Vandy OC Tim Beck makes the case for flipping your offensive lineman with strong side and quick side

In an era where most offensive lines have been simply labeled "left" and "right" for decades, Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck, along with the help of FootballScoop Offensive Line Coach of the Year Chris Klenakis, have managed to revive a concept that dominated college football in the early 1990s, and the reasoning behind it is something every coach at every level should hear out.

While chatting with Dan Casey on The Left Hash Call, Beck explained why the Commodores went all in on flipping their offensive line, and his explanation should help to make the case for coaches everywhere considering doing the same.

The idea is straightforward: instead of asking a guard or tackle to master blocking assignments on both sides of the field, each lineman becomes a specialist. The strong-side players handle power blocking demands while the quick-side players are trained for reach blocks, pulls, and the technique-heavy assignments that come with that alignment. When the ball is spotted on a hash, those linemen rotate to their designated side accordingly.

After joining the ranks of the SEC double-digit win teams with a breakout 10-3 campaign last fall - alongside the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma last fall - it's a topic that's picking up momentum.

"We were talking about ways we could be different, and we had looked around at some different things, and [Klenakis] had flipped his offensive line and had a background doing it as well, so we talked about it and just decided it was something that would be good for us."

"It's crazy, because now when we see players, and we are evaluating players, and we see someone it's easy to say 'Oh yeah, he's a strong guard,' or 'Oh yeah, he's a quick tackle.' It's just like guys automatically fit into these positions for us."

While it has helped them evaluate the right fits for them, Beck insists it has also become an advantage for guys looking to play at the next level as well.

"I think the thing that gives us an advantage in recruiting is the fact that we flip our offensive line because there are only so many left tackles in the NFL, so if you played left tackle and that's all you've ever played and now all of a sudden they ask you to move to the right side and change your stance. Well if you've already done that in college, and flipped and played both sides, that's going to be an advantage over some of these other guys in NFL camps that haven't done it before."

Beck is such a believer in flipping sides that he suggests NFL teams are going to start looking to the Commodores more and more for their offensive line needs in the coming years, as they will bring unparalleled positional value and flexibility to whatever team takes them

The practical benefit for coaches is rep efficiency. Rather than splitting a lineman's mental and physical reps across two entirely different sets of techniques and assignments, you're doubling his mastery of one skill set. The scheme likely won't affect centers at all, so there's minimal disruption to the axis of the line. The biggest adjustment comes from guards and tackles learning to identify their role by the hash, not by habit, which is a change players have reportedly adapted to quickly. 

For high school and college coaches considering this approach, jumping in is simpler than it sounds. Start by identifying which of your linemen are natural pullers and reach blockers versus those who thrive in down-block and gap-scheme situations. Label them accordingly. Then build your run game around getting those players into their best assignments on every snap, rather than forcing your best run-blocker to pull when the ball goes to the boundary.

Beck's offense helped Vanderbilt produce one of the more surprising turnarounds in recent SEC history in 2025, and the offensive line philosophy was undoubtedly a foundational piece of it - as evidenced by Klenakis winning the Offensive Line Coach of the Year award from us. 

The strong/quick system isn't a gimmick, it's a specialization model applied to the trenches and if it can work in the SEC, it's worth a hard look for your program too.