By Steve Tirrell
Defensive Line Coach and Special Teams Coordinator • University of Massachusetts
When you install a fundamental base and give players a skill set of techniques to utilize, it will give them the confidence and ability to play at a high level. It will also simplify your job on game day in making adjustments. Here are a few of my favorite drills for instilling fundamental techniques for defensive linemen.
Core Drills for fundamental success:
Drill #1: Step Grid (See Diagram 1). Teach athletes a perfect stance and then teach fundamentals.
Players align by position, arms length apart with five yards of separation. We form a grid by position. First, we work right and then left-handed stances. We are working the perfect stance, pointing your toes North and South. Place your feet at shoulder width. Have a heal-to-toe stagger for comfort. Place your weight on your down-hand finger tips. Back straight, rear end elevated.
I am a firm believer that all stances are not created equal. You need to allow the athlete to adjust his stance based on body type and functioning ability.
First Step Drill: Either on command or with a trigger, line by line or the entire group working, we react and take our first step. We repeat with right and left-handed stances. We want our foot to replace our hand as fast as possible, knee over toe, chest over knee with a proud chest. Eyes up. This is referred to as sticking our step. Drill Progression: We then add our flat step (stick step) used in line movements. First coaching point is to take the weight out of the fingers and distribute to the knuckle of the big toe. Do not give the stance away. Repeat right and left- handed stances. Stick the step at a 45-degree angle. Same coaching points. Hips open to your new key. No cross over steps.
Drill Progression: Add second step to drill. Do not allow athletes to put their heels on the ground. Steps are held until coach releases athlete.
Drill #2: Get-Off Drills - Firing out of your stance utilizing triggers and targets.
1. Towel Drop or Tennis Ball Drop: Coach stands two yards away and drops tennis ball or towel. Athletes are in stance and react to dropping of target. Emphasis is attack with low pad level. Athletes try to grab tennis ball before it hits ground. Coach keeps moving back to challenge athlete. Using a towel will force athletes to dip and rip for the towel, teaching the escape move.
2. Fire out and Strike vs. Target: Defensive player works out of stance. Offensive target is one yard apart in a two point stance facing defender in ready position. Target begins to back pedal triggering defender to fire out. Defender strikes and drives target for five yards. Offensive player gives resistance. We tell him to work with his emergency brake on. Emphasis is on pad level, strike, hand placement and separation with leg drive.
3. Fire out and Strike Drill Progression: Same drill as the offensive player steps forward toward defender causing him to react and fire out. Offensive player works with emergency brake on. Drill Progression: Add a rip escape to finish the drill.
4. Get-off Lean and Finish: Used in the first phase of teaching pass rush. Athletes fire out on a trigger (football, coach’s foot, or offensive lineman pass set). Cone is set three yards upfield. This represents pass set off offensive linemen. Athletes learn to fire out and dip and bend off pass set cone. Athletes finish through a target (pop up bag). You can put a towel down on second cone to force athletes to bend down and pick it up. This teaches them to dip their shoulder and rip through the point of attack. Advance drill by using pass setting O-lineman. Begin to teach pass rush moves.
Drill #3: Agility and step-over bags (See Diagram 2). We use a dynamic warm up at the start of each practice. We utilize movements that we perform on the field.
1. Agility: Series of dynamic movements - put them in lines by position, facing coach in ready position. 1st drills, the motor step. Coach moves foot for trigger, puts it back on ground for athlete to stop. On 3rd rep athletes bust up field 5 yards. 2nd drills, quarter eagles. 3rd rep burst up the field. 3rd drills, square shoulder shuffle side-to-side. On command dip and rip burst up field. 4th drills, square shoulder run. On command, dip and rip burst up the field. 5th drills, 3-point stance get-off with firing hands. 6th drills, 3-point stance stick move, dip and rip burst (no crossover steps).
2. Agile Bags (Step-over bags): Series of agilities on step-over bags using a start and finish cone to change direction.
3. Combination Drill: Any combination of drills.
Drill #4: Chute Drills. Series of drills emphasizing pad level. We use a soft top chute.
A. Fire out off trigger under chute. Coach stands two yards away from end of chute with arms up parallel to his shoulders. Athletes finish out of chute and under coaches arm with a dip and rip move. Advance drill by adding a target for athletes to strike and drive on replacing coach, or by giving an East/West directional for them to react to. You can also advance the drill by having the athletes retrace back under the chute on coach’s command.
B. Work movement steps (stick step) with an outside arm rip on chute post, finishing with a burst upfield. Work long sticks to middle of the chute with a dip and rip burst finish.
C. Work lateral shuffle over two agile bags under chute, finishing with a burst up the field.
Drill #5: Pursuit Drills (See Diagram 3). Drill begins with a toss play right and left. Defenders fire out and strike barrel, then react to lateral run. All defenders are taught to track the hip of ball carrier, not allowing him to cut back. Deep chase player needs to take angle from behind and chase ball to finish. Add back 7 as part of a drill progression and finish with the entire unit.
Drill #6: Circles: Teach low shoulder lean, turning the corner, hip transition and change of direction (See Diagram 4).
Drill #7: Roll Tackle: The angle tackle or open field tackle (See Diagram 5). This is a great drill for the entire defense. There are 10 yards of separation between agile bag and defender and agile bag is at an angle of three to four yards. The defender attacks agile, lowers pad level, gets head across the front of agile pad, bulls his neck or places chin into downhill shoulder, wraps around lower half of agile bag and alligator rolls the bag to the ground. This simulates a knee high roll tackle on the ball carrier.
Progress the drill by adding a start trigger working off a big ball for low blocks or using a block escape from a fit position or a chop club move off a pop-up bag.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments via email (stirrell@admin.umass.edu).
About the Author: Steve Tirrell is the D-line and special teams coach at the University of Massachusetts. He is a 1989 graduate of Plymouth State where he was an All-ECAC Defensive Lineman. Tirrell also coached at his alma mater as well as Brown, Northeastern, and Nichols College. This is his fifth season at Massachusetts.