Penn State Linebackers Coach Ron Vanderlinden has coached many All-Americans during his 30 years as a college coach. His new book, Football’s Eagle & Stack Defenses, includes alignments, coverage calls, stunt packages, and techniques for maximizing an effective defense. In Vanderlinden’s view, a key element is the play of your linebackers.

Linebackers are the heart of a defense. The defensive tempo is set-up by the enthusiasm and intensity of linebacker play. The linebackers are also the ‘glue’ that holds the defense together in adverse situations. The linebackers’ attitude is crucial to the attitude of the defense. Many qualities are necessary to be a successful linebacker:

•  Competitiveness

•  Intelligence

•  Physical toughness

•  Leadership

•  Willingness to be coached

•  Quickness

•  Agility

•  Strength

    However, the one quality that sets a great linebacker apart from the rest is his attitude. A linebacker with the right attitude has a positive, powerful presence. The ability to defeat blockers, get to the ball, and make tackles is an ‘attitude.’ Seizing the opportunity and making the big play is an ‘attitude.’ Champions play with an attitude. Attitude in a linebacker is powerful and productive on and off the field. A linebacker with the right attitude is always positive, lifting up those around him. The right attitude makes average players good and makes good players great. His attitude should come from the heart. Great players have great hearts!

    Penn State players Paul Posluszny, Tim Shaw, and Dan Connor exemplified all the qualities of great linebackers. Paul and Tim both finished their careers after the 2006 season. Both players earned academic All-American honors and both players were drafted into the NFL. Paul was also a two-time Chuck Bednarik Award winner as the college football defensive player of the year and winner of the 2005 Butkus Award, which is given to college football’s best linebacker. Dan Connor finished his playing career at Penn State after the 2007 season. He broke Paul’s all-time tackle record, and he won the Chuck Bednarik Award.

    What made Paul, Tim, and Dan so special was the way they led by example. From the day they arrived for their first workout, they competed to be the best at everything they did. They won every conditioning drill by a wide margin, both during the season and in the off-season. If they weren’t perfect in practice, they would stay until they were. In addition, they were 20 minutes early to every meeting. All three players were encouraging and positive to their teammates. They would not hesitate to talk to a teammate who was out of line, and because of the tremendous respect and affection they had earned, their input was always well received.
  

  After more than 30 years of coaching, I can tell you with great assurance that being drilled in the proper fundamentals and being able to carry those fundamentals over to game performance are critical to any defensive player’s success. The linebacker position is no exception. The essential fundamentals for a linebacker include proper stance, the stun and separate technique, pursuit, tackling, and the ability to diagnose offensive plays. p

Excerpt reprinted with permission, Football’s Eagle & Stack Defenses (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008) by Ron Vanderlinden. To learn more or order the book, go to www.HumanKinetics.com.