Stripping the Ball

How Boston College Causes Fumbles
by: David Purdum
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Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter at Florida State last fall, Boston College defensive back Sulaiman Sanni rapidly closed on a short pass to the tight end in the flat. He stood up the receiver, securing the tackle, while another defender came in on the play and began to poke and pry at the ball – just like the Eagles had practiced all season. The ball popped loose. Safety Wes Davis didn’t hesitate, scooped up the fumble and returned it to the FSU 1 yard line. It was the first of three Seminole turnovers and would lead to a go-ahead touchdown and eventually a 24-19 victory in Tallahassee.

“We make a conscious effort to make sure our kids understand that turnovers are a big part of the game, and we need to get them,” said Boston College’s Defensive Coordinator Frank Spaziani. “That play had every element of what we emphasize.”

BC forced a remarkable 31 turnovers this season, tied with Nevada for tops in Division I. Eighteen of those turnovers were fumbles. It was not an accident. Turnovers, said Spaziani, are a point of emphasis at Boston College.

Boston College’s 10-3 season was packed with big plays. It was going to take much more than your average sack or fumble recovery to make its way onto the Golden Eagles’ year-end highlight video. Here’s how the Eagles became the most opportunistic defense in the nation.

Circuit Drills

At least twice a week, Boston College ends practice in a three-station circuit atmosphere with a focus on creating turnovers. Each station lasts five minutes, with each drill lasting no longer than 90 seconds. They’ll tackle the big bag, while simulating punching the football out. They’ll go through a tip drill and practice clubbing the ball out from behind, and they’ll work on scooping up loose balls and scoring.

“There’s nothing revolutionary about it,” admits Spaziani, “but it’s a point of emphasis.”

The emphasis on stripping the football isn’t limited to the circuit drills. In every team period that involves tackling, the focus is on stripping the ball. During one tackling drill, Spaziani will blow the whistle twice. On the first whistle, the defender is instructed to “thud” or stand the ball carrier up. On the second whistle, the ball carrier is allowed to break free. The defender then chases him down, trying to punch, grab, club or pull the ball out.

“That, in a nutshell, is how we do it,” said Spaziani, who, as interim head coach, led BC to a thrilling victory over Navy in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. “You can see on film this year that we got exactly what we were teaching.”

The emphasis on turnovers begins in the film room. Spaziani will point out when an opposing running back likes to switch the ball in his arms when carrying it. Or if a mobile quarterback carries it like a “loaf of bread.”

“The bad news is that he’s very mobile and agile,” said Spaziani, “the good news is if we can get to him, we can possibly strip the ball.”

The Strip

Boston College primarily uses two techniques when attempting to strip the football: The overhand club when chasing a runner down or attacking the quarterback from behind, and punching the football out while ensuring the tackle.

“When we’re coming with the overhand club, we’re coming with the same arm the ball is carried in,” explained Spaziani. “In other words, if the ball’s carried in the right hand, we’ll have our left arm on his shoulder trying to pull him down, while also trying to club with the right hand.

“If we’re punching, we’re obviously punching with the opposite hand and trying to pull it and punch the ball out.” When a pass rusher is coming from behind on a quarterback, the Eagles are instructed to use their closest arm to the ball and chop at it. “Almost like you’re hitting a badminton shot,” suggested Spaziani.

Without taking away any of the emphasis on stripping the ball, Spaziani is quick to point out the importance of securing the tackle first. It’s hard to cause a fumble if the first defender to the ball whiffs. “The first thing we want to do is ensure the tackle,” said Spaziani. “Then, everyone else is coming in trying to grab it or pull it out. We get that in practice and we see it in the games.”

Spaziani prefers your basic veer tackling drill, with the ball carrier and tackler meeting at a predetermined point marked by cones. “We try to use the same foot, same shoulder to get our power and knock the guy back,” he said. “Eyes to the sky, square up, but our main focus is same foot, same shoulder.”

Once the initial defender has secured the tackle or stood up the ball carrier, then the rallying defenders will begin the grab and pull at the ball.

The Recovery

The football can take some zany bounces, not always in your favor either. There’s no predicting which way the pigskin will take off, and there is really very limited skill involved in making the recovery. But players can put themselves in the best position to corral the football.

“We need to get our hands underneath it,” said Spaziani. “It’s basically like a shortstop, bending down and getting your hands underneath the ball. There is no technique more than that, because it’s not a baseball.

“The ball can be bouncing around crazy. That’s why we practice it. We give them all kinds of different bounces. We’ll make it hop up to them; we’ll make it flutter around on the ground, where they have to get it. It’s just a matter of practicing and emphasizing it. Most of the time we’ll get it.”

When it comes to recovering fumbles, Spaziani doesn’t believe in the old philosophy of allowing smaller skill positions like defensive backs and linebackers to try to scoop and score, while instructing bigger interior linemen to just fall on loose balls. He understands the risk in trying to have a 300-pound nose tackle pick up a loose ball, and he’s willing to take it.

“We don’t talk in big and little guys,” he said. “We try to emphasize to them on being a football player. We try to educate them on when it’s appropriate to jump on the football and when we’d rather have them just fall on it. Obviously, there are certain times when you don’t need to scoop and score at the end of the game. If you’re ahead and the other team fumbles the ball, you should just get on it. Those are some situations that we go over in meetings. But 90 percent of the time we want our guys to pick the ball up and try to run with it. We’ll live with the fact that maybe he won’t pick it up and they might get it back.

“But you do have to educate them when you want them to scoop and score and when you just want them to fall on it,” he continued. “Those are the things we’ll do on Fridays or Sundays when we’re evaluating our film. We’ll go over certain situations when you want to dive on the ball and when you don’t want to.”

Spaziani's 3 Keys to Creating Fumbles

1. Emphasis: Constantly remind defenders to go grab, pull, poke and yank at the football. “You have to sort of brainwash them,” said Spaziani, “to make sure getting the football is on their minds on almost every tackle.” The “brainwashing” needs to continue throughout practice and into the film room.

2. Practice: Are you dedicating practice time to creating turnovers? Boston College is. At least twice a week, the Eagles end practice with drills specifically designed to create turnovers. “Practice the techniques that can create turnovers,” said Spaziani. There's nothing unusual about the drills the Eagles do, but, again, it’s all about the amount of emphasis placed on jarring the ball loose.

3. Tackling: With the emphasis on stripping the ball, it would seem that Boston College might sometimes struggle with missed tackles. Spaziani knows that can happen and often points out how a hard, fundamentally sound tackle can pop the ball out before the stripping even begins. “Make sure your players are using the same foot, same shoulder technique when tackling to generate power.”

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