QUARTERBACK TECHNIQUES AND READS

I SHALER AREA HIGH SCHOOL, PENNSY LVANIA I

I Thark you. I enjoy speaking at these clinics. The
coaching profess-ion iithout a doubt is the profession
OUARTERBACK FUNDAMENTALS
1. Huddle discipline-This is so very important. The
in today's society. This is true for a lot of reasons. I
quarterback must be a leader, and he must be able to
will not get philosophical, but I respect coaches so
eyeball people. How many kids today give you that firm
much. I look at you here today and can see by the width
handshake and look you in the eye? How many of them
and girth that not many of YOU were quarterbacks. I look away from you or look down? We want a
respect ,that.
quarterback who is able to eyeball someone. They have
I When I first started coaching, I was a quarterback
coach because it was important to me, but I wanted
to be able to speak clearly.

2. Mental zone-This is the area between the huddle

to coach each position. Each year I would coach a
and the line of scrimmage. There should be something
different position. It is admirable to see former linemen
going on inside the head of the quarterback during
wanting to learn something else. I may not know a lot
those 8 yards as he approaches the line of scrimmage.
about the game of football, but I am learning more
He must have a progression of what he is looking for
every day, and every time I come to a clinic, I feel
as he comes to the line. It is the "what if" list, so to
almost ignorant because I see how knowledgeable
speak. Obviously, he must make sure that his receivers
everyone is. The one area that I feel I know and feel
are in the right spot and that his backs are in the right
1 comfortable about is quarterback. I have a couple of
spot. As he comes to the line, what should his eyeballs
things I want to share with you today. I will start out
be on? He must be focused on the defense; that will
by talking about the technique of throwing the football.
give him some sort of presnap read to indicate to him
I want to cover the mechanics of being a quarterback.
where he is going to throw the ball or run the ball. We
will talk aboit this later. It is a very important step for
When I am coaching the offensive or defensive line, the quarterback to get the presnap read. He must know
there is a lot that I do not know, so I am kind of brushing that something is happening in a certain area of the
through. I am still trying to learn. I know those of you
defense,
who have played line have never worked on the grip
of throwing the ball. It can be difficult to demonstrate
you have to literally take the quarterback
throwing the football. It looks like someone throwing by the hand and take him up the line of scrimmage,
the shot put.
We break the huddle and look from the right t o the
left down the middle of the field. This is where the
We are a run-and-shoOt type of team. We have evolved reads for the coverages will come from. After he reads
into a one-back offense. We do like t o throw the ball the coverage, then he can put his hands under the
around. We try to do this in a very simple way. But in
center as quickly as he can.
doing that, reading secondary coverages is everythirrg.
I will try to get jnto that area after I
about 3.Position undercenter-1 justmentionedthisaspect.
quarterback techniques. We try to show our kids what -
The quarterback must get up to the center quickly. Good
we are doing so they can understand what we want
defensive coaches like to disguise the defense today.
on offense.
They like to stem and run a lot of blitzes. I believe that
the more quickly you get your hands under the center,
Let me get to things related to the quarterback. the better The longer that you give the defense time
These are points that we consider
and to move around and make adjustments, the tougher it
are important. is on your offense.
 4. Cadence-We practice cadence like crazy. We use You can correct quarterbacks from throwing errant
a nonrhythmic cadence. We want him t o change the passes. Passing mechanics are something that can
inflection of his voice. We use what w e call a free improve with coaching. If you understand what the
play. We use t w o different manners. We will use it to body goes through, you can recognize certain problems
draw you offside to get the 5-yard penalty when it may in passing the ball. You can determine the problem if
be a 1st-and-10. That will give us a 1st-and-5 situation. you see the ball sailing or driving to the ground. If you
Or w e will use it on fourth down to draw the defense know .the mechanics of passing, you can correct these
offside to get a first down. If w e do not get the defense mistakes.
to jump offside, we will call time-out. The second part
of the free play is that w e have a play attached to the PASSING MECHANICS
call. The reas'on w e use this on the first down is
because w e know w e are more likely to draw them off 1. Grip-Our middle finger is the longest finger on the
on first down than w e are on fourth down. During the hand. The index finger should be the last finger to touch
the football as it is released. If the pointer finger is
game, w e will use this 8 to 10 times. We just call,
too close to the middle finger as I release the football,
"Free play, toss right." The quarterback comes out and
goes through a nonrhythmic count. He will do whatever my pointer finger will not be the last finger to touch
he can do to get the defense t o jumpoffside. If the the ball. If that happens, it w i l l be the middle finger
that is the last to touch the football. That index finger
defense does not jump offside and w e do have a play
tagged to the call, the quarterback steps out from should be the last to touch the football. You want it
center and calls the play t o the right and then the left. backon the football as far as it can go. What that does
He gets back under center, and w e go on the first sound is this: A t the last second, it lifts the nose of the
and run the play called. You do not want to use a time- football so that it spirals evenly and smoothly. Now it
is much easier to catch. If the middle finger is the last
out every time you want to draw the,m offside. This
gives yowan alternative. It has been good to us. to come off the football, it is up near the center of the
ball on the laces. Most quarterbacks cannot get friction
on the ball and lift i t u p i f the middle finger-is the last
5. Quarterback-center exchange-Most of you have
off the football. The result is that the ball dives all of
your own philosophy on this. The one thing I would
the time. The ball hits at the feet of the receiver. The
add t o that is this: I do not like t o see a quarterback
problem could be as simple as adjusting the grip and
bent way over the top of the center. I like to see our
getting the nose of the football up.
quarterbackin an upright position with his chest up
where he can have good vision. I like to see a little
flexion in the arms so that if he is coming back away I tell our quarterbacks that they want to have at least
,from the center, he can ride the center as he comes one finger on the laces. When I played, I used two
out. If the quarterback gets his chest over the center, fir~gerson the laces. As time went on, I adjusted the
nose of the ball so that I ended up with only one finger
he does not have room to ride the center as he comes
on the laces. I tell our quarterbacks that if they will
out.
hold their forearms up perpendicular to the ground,
you should see the nose of the football pointed slightly
6. Ballhandling-You want t o take a look a t your
upward. If it is not pointed upward, you will not throw
running plays to make sure that the passes that come
a good pass.
off the runs look exactly the same. We videotape what
the run looks like from the other side of the line of
scrimmage. We will show everyone the run. We tell 2. Prepassing position (armpit drillj-Penn State uses
them that when they do the play-action fake, it has to w h a t they call an a r m p i t drill. They p u t the
be the same. Then we take the play-action passes, and quarterbacks on a line and have them run half speed
w e critique them. The plays should look the same. We or run the carioca with the football at the sternum.
use that VCR today. What they are doing is reinforcing the settling the
, football at the sternum about two or three inches away
from the chest. The elbows are at a nice, relaxed
finger, the ring finger, the middle finger, and ultimately
the index finger t o ~ ~ the
c h ball. That is what gives you
position. They do not want them to drop the elbows. the spiral.
They do not want to jerk the ball up and down from
the waist to the shoulders. The natural motion should 6. Follow-through-Now is the follow-through. In ,the
be for the elbows to be relaxed along the side and old days, they talked about reaching through to the
rocking from arrr~pitto armpit. We run this drill like off pocket and pulling out a dollar bill. There is nothing
crazy. I will show you how we set the drill up later. wrong with that. However, I feel it is a little unnatural
because you are throwing across your body in getting
From that position, what actually starts the throwing the throwing hand over to the opposite pocket. We
motion? We hear coaches talk about quarterbacks just talk about getting the pinkie finger to the sky. They
having a rocket arm. M y grandfather was a great boxer, follow through and finish up w i t h t h e throwing
and he used to tell me that athletics are played with shoulder pointing toward the target. If they start with
the feet. He would say that the game is played with the opposite shoulder pointing toward the target, then
the lower half of your body. I believe that same thing they have gone all the way through the cycle. If the
for the quarterback. You need to have a rocket arm, a pinkie points toward the sky, then you will get that
quick release, and a strong arm. But if you cannot get follow-through.
your feet, your hips, and your body in the proper
relationship to where you are throwing the ball, you There are things you can correct with quarterbacks just
are not going to be a good passing quarterback. The by eyeballing them. They should be able t o start
first thing that initiates the throwing action is the coaching themselves. I know a lot of you feel as I do.
pointing of the toe toward the target. We do everything You can take a kid who is a good athlete and make
with our quarterbacks on the line. We have them him a quarterback.
straddle a line and throw the ball. They have to get
the hip around and end up on a landmark. You can see I want to go into a couple of unique drills for you. This
how far off target they are on the drill. They point the is just to pick up on what we have just talked about.
toe in a six-inch step and have it come down the line.
That initiates the throw. UNIQUE TECHNIQUE DRILLS

3. Off hand-The next point is the off hand. You want We do about 20 minutes of special teams per day.
to get the off arm through on the throw. When we are working on special teams, w e have all
of our other coaches around the perimeter of the field
4. Pull (wipe the glass)-Now you are starting the arm working drill work of some sort. How many times have
motion. We want to wipe the glass with our hand. you seen special teams practicing and 40 players
standing over on the sideline? Some teams may need
When w e tell our quarterbacks that they are not wiping
to use the coaches to run the special practice, and that
the glass, they know exactly what I am talking about. .
They must throw the belly button at ,the target. They IS unfortunate. We want to make every minute count.
know how to get their hips through on the throw. We
tell them that they are like a top that is wound really We put the quarterbacks on the 45-yard line and run
tight. 'They are cocked almost a quarter away from the armpit drills. We run them rapid fire for 15 minutes.
target. He is coiled up to a degree. Now, when he starts They do armpit drills down the line to the hash mark.
turning the toe and wiping the glass, he is 1.1ncoiling The first time, we may just have them working on high
his body. That is where the energy comes from. knees and workirlg the ball from armpit to armpit. Then
w e turn around and come back doing the carioca down
5. Release-As the quarterback follows through, here the line, working the ball from armpit to arrr~pit.We
is a key point. He wants to snap the wrist so the pinkie want them to secure the football. Next, we have them
turn to the sideline and execute opening up from the
sideline, working the ball armpit to armpit down to
passing drill. We tell them that w e have t o catch 12
the hash mark. Coming back, he has to open the hips
passes in a row or w e will have to run or do push-ups
t o the other side. We work on securing the football in
or something. We have t w o quarterbacks throwing, so
and body position. we get t w o catches each time. We have the receivers
count the catches out. If we drop a pass before w e get
ARMPIT DRILLS to 12, w e have to start over. We use this drill early in
the season or in preseason camp, where we can put
HASH
them in those pressure situations. Catching the long
- 7 ball is difficult. You have to practice catching the long
ball.

Next w e go t o the special-teams period. This is where

Next, w e work on the quick drill and air-it-out drill.
We are now in a group drill, and w e have our receivers
with us now. The receivers are 1 yard outside the hash
mark. Some people call this drill the pat drill, where
the quarterback pats the ball and calls "hut," and the
receiver runs a route. The first man in the line runs a
go route. The second man runs a three-step out route.
W e have t w o quarterbacks in the middle throwing the
balls. One is throwing right, and one left. W e are
getting the quarterback loosened up. They just keep
alternating. They run a go and an out route. This is
where we air the ball out. We line up the quarterbacks
in the middle and have them throw the ball.
QLIICK/AIR-OUT DRILL
X X
X X
W e add to the drill after w e work up. It is like the
basketball drill where the team lines up around the
free-throw line and has to make 10 free throws or they
have t o run at the end of practice. We do that with the
we work our quarterbacks on the sidelines. W e are in
a limited area because the main field is being used.
Now, w e work on cadence during this time. We
practice the presnap. If you do not practice it, they
will not do it on their own. You have to take them by
the hand and lead them to water. W e can work on
different techniques on those lines.
Then w e can go to the knee drills. You all have knee
drills. Then w e stand them up, checking their
mechanics.
Then w e work on throwiqg on the move. I know you
see this drill a lot. This is where w e work on our bootleg
passes. W e work on getting the hips squared and
running toward the target.
Next, I want to talk about the net drills. W e have a net
at the bottom of our goalpost. On the net w e have
stitched various targets for our quarterbacks to throw
at. This is to reinforce focusing in on a target. Our
quarterback focuses his eyeballs on the belly button
of the receiver. He throws the ball, and his eyeballs
stay focused on the target. He does not need to follow
the flight of the ball, because it is not going to change
its flight in the air.
'The other point I want to cover is the art of throwing
the football away. This is very important. W e actually
work on this in our passing drills. When w e are calling
out the target for the quarterback to throw to, w e
actually use the throw-away as a pass. Instead of
calling out hook or curl, w e call out throw-away, and
the quarterback throws the ball out of bounds, over
 the goalpost, or into the ground. We want to get the The second thing we tell all of our receivers is to use
quarterback ready for every situation. You have t o the D.E.L. theory. This stands for the depth, eyes, and
practice everything the quarterback will see. If he does leverage of the defender who is playing in your area.
not get a chance t o work on it, don't expect him to do How is he lined up depth-wise? Where are his eyes?
it in a game. How is he playing you: inside or outside, deep or tight?
That is the indicator for zone or man coverage.
Now the quarterback has to start putting everything
together. Now we take in all of the receivers and backs. We break the huddle, come out, and look at the middle-
Now w e are going to teach the quarterback to read of-field box. If we see one safety in the n-~iddleof the
defensive coverages. When that quarterback leaves field in the box, we have a good feeling that the
the huddle and enters the mental zone, something has defense is in cover free, or it could be cover-man free.
to be going on in his head. It does not matter whether N o w my eyes start scanning right t o left and start
it is a run or a pass, he still must know how the pickiqg up D.E.L. of a l l of the other defenders
receivers and backs are going to line up. He has to underneath. If the defender is up tight, turning his butt
know the cadence and all of the other things, but we inside, and looking at the belly button of the receiver,
are talking about passing now. there is a high probability that they are playing man
coverage. If the man is backed off and his eyes are
As we break the huddle, we teach the quarterback and ,turned inside looking at the number 2 receiver in the
receivers to get lined up first and then to turn their backfield, there is a high probability that they are in a
eyes directly to the middle of the field between the zone. It could be man free or cover 3. Defenses are so
hash marks. This w i l l give you the over-the-top good today at disguising the coverages. They can
coverage. I should say, that will give you indicators of rotate aro1.1nd on the snap and change coverages. We
what the over-the-top coverage is going to be. If there work on that too, but I am just talking about the
is one safety in the middle of the field, there is a presnap read now.
likelihood that the defense is in man-free coverage.
We call that cover 1. It could be cover 3. 1 will talk Another thing we do a lot is to use motion in our
about the underneath coverage later. If we see two offense. This can be a very strong indicator of whether
safeties on the hash marks, the likelihood is that the the defense is playing man or zone. If the defense goes
defense is in cover 2, zone, or two-man. If we know with the motion man, it is likely man coverage. If they
the deep coverage, this makes us feel comfortable rotate, it is likely zone coverage.
about the situation. We do not know the underneath
coverage yet, but we know a little more about the deep Let's jump back t o an area, and that is the main
coverage. concepts to grasp in reading coverages. Against zone
coverage, the receivers must understand that when
You can look at the defense and see what we call a they read the zone, their job is to execute their pass
flat secondary. It could be t w o things. It could be the route. They must find the window in that zone coverage
corner coverage, or it could be straight man coverage and catch the ball. We school our quarterbacks to
across the field. If it is straight man, you can look for throw the ball into the window and let the receivers
the blitz, because it is coming. You better find out catch the ball. We want him to throw the ball an equal
where it is corr~ingfrom and who is being covered up distance between the two opposite-color jerseys.
for. The defense will have to cover up somewhere for
the blitz. W e take the defensive secondary and place them in
their position on the field in the zone coverage. We
When we break the huddle and come up to the line, have our quarterback throw .the ball into the window.
everyone looks t o t h e middle of the field. We want to We want to let the ball fall to the ground. We want to
know i f i t is a one-safety, a two-safety, or a flat impress on him that all he has to do is to throw the
secondary. ball to the window. We do not want t o get the ball
intercepted. The receiver is to go catch the ball in the Also, w e want to stretch the field or zone horizontally
game. That helps him throw the ball against the zone. or vertically. Create a pattern that will stretch the field
each way. This is against zone coverage.
WINDOW DRILL
Against the man-to-man coverage, w e want to create
mismatches. We were blessed this year to have a
receiver who was 6' 3" and one who was 6' 2". They
had athletic ability. A lot of the time, we could get the
mismatch and throw the ball up in the air, and they
would go and make the catch. We look for mismatches
so w e can take advantage of them. We run a lot of
trips where w e try to get a fast receiver matched up
on a linebacker or someone wha is not as quick as he
is. W e look for mismatches i n speed, size, and
quickness. You can disguise the routes t o take
If w e read man-to-man on the underneath coverage, advantage of our talent.
our receivers are taught ta stick and run away from
the defender and to stay on the move. Against the zone, There are several drills you can use to take advantage
w e settle and come back to the ball. Against man, we of reading coverages. I covered the window drill. We
stick them and run away from them. If w e do not stick have the quarterback throw the ball and have the ball
them the first time, w e run upfield and then run away hit the ground to make sure he knows that his job is to
from them. If w e can stick them downfield, w e will. throw the ball to the window.
What starts out as a 10-yard route may now be a 12-
yard route because w e did not shake the defender the We use the mental picture d r ~ l lin two- or three-
first time. It is a concept to understand for the offense. receiver situations. Let's say w e have a curl/flat
pattern. W e have the quarterback throw the curl and
W e have the quarterback read one key, and then w e then throw the flat routes. Next, w e throw the defender
have a throwaway. 'The throwaway may be as simple into the picture. Now w e get them reading that man.
as putting the ball up in the press box. However, many There is so much in throwing the football. A lot is just
of our routes have a safety valve or a receiver in an getting t h e hips i n t o position. Each pass is a
outlet area where w e can throw the ball. It may be a progression, and w e put them through these steps.
simple dump pass, and it can be as a throwaway as Now, not only do w e have the mechanics involved, w e
well. We try to make our passing game very simple. are asking them to read and throw.
W e want .the quarterback to read one key and one
throwaway and then make liis decision. I want t o show you a couple of pass routes to put
together what w e are looking at. No matter what
The last concept is don't throw an interception and formation you are in, you can design a play that will
don't get sacked. This year w e threw the ball 258 times go vertically down the field and read the defense. We
and only got sacked three or four times all year. teach the quarterback to look the defender off and still
throw the ball to the receiver. If you have a quarterback
To design an attack against the zone coverage, w e w h o can put some zip on t h e ball and t h r o w it
want to create a two-on-one situation or a three-on- downfield 17 yards, you will have success throwing
t w o situation. That is the one read. We send out t w o the ball.
receivers and read one defender. If the defender covers
one receiver, he throws to the other receiver. The three- We start with the four-vertical concept. Then we go to
on-two situations are the same as the two-on-one what w e call turns or hooks. W e turn up at 10 to 12
except the 3 is the man w e go to on the throwaway. yards. Then w e go with the hitch routes. After the
hitches, you can throw the turns, and then we throw CURL-ROUTE READ VERSUS 'THREE DEEP
the vertical routes.

When we break the huddle and come to the line, we

want the defense to think we are going to run four-
vertical every single time. They know our quarterback
is good enough t o stick the ball in there to one of the
four receivers.

When we first went to the run-and-shoot concept, a

friend of mine in Phoenixville High School in eastern
Pennsylvania went to the same offense. He wrote an
article in one of our state coaches magazines that was
a mockup of the same things we do. He covered four QB-Step drop heads number 4.
routes that are the same thing that we do: slide, curl,
smash, and switch and go. Let me show those to you If number 4 sinks, hit H.
quickly.
If number 4 plays H, hit Z.
SLIDE-ROUTE READ VERSUS 'THREE DEEP
Z-15-yard curl (find window in zone).

H-Run 45 degrees to sideline 5 to 7 yards.

Y-Hook up at 6 yards, keeping number 3 out of the

play.

X-Vertical stretch.

SMASH-ROUTE READ VERSUS T W O DEEP

(
QB-Three-step drop; read number 4.

If number 4 plays Z, hit H.

<s
If number 4 plays H, hit Z.
X
Coaches read if corner bites on slant call Y hot. H 00~00
Y

Z-Four-step slant (find window in zone). A

H-Replace Z upfield 5 yards. QB-Three-step drop; read number 5.

Y-Push vertical to seal FS (if corner breaks on slant, If number 5 plays Z, hit Y on flag.
push route to .flat).
If nurr~ber5 sinks, hit Z on flag.
X-Vertical stretch.
Coaches read Y drag. UB-Three-step drop; read FS.

If FS moves to cover Y, hit X on dig.

H-6- to 8-yard drag (find window). If FS stays deep, hit Y after he clears under coverage.

X-Vertical stretch. Coach reads H rail.

SWITCH-ROUTE READ VERSUS THREE DEEP Z-Vertical stretch.

H-Rail (stay close to sidel~ne).

X-Run on a 45-degree angle to the hash 13 to 15

yards deep, and find window based on FS reaction.

1-liis route can be used versus three deep. The

quarterback's presnap read is still the same; because
Y is now covered, the quarterback's read goes back to
the X receiver running the dig.