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Drills Report: The Wall Return Drillby: Tim SalemRunning Backs Coach and Special Teams Coordinator University of Illinois © More from this issue One of the most exciting plays in football is when a punt returner is able to sprint around the edge and make use of the “wall” on an outside return. At Illinois, we rely on a drill installed on day one of our fall practices for our punt return team. An important phase of the return is having initial landmarks for the wall blockers (Diagram 1). When the ball is on a hash and a wall return is called to the wide side of the field, the wall blockers use the far hash as a landmark. When the ball is on a hash and a wall return is called to the short side of the field, the wall blockers use the numbers as a landmark. If the ball is in the middle of the field, we use the “logo” (difference between hash/numbers) as a landmark. Diagram 1: Wall Drill Variations The drill is done with a half line of punt return players going against air at the line of scrimmage. Three punt team players are stationed approximately 15 yards downfield. A coach will then disperse the three punt team players as the wall blockers come around the “corner”. The punt team players will take scattered angle pursuits at a returner who is stationed 25 yards down field. The extra wall blocker will secure and clean up or turn and lead downfield on the contain player/punter. The returner will time up his return and hit the top of the wall. Coaching points for wall blockers: Diagram 2: Wall vs. Spread Shield Diagram 3: Wall vs. NFL Pro Punt Diagram 4: L Drill with Stiff Arm and Strip Diagram 5: Texas Chaser Diagram 6: Wrestle Weapon with Shields We practice the Wall Return Drill in our pre-season camp as well on a weekly basis during the regular season. |
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