Obviously there are a lot of ways to run the option play… so I’m talking about the typical base option play that teams run out of the shotgun, not triple option offenses.

If the ball is on the hash and you’re running towards the boundary, you’re trying to pin those outside defenders inside and get your RB up the sideline.

If you run it towards the field side, you’re trying to kick the outside defenders outside and give your RB a lane to cut up inside those wide defenders.

When run as designed and if blocked correctly, the RB will be able to cut up field about the same distance from the place the ball was snapped regardless of the side you run the play to.

If your field side option play makes it to the far sideline, it’s because the defense took away the desired lane and has successfully strung the play out while allowing additional defenders to get to the ball.