The Sprea Offense is an offensive American football scheme that is used at every level of the game including the NFL, CFL, NCAA, NAIA, and high schools across America. The spread offense begins with a no-huddle approach with the quarterback in the shotgun formation much of the time. The fundamental nature of the spread offense involves spreading the field horizontally using 3, 4, and even 5-receiver sets, as well as wide splits between the offensive linemen. This opens up multiple vertical gaps for both the running and passing game to exploit, as the defense is forced to spread itself thin across the field to cover everyone.