AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Drills Report: Running Back Drills for Ensuring Ball Security

by: Eric Davis
Former Running Backs Coach, Minnesota State University
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

We ask a great deal of our running backs at Minnesota State University, and it is my job as running backs coach to help our players meet the expectations we have of them. Some of our offensive game goals that our RBs are directly involved in include:

•  100% Ball Security.
•  Break 25 tackles as a team and gain more than 75 yards after contact.
•  More than 90% positive plays and more than 10 explosive plays.
•  Out-rush our opponents in the fourth quarter.

    Practice time is a very precious commodity, and every drill should serve a purpose.  I think it is good to periodically revisit every individual, group, and team drill you do in order to make sure it fits into what you are trying to achieve as a team. I haven’t invented any drills, but I have taken what I have seen various coaches at all levels do and tried to fit it to what we do at MSU.

100% Ball Security

    There is a great sign in the RB meeting room at the University of Wisconsin that says “Ball Security is Job Security.”  Running backs are not born with great ball security habits. They must be developed. Some of our freshmen come to us with great ball security habits, but they are not used to getting hit or run down like they will at our level. We remind them of the same things their youth coaches told them, such as carrying the ball in the outside arm and away from the defense. There are different philosophies on when to transfer the ball from one arm to the other.  We do not believe in switching the ball while in traffic, and we stress four Points of Pressure:

•  Fingertips over the point of the ball.
•  Ball locked into the elbow socket.
•  Ball locked against the forearm.
•  Ball locked against the ribcage.

Drills:

•  Dynamic Warm-up with Football: “High and Tight” during high knees warm-up.
•  Partner Ball Security: Common RB drill where one partner carries the ball from the sideline to the hash mark with their partner trying to club or rip the ball out.
•  Agility Ladder Speed Drills with Football: Stress “High and Tight.”
•  Bag and Cone Drills with Football: Stress “High and Tight.”
    The tendency is for running backs to let the ball get away from their body when performing these types of athletic movements. I try to stay on their case in order to make great ball security an unbreakable habit for our backs.

Break 25 tackles as a team and gain more than 75 yards after contact

    Meeting these goals is significantly affected by factors beyond our ability to control at practice, such as the RB’s desire and athletic ability, as well as the desire, technique, and ability of our opponents. We can work to assist our RBs in achieving this goal by improving their technique in the following areas of footwork, cutting, and finishing runs.

Drills:

•  Footwork Mesh with QBs:  We rep our open step on the inside and outside zone as well as our drop step on power nearly every day. I will try to give the RB a visual key in order to drill making the proper cut. For example, I will simulate being the first playside down defensive lineman when our backs are repping inside zone with our QBs. Understanding the tempo and scheme of our run plays will keep our RBs from taking the kinds of hits that create turnovers.
•  Cutting: Stress cutting off the outside foot and making one full-speed north-south cut on perimeter runs. We also work on getting into and out of breaks in our passing game. We practice and play on grass, so we must practice these skills on both dry and wet surfaces. We also practice jump cuts with bags and usually add another movement to that drill, such as a coach with a hand shield trying to knock the RB out of bounds.
•  Finishing Runs: We finish every drill, or the drill is repeated. We also do a very physical Oklahoma Drill to start practice every Tuesday, and we end every Tuesday practice with what we call a “Pride Drill”. This is a live goal line situation (1st unit “O” vs. 1st unit “D”). We run a modified Oklahoma drill to start practice on Wednesdays. This drill is a great way to practice breaking tackles in the open field as well as forcing our defensive players to get off a block and make a tackle. We keep score during these competitive drills and the losing unit must pick up equipment after practice (See Diagram).

More than 90% positive plays and more than 10 explosive plays

   We strive to achieve these goals by stressing a north-south physical running style, drilling the ball skills necessary to be able to make plays in the passing game, and being great in pass protection. Running back is a high visibility position that gets lots of accolades when the run game is clicking. Pass protection is a great chance for RBs to show unselfishness and take pride in doing something that will lead to their teammates getting the glory.

Pass Pro Drills:

•  Cut Blocks (performed on bags): Cut the DE on quick game throws in order to get their hands down and cut the outside leg of the outside pass rusher in our sprint out game in order to get the QB on the perimeter.
•  Mirror Drill: Very similar to the one that LBs use.
•  Attack the LOS Mirror Drill: This is similar to the first drill except that the RB will attack the LOS before executing the mirror drill. The most common mistake RBs make in pass protection is to be reactive and “catch” the LB rather than meeting him on or near the LOS.
•  Live 1-on-1 Pass Pro vs. LBs: We will either allow the LB to bull rush and the RB to cut or we will take those options away and focus on both players moving their feet.

Ball Skills: This may involve a simple catch and tuck drill or the actual routes our RBs run.

Outrush our opponents in the fourth quarter 

    We sell our RBs on the need to be the best-conditioned athletes on the field. We do not run gassers or do other forms of team conditioning at Minnesota State, so it is incumbent upon our backs to perform everything in practice at maximum intensity. Our individual periods involve position-specific conditioning, and I expect our RBs to be breathing quite heavily when that period is done.  We also condition during other practice periods by getting downfield to block during 7-on-7 drills. I will also go and stand well behind the defense during our inside run drills in order to force the RBs to finish their runs downfield and beat the last defender.


Eric Davis recently completed his third season as running backs coach at Minnesota State-Mankato. Davis just announced his decision to teach mathematics full time at Mankato East High School. He led the football team at Mankato East from 2003-2006, compiling a 31-19 record. Davis played baseball at Minnesota State from 1992-1996.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved