Flexbone formation

This advantage allows the four-verticals play, a deadly weapon against Cover 3, a common defensive coverage used by the eight-man fronts that a strong running team is likely to face.

The Flexbone allows for QBs who may be shorter or smaller than ideal (5'10 - 6'2 and weighing around 185-205 pounds) to be able to start because they often have a speed advantage despite not being able to throw the ball as well.

This allows for the Flexbone to have three players who can run fast (with SBs also helping serve as receivers or lead blockers) while the FB can be a more traditional HB size of 220-235 pounds.

Through the 2007 season, the United States Air Force Academy (Air Force) and the United States Naval Academy (Navy) were the last major remnants of flexbone football in FBS football and testaments to the formation's ability to use key offensive players effectively when a team has significantly less talent on the field.

In 2014, Army hired Jeff Monken, who coached under Johnson, to run the flexbone in hopes of resurrecting the program as he'd done at Georgia Southern in 2010.

In the late 1980s, the University of Arkansas ran a version of the flexbone under coach Ken Hatfield and won two consecutive Southwest Conference titles.

Schools at the FCS (formerly I-AA) level that currently run the Flexbone include Wofford, The Citadel, and more recently the upstart program of the Kennesaw State Owls coached by Brian Bohannon who in 2017 lead the Owls to a 12–2 record and appearance in FCS playoffs in only the 3rd year of the program's existence.

The Harding University Bisons, competing in the Great American Conference (GAC) of NCAA Division II, under coach Paul Simmons, ran a version of the flex-bone in its undefeated 2023 season.

Harding won the Division II national championship in 2023, while also setting the all-time NCAA record in rushing yards for a season—for all divisions—with over 6,000.