On a Wing-T and a Prayer

Princeton's most important offensive weapon today isn't golden boy quarterback Doug Butler.

It's a guy from Delaware named Tubby.

No, Tubby isn't an overweight reserve flanker. He's not a member of one of Princeton's eating clubs. He doesn't know Brooke Shields.

He is merely one of the greatest football minds of our time.

Tubby Raymond is the head coach of the University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens and the father of the Wing-T offense. The Delaware Wing-T is widely considered one of the most potent attacks in college football, and Princeton's new head coach--a Raymond disciple named Ron Rogerson--has installed the offense for the Tigers.

There is only one problem. The Wing-T emphasizes the run. Princeton, led by the amazing Butler, ought to be utilizing the pass.

Butler, quite simply, is one of the finest Ivy League quarterbacks in a long time. He may be one of the best in the nation. "I've been in the NFL, and that guy is an NFL prospect," Columbia Coach Jim Garrett said after Butler dismantled a pathetic Lion secondary.

Butler has passed for almost seven miles in his three-year Tiger career, and he has set virtually every Princeton passing record in existence. Last year he was the fourth-rated passer in Division I-AA.

So when Rogerson arrived with Tubby's three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense this season, there was bound to be a confrontation.

Wing-T for Two

But that's not the way Rogerson remembers it. "When Doug heard I had been named head coach, he called me and said, 'You're the coach and I'm happy you're here. I want to be the best wing-T quarterback I can. I'm only concerned about being a good football team.' " Uh-huh.

When The Wing-T was unveiled this year, the Tigers ran the ball. And ran some more. Princeton threw the ball less than 30 percent of the time against Dartmouth in the season opener.

In his next three games, Butler was given only slightly more leeway, throwing on about forty percent of all downs.

But last Saturday, Butler broke free. Although Princeton still ostensibly ran from Wing-T formations, the senior signalcaller lofted 59 passes (a Tiger record), completing 34 for 438 yards and four touchdowns. Frightening statistics.

But to Raymond, who invented the Wing-T three decades ago, Butler's feats are not surprising. He's been watching films of Princeton games, and he likes what he sees.

"He's a well-developed quarterback," Raymond said of Butler. Tubby believes that Butler can pass more effectively from the Wing-T than from a pro set because his complex offense provides better deception.

"Three different players can carry the ball, so the defense can't always pass rush," Raymond says. "Butler has a better chance because the skill requirements are shared."

The Tubster is also quick to point out that the Wing-T is, in many ways, a highly-developed passing offense. "The Wing-T implies Neanderthal," he said, "but it doesn't have to."

Rogerson agrees. "Eight different receivers caught the ball last week," he said. "Our offense takes the pressure off him [Butler]."

Princeton modifies its Wing-T into a number of different formations, and many football analysts believe that in practice, Princeton's Wing-T is far less conservative than Joe Restic's famed Multiflex.

Both teams today will use a basic formation consisting of a wingback, two set backs, and a split end. But Princeton, despite the onus of the supposedly ground-hugging Wing-T formation, will almost certainly pass more than Harvard.

This from a team that was one of the last in the nation to run from the Single-Wing offense. Princeton ran the Single Wing--an anthropological relic from the Stone Age--when Dick Kazmaier won the Heisman Trophy in 1951.

Thirty-five years later, the Tigers will line up in the Single-Wing's bastard son, the Wing-T. Only this time they'll have a different standout, a guy with a golden arm.

And a guy in Delaware named Tubby.