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Call it what you will. Wildcat, wild hog, trick play, gadget play, running back direct snap. All these are names for the trend of the National Football League this season. The formation has been effective in many cases this year, from team to team. It’s the same formation that earned Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Tyler Thigpen his first touchdown reception of his career in week 9. It’s the same formation that Ronnie Brown used multiple times en route to a 5 TD game against the New England Patriots in week 3. It’s the same formation that Darren McFadden and Felix Jones ran together at Arkansas. No matter which name it goes by, for the most part, it works.

The formation is definitely a tough one to plan against due to all the possibilities. Direct snap, play action, end around, reverse, reverse pass, running back pass, options. These are just some of the many ways this formation can be used. As you can see on the following play used by the Dolphins, running back Ronnie Brown takes the snap in shotgun formation. Ricky Williams, in motion, takes the hand off on an end around. He tosses back to quarterback Chad Pennington who was lined up at wide receiver. Pennington throws deep to Patrick Cobbs, wide open for a long touchdown.

Now, the success of this formation has led me to ask myself, what does this mean for option quarterbacks? Potential prospects like Tim Tebow of Florida and Pat White of West Virginia are perfect examples of dual threat quarterbacks in college. They can beat you with their arm, or their feet. So, can they fit in perfectly to a team wanting to run the Wildcat more often? This logic could also be used for current NFL players like Brad Smith and Isaiah Stanback, both playing wide receiver in the league. Despite the questions that each of these quarterbacks have or had on their ability to continue playing the position at the next level, they may be perfect candidates to come in and have an effect in many ways. Pat White is projected as a wide receiver at the next level, but he could thrive in multiple ways whenever a team decides to run the Wildcat offense. He can run and pass, although not being the most polished of passers.

The same could be said for Tebow. He’s got a strong arm and can run very well. He’s a big body that doesn’t mind taking it to defenders. Tebow could possibly project to a full back in the NFL at this point, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. With Tebow on the field the same time as another NFL quarterback, teams may have a hard time planning against it.

One thing is for sure, the Wildcat looks like it’s here to stay. This could definitely benefit option quarterbacks in the future, as they will provide multiple threats in a formation such as this. I’m not saying it’ll guarantee success for them, but it couldn’t hurt them. Will the Wildcat translate into players like Tebow and White getting a fair shot? Only time will tell.