So you can pretty much find anything on the internet these days. Some documents, articles and pics are put there intentionally, others not so much. (Johnny Manziel?) At some point between Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahns time at Tulsa in 2009 and now, one of his play call sheets made its way out there. The call sheet was attributed to Herb Hand, who is now the Oline/Run game coordinator at Penn State. It gives a look at his playcalling style and the process involved in game planning.
Basically Malzahn breaks it up in to several color coded categories. The usual first, second and third down areas with specific plays for each, and special trick plays to throw off the defense with specific personnel (WIldcat for example). He also breaks his play calling down in to series openers, and shots. The first of the two, series openers, is an important aspect that he uses, and defenses must be prepared to counter. For each gameplan, these are the plays that can pick up 5-6 yards on a consistent basis with the least amount of risk involved. Very rarely will a Malzahn team come out on a series opener and run a play that is a gamble or deep ball down the field.
The other aspect that is evident in the result on the field but is highlighted in red on this card would be the "shots". These are used at various opportune times throughout a game and are set up by other plays. Many are playaction and can be called on 2nd and 3rd downs from multiple down and distances. Here is an example from the BCS National Championship.
During his time at Shiloh Christian High School the process of signalling play calls was slightly different than what he uses at Auburn now.
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