Halfback Option Play - Notable Instances

Notable Instances

There have been many notable cases where the halfback option pass has been used with great success.

  • Perhaps the first use of the play occurred under Homer Woodson Hargiss at the College of Emporia in 1910.
  • The Los Angeles Rams successfully used a halfback option in Super Bowl XIV, with quarterback Vince Ferragamo handing the ball off to running back Lawrence McCutcheon who then passed it to wide receiver Ron Smith for a 24-yard touchdown.
  • In Super Bowl XXII, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway caught a 23-yard pass from halfback Steve Sewell on the halfback option play, becoming the first quarterback ever to catch a pass in the Super Bowl.
  • In Super Bowl XL, Steelers wide receiver and former Indiana University quarterback Antwaan Randle El threw a 43 yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, after taking the hand-off from tailback Willie Parker. He is the only wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in Super Bowl history. The catch rounded-off a Super Bowl MVP performance for Hines Ward.
  • As of the end of the 2007 season, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson has successfully thrown seven touchdowns on option passes in eleven attempts.
  • In college football, the Arkansas Razorbacks used halfback option passes with great success in 2006, using running back Darren McFadden in the role.
  • During the 2008 NFL season, the halfback option play became particularly popular with the advent of the "wildcat" formation. In week 3 of that season, the play was used no less than nine times across the league, four times by Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, twice by McFadden, and once by Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee.
  • A halfback option pass was one of the many trick plays successfully used by Boise State in its win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
  • Fictionally, the 1998 film The Waterboy prominently featured the halfback option as the game-winning play, with Bobby Boucher, in position as halfback, completing a Hail Mary pass to quarterback Guy Grenouille.

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