%
In 243 plays in 12-personnel, Florida ran the ball 155 times for 760 yards, an average of 4.90 yards per play. The Gators passed the ball 88 times for 583 yards, an average of 6.63 yards per completion. Florida’s success rate while passing out of two tight end sets was 51.4 while running the ball in 12-personnel resulted in a success rate of 46.45. Success rate is an efficiency metric that measures the success of each play based on down and distance.
Let’s look at how teams with similar usage fared out of 12-personnel groupings.
Alabama (36.6%)
Run: 5.28 yards per run, 48.2 success rate
Pass: 7.92 yards per completion, 46.60 success rate
Auburn (34.2%)
Run: 5.42 yards per run, 45.88 success rate
Pass: 5.84 yards per completion, 35.16 success rate
Kentucky (33.5%)
Run: 4.96 yards per run, 36.50 success rate
Pass: 7.22 yards per completion, 40.59 success rate
Georgia (25.3%)
Run: 5.57 yards per run, 46.62 success rate
Pass: 8.76 yards per completion, 54.74 success rate
Texas A&M (22.9%)
Run: 5.26 yards per run, 43.20 success rate
Pass: 7.01 yards per completion, 49.35 success rate
Vanderbilt (21.0%)
Run: 3.96 yards per run, 37.87 success rate
Pass: 6.11 yards per completion, 35.40 success rate
What did Florida do well? What didn’t they do well?
Out of the seven teams that used 12-personnel more than 20% of the time, Florida ranked 6th in yards per run but held the third highest success rate of 46.5. This is because success rate measures efficiency on down and distances. For example, if Florida got a three-yard run on third and two, it would go down as a successful play even though they only gained three yards.
Florida ranked 5th out of the seven teams in yards per completion out of 12-personnel but held the 2nd highest success rate, trailing only Georgia. The Gators found a majority of their passing success through various flood concepts, where they held a success rate of 57.78. The Gators like to utilize their tight end in these variations, rolling them out to the right and giving their quarterback the option of hitting one of the receivers deeper down the field or dumping it off to the tight end. In 33 flood concept play calls in 12-personnel, the Gators gained 258 yards for an average of 7.81 yards per play. A very productive play / concept in 2023.
The Gators utilized the inside zone the most, running 41 plays for an average of 6.00 yards per carry. While this goes down as the second most productive play in terms of yards per play, their success rate was just 39.02. The outside zone was much less productive for Florida, averaging just 4.0 yards per carry.
These numbers indicate that Florida wasn’t unsuccessful out of 12-personnel, they just weren’t as explosive as other teams. You can say the same about Florida’s offense in general, not just the 12-personnel grouping.
In 11-personnel, which consists of one running back and one tight end, Florida averaged more yards per run (6.45) but held a lower success rate (45.95) compared to 12-personnel. Florida held a higher yards per completion out of 12 personnel than 11-personnel and posted a significantly higher success rate.
How can Florida improve?
Versatility at the tight end position. Florida primarily uses a receiving threat in Arlis Boardingham and a blocking threat in Hayden Hansen. If both Boardingham and Hansen can improve in their respective areas, it will be difficult for opposing teams to defend resulting in more explosive plays and likely more success for Florida in 12-personnel. An improved offensive line and overall run blocking will also help open up the floodgates.