25 former college football players destined to be future head coaches

12. Isaac Bruce, former Memphis wide receiver

Spread offense and tempo are all over football no matter what level you play. This style of play has its roots in the Run and Shoot and Air Raid offenses. What has become commonplace in today’s game is professional coaches taking college philosophies and applying them to the pro game.

That was not as commonplace in the 1990s as it is now. One of the few teams that spread the field and played tempo every down was the St.Louis Rams of the 1990s. Dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf,” the Rams’s used three and four wide receivers in their base offense. One of their go-to receivers in the offense was a smallish, quick receiver from Memphis named Isaac Bruce.

In many ways, Bruce was the predecessor to receivers like DeVonta Smith. Bruce had a slight build, but he was fast. Bruce lined up in the slot or on the outside and was used in motion quite often in offensive coordinator/head coach Mike Martz’s system.

Bruce was one of the most versatile receivers in the history of the game and one of the first that lined up based on the matchup, down, distance and situation. What made Bruce so dangerous was you did not know where he was going to line up.

There is no one more qualified to teach today’s wide receiver to be used in this manner than one of the first receivers used in this way.