Breaking Down Dan Mullen’s Spread Offense, Part 2: Passing Concepts, Coverage Reads, and Creating Matchups

In Part 1, we examined the run game and how Dan Mullen’s spread offense utilizes leverage, spacing, and defensive structure through inside zone, trap schemes, and quarterback reads.

But if you want to understand how this system truly stresses a defense, you have to study the passing game. Because while Mullen’s ground attack forces the issue, it’s his concept-based passing game, with its surgical spacing and pre-snap clarity, that delivers the knockout blow.

Let’s start with a myth: Mullen’s playbook isn’t massive. It doesn’t need to be.

Instead of calling 200 different pass plays, Mullen builds off a small set of core concepts, then dresses them up with different formations, motions, and tags. It’s not about volume, it’s about variation. Run the same concept 10 different ways and make the defense chase ghosts.

In 2020, Florida ran wheel routes out of four or five different formations in a single game. Against Ole Miss, they ran a simple high-low concept repeatedly, completing 9 of 10 passes, none from the same formation twice. That’s not random; that’s design.

Mullen spreads the field with intent. Whether in 2x2, 3x1, or empty formations, every play is meant to force the defense to declare coverage and then create high-percentage throws.

Here are a few of his favorite concepts:

This is Mullen’s go-to against the zone.

It’s simple, reliable, and deadly against soft zone coverage. It’s flexible, it can be tagged with motion, run from bunch, trips, or even two-back sets.

Against Cover 2 or soft quarters, Mullen calls a smash concept with a short hitch route underneath a deep corner.

It stresses the flat defender: sit shallow, and the corner route breaks behind you. Jump deep, and the ball hits the hitch.

Mullen loves pairing smash with post-snap RPO elements or using stacked formations to confuse leverage.

We broke this down in Part 1, but it bears repeating: “All Go” is a foundational vertical concept in Mullen’s system.

In 3x1 sets, the No. 3 WR (usually a tight end or slot) works the near hash, pulling safeties and opening space for the boundary receiver or checkdowns.

This is where Mullen isolates linebackers, tests safeties, and breaks coverages apart.

Against man coverage, the wheel route is one of Mullen’s favorite tools and one of his most devastating.

He’ll run it from:

The key isn’t just the route; it’s how the defender is matched up. If a linebacker is in coverage? Automatic mismatch. If the safety bites on an out-and-up stem? Free yardage.

In 2020 vs Georgia, RBs Malik Davis and Nay’Quan Wright torched the No. 1 defense in the SEC for 171 yards on wheel routes alone.

What ties it all together is how clear the reads are for the quarterback.

Mullen builds in pre-snap clues:

Post-snap, the quarterback isn’t guessing; he’s confirming. The system takes the burden off his shoulders and lets him play fast. That’s how you turn a mid-round NFL backup like Kyle Trask into a record-setting SEC passer.

UNLV’s QB room in 2025 may not have a Dak Prescott or Kyle Trask, but that’s exactly the point: they don’t need to.

Mullen tailors his offense to fit the skill sets of his quarterbacks. If the QB is mobile, expect more read-option and RPOs. If he’s a pocket passer, you’ll see more play-action, mesh, and vertical route trees. Either way, the system works because it’s built around conceptual repetition and structural clarity.

Look for:

We’ve covered the architecture. Next time, we’ll dig into the quarterback position: how Mullen develops signal-callers, adapts his playbook to their strengths, and makes complex offenses feel simple.

Stay tuned. This isn’t just a system, it’s a clinic. And in 2025, it belongs to UNLV.

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