By Keith Grabowski
Throughout the season we will be sharing skills and drills that will help you keep practices fresh and your players technique advancing.
Offensive Line
Keeping the hips engaged is a critical skill for the offensive line to develop and it takes ongoing work on the fundamentals.
University of Findlay OC/OL Coach Korey Allen likes to use his “fight pressure drill” to teach this skill.Open gap in a combo scenario.
It is a drill that is applicable across every offensive line position. The idea for the lineman is to keep his hips - hold the line and get 2 steps in the ground. The drill has application in many schemes but Coach Allen points out that it is especially good for zone read teams. He shares the drill and his coaching points here (click on image for free drill video):
Running backs - Bulls Ball Drill for Blitz Pick-up
One drill that is both fun and challenging is what SEMO running backs coach Issac Read called “Bulls Ball” when he coached the running backs at the University of Buffalo last season.
The drill has its origins in the old American Gladiators series where it was called “Power Ball.” The set up of the drill is simple. A trash can is placed behind the running back who is working his pass protection technique. The player opposite him has a ball and his objective as the rusher is to get past the running back and dunk the ball into the can.
The drill brings out the competitive side in both players and forces the blocker to use his footwork and hand placement to stop the rush and keep the rusher from dunking the ball in the can.
In a quick 5 minute period, you could set this up as a mini-tournament to determine who is the best blocker. You will get some good quality reps with a lot of energy from the competitive nature of the drill.
Here is a video of Coach Reed explaining and showing the drill on film (click on image for video):
Receivers
Jordan Hogan was the wide receiver’s coach at Cornell, but has since moved on to the NFL as an analyst. He utilizes the hoops that are typically used by the defensive line to work multiple drills including speed cuts, stack and release, and a drill which he calls running man which focuses on finishing with the ball.
He explains his drills here:
Tight Ends
Josh Eargle, TE coach at Memphis, likes to work his “bluff” drill to develop leverage and base against a C-gap defender and a linebacker. He utilizes a receiver chute to teach the tight end to sink his hips, lower his pad level and come to balance. He want tight hands on the linebacker. He explains it here:
Quarterbacks
Andrew Dresner, QB Coach at Maine, likes to theme his drills and his quarterbacks focus on each day of the week. He matches the drills they do on any particular day with what is happening in the big picture on offense. He explains his Tuesday Qb drills here:
There’s some great ideas here for every position. Hopefully these gave you some ideas to get your players better as you continue to the season.
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