In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap is tossed rather than handed—formations with one wingback and a handed snap are commonly called "wing T" or "winged T".
Pop Warner at the University of Pittsburgh in 1917
The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the defense horizontally using three-, four-, and even five-receiver sets. Used at every level of the game including professional, college, and high school programs across the US and Canada, spread offenses often employ a no-huddle approach. Some implementations of the spread also feature wide splits between the offensive linemen.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are lined up in a three-receiver spread package during a 2012 game against Boston College.
In the Houston Cougars' spread offense, Case Keenum became the NCAA's all-time leading passer.
The 2007 Florida Gators running Urban Meyer's spread option.
The New England Patriots lined up in a spread formation against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007