Concordia College’s Triple Option (Part II)

By Aaron Willits, Offensive Coordinator

Concordia College (MN)

continued from Part I….

Pre snap we identify the playside 5T DE as the assumed dive player and the strong side OLB as the pitch. As we count from the outside in, we identify the CB as the #1 defender and the Rover as the #2 defender. The WR and Slot can work a 12 or 21. Different that the above adjustment to the 5-2 with a 3T or closed B Gap, we have a playside #3 defender, the MLB, sitting behind the down linemen. The OT must work a call for him and the OG to handle the B Gap as well as climb vertical to block the MLB. Traditional Triple Option wisdom would say to always run to the open B Gap but we have to have a way to work both sides.

Triple Option Defender Recognition vs. 3-3-5

Pre snap we identify the playside 5T DE as the assumed dive player and the strong side OLB as the pitch. Again, things are subject to change post snap. As we count from the outside in, we identify the CB as the #1 defender, the stack strong side ILB the #2 defender, and the MLB as the #3 defender as designated above. The playside OT and OG will work a blocking scheme to ensure the MLB does not become a third player in the quarterback’s face. The playside Slot has to ensure his block on the stack playside ILB and not allow him to become the third man in the QB’s face.

Much like the 5-2 we can change the identification of the pitch read and #2 defender for the Slot. For instance, we could identify the strong side stack ILB as the pitch read which would in turn make the playside OLB the #2 defender and the Slot would arch to get his outside shoulder.

Triple Option Defender Recognition vs. 3-3-5 Rotated Secondary

This is a classic example of counting numbers for the QB and checking to the short side but we can run the Triple Option to the right. Pre snap we identify the playside 5T DE as the assumed dive player and the strong side OLB as the pitch. As we count from the outside in, we identify the CB as the #1 defender. Because of the secondary rotation the Slot now has two unblocked men outside of him not including the CB so he has to identify one of them as the #2 defender. Here I have identified the Free as the #2 defender.

The OT also has to identify that the Slot has to arch wide which leaves him to make a line call to handle the B Gap and the #3 defender. He has become responsible for the stack playside ILB. This now leaves the OG to work with the OC to handle the two A Gap players, the NG and the MLB. While conventional Triple Option wisdom would check the play opposite of what I have drawn, using the number scheme to identify the assigned defenders could ensure on the line that we have a hat on everyone.

The introduction and use of numbering defenders for our Triple Option blocking has simplified our teaching, making install easier to comprehend from the player perspective and has enhanced the understanding of our base offensive scheme for all positions. It has also made us more dynamic. We have a simple, effective way to communicate on the field or in game adjustments to put defenses in precarious scenarios. Traditionally one of the toughest offenses to prepare for – the Triple Option – becomes even more of a challenge when a defense has to prepare multiple defenders to potentially find themselves in a scenario where they could be the dive or pitch read.

304 pages, including 134 Football Coaching Forms

This one-of-a-kind digital book contains forms and checklists for every one of your practice-, game- and program-management needs — including organizational tools you’ve never even thought about! A total of 20 chapters in this book (ideal for printing forms) offers you 134 of the very best football forms collected and created throughout the author’s coaching career. This book also includes completed examples of most forms so you can see precisely how you and your staff can put them to use! Once you see how this book helps you organize your workload and save time, you will wonder how you ever coached without it. 304 pages.

Instant Digital Download – $95.00

You Download it as a Printable PDF after ordering

FOOTBALL COACHES, perhaps more than in any other sport, must balance an extensive number of roles. A football coach is a teacher, motivator, tactician, recruiter, promoter, performance evaluator, fundraiser, game-daystrategist, administrator, guidance counselor, talent judge, scout and much, much more. And with the thousands of details and hours of time each role demands, it’s downright impossible to do all of them without being organized.

There are hundreds of different ways a coach can go about his job — there’s no “one way” of doing things.I’m convinced, however, that one of the fundamental keys for success is organization. From that organization, you can then formulate a solid plan that everyone — players and coaches — can buy into and execute. But to expect this buy-in, you’d better have a clear, justifiable reason for everything that you’re doing.