It's funny how quickly the winds of change can sweep over an entire sport.

A year ago, Kurt Bryan and Steve Humphries were relatively anonymous high school football coaches in Piedmont, Calif., searching for a way to help their team stay competitive against schools three times their size.

The idea they came up with was so far-fetched, so crazy, so darn wacky that they went to every conceivable authority they could think of to make sure their concept was even legal.

The pair got the thumbs up, and unleashed the A-11 offense into the football universe. A-11, as in all 11 players are potentially eligible to catch the ball.

"We may have had a few guys who thought we were crazy, but that doesn't matter," Bryan said. "I'm sure they looked at me prior to the season like I had five heads. But after the season, it turned out pretty well."

Piedmont won seven straight games and advanced to the playoffs. Then Bryan and Humphries decided to share their concept with their coaching brethren.

It's become a cottage industry since that point. Coaches from every major Division I conference have been knocking down the door, wanting to know more. Demand was so high that the offense even has its own Web site - www.a11offense.com - where coaches can purchase anything from an installation manual to an instructional five-volume DVD set.

There's even an "A-11 Network" where coaches who adopt the offense can submit their best plays.

"We have a Google tracker on our Web site, and one day we had 62,000 unique visitors from almost every country in the world," Bryan said. "That's what's crazy about this. The penetration is global, and that's really exciting."

How it works

Officially, the A-11 is run out of a scrimmage kick formation. Piedmont's base set calls for a center surrounded by two tight ends. Three receivers are split left and right, and two quarterbacks are put in the backfield at least seven yards behind the ball.

All the receivers along the line have to have eligible numbers (from 1-49 or 80-99), and since it's technically a kicking formation, it doesn't require five non-eligible numbers to be on the field.

Naturally, only five players are eligible to go downfield on any given play. But that's where the fun begins.

Who stays? Who goes? There is shifting and motion. Maybe you overload the left side to get a favorable matchup with your best receiver on the right. Maybe you vacate the middle of the field in the hopes opening up cavernous running lanes. Or maybe you set up a wall of blockers and throw a little hitch screen the running back.

What Bryan and Humphries have essentially created is the football version of Play-Doh. With a little time, creativity and imagination, it can be whatever the coach wants it to be.

It's part of the reason why they decided to share their creation with the football universe.

"They're going to come up with ideas that we've never thought of, and it's only going to take it to a more beautiful, artistic level on the field of play," Bryan said. "There's no way to stop it. One coach that called me from Vermont said, `The cat's out of the bag, and once it's out, it's impossible to get it back in.'

"What I see is the dimensions of the field haven't changed, but athletes are dramatically different. The ball moves faster than the man. The shot gun has become the norm, not the exception."

The shotgun has taken hold in Central Illinois. Newton, Maroa-Forsyth and Tuscola represented the area in the state football finals four times in the past three years. All ran a vast majority of their offenses from the shotgun.

But the A-11 is a little bit more than your average spread offense.

Will it play in Peoria (or anywhere else in Illinois)?

Bryan and Humphries admit they were fortunate in their quest to put the A-11 in practice. Players, and just as importantly, Piedmont's administration welcomed the idea, even after the season began with two losses.

It's an assurance some coaches would need before heading down that road.

"For somebody who dives into it, studies the ins and out, it's something that can be effective," said MacArthur coach Derek Spates, who is a fan of the concept. "But at same time, I could see what happened if the Normals or Bloomingtons in our conference start eating you alive. You'll be looking for a job."

Some offenses have opened up in recent years, but this is still Big Ten country. The not-so-subtle art of smashmouth football will never completely fade away, as evidenced by the nine 2,000-plus yard seasons posted by area running backs since 2002.

Dave Gannaway, the IHSA Assistant Executive Director in charge of football, anticipates the offense will make an appearance somewhere across Illinois this fall. A notice for officials and coaches has been prepared, to make sure everything goes by the book.

"We're preparing ourselves so that if somebody does do it, that officials are ready for it," Gannaway said. "In case somebody runs it totally, or if they run it for two or three plays, which is what I suspect several teams will do."

Approval of the concept varies from coach to coach. Some are intrigued, and some wonder if it will ever catch on.

"I think we'll have a hard time seeing teams go to that. It's interesting, don't get me wrong… I just think we have more traditional coaches around here," Newton coach Jason Fulton said. "You're seeing some changeover (in offensive philosophy), but that's pushing it to the extreme, seeing some coaches ready to do that. It also comes down to you've got to put 11 skill position guys on the field."

There's also the dreaded "g-word" to consider.

"People might perceive it as a gimmick," Spates said. "Anything new is a gimmick… the spread, the run and shoot, until they put up their footholds. But if (it) puts up big numbers, it will be the new big thing."

The only criticism that ticks Humphries off more than the "g-word" is the "f-word". You know… finesse.

"I seriously beg to differ with that. We can heavy up in our formations, and we have some pretty decent sized kids," Humphries said. "The other teams are getting hit from all different angles. We're ramping up the toughness. It's not a lightweight offense. There's definitely some physical aspects of it."

There are plenty of reasons why the A-11 might never catch on in these parts. And there's one big reason why it could.

"In my opinion, I don't think a lot of kids want to play double tight end, three-back football," Spates said. "They want to catch the ball in open space, to make it more fun."

So does that mean the Generals will be working on anything new when practice starts next week?

"I'm for anything," Spates said, "that will help game I love to play and coach stay interesting and fresh."

tengle@herald-review.com|421-7970