3 Coaches Shares Their 🔑 to a Successful Counter Scheme
Nov 15, 2023 10:31 pm
Coach ,
Coaches will throw out superlatives from time to time, especially in clinic talk, but when Alex Atkins said they were the best in the country running the counter scheme, it wasn’t hyperbole.
The Florida State Seminols were #1 in college football with the counter in rush attempts with counter, rushing yards off counter ,explosives, and yards before contact on counter.
We all want a scheme that starts with the offensive line opening gaping holes in the defense and then allowing the back to take over to get more.
2023 C.O.O.L. Clinic Counter Bundle
In 2022 Florida State led the country in attempts (164) at running the Counter scheme. They also led the country in:
-Avg yards per attempt 6.5 yards
-Counter yards 1,064
-Explosive counter runs 37
-584 yards before contact on Counter
What led to this productivity?
It started with examining today’s defenses and understanding what they are doing that especially gave them trouble with those schemes.
Because of the evolution of defenses and things like how the defensive line attacks a man more than they attack a gap now. Techniques like gap peeking, playing a gap and a half or two gaps, etc. Coach Atkins wanted to counterbalance those strategies and techniques.
He started tailoring the game plan. In his presentation he said,
“I started doing was I started tailoring the game plan and said, all right, based upon how the D-line or the defense kind of attacks gaps or attacks man, let's adjust the scheme to how they're playing it. And that went from that was, you know, back in Georgia, so that went to. Now. Let's just find a way to make this our hard hat. We believe in run game and let's tailor it to kind of fit us the best.”
The Scheme
Coach Atkins went into every aspect of how they teach the scheme during his presentation including drill film of all the techniques. In this video he shares the scheme and explains how this is more than just drawing up six on six in the box. He also illustrates how they take care of the safeties with the receivers and with the threat of quarterback run.
More on Counter - Eman Naghavi, OC/OL, Houston
When Coach was at ULM RPO was huge for them. He didn’t like the inconsistency though. He was also concerned with linemen down the field and protection for QB. He explains how he addressed those concerns in this video:
Video: 12 Personnel Counter RPO
But wait there’s more - Sherrone Moore, OC/OL Michigan
Create explosive plays in the run game put less people in the box. If you want to create a mentality that WE ARE GOING TO RUN THE FOOTBALL, then put more people in this box. It then opens the big play opportunities in play action.
Another aspect of how the Wolverines run the counter is that they will pull the center - it eliminates the back block ln the 3 technique.
Coach Moore illustrates their counter in this video:
Get Movement with the Down Block
The down block is key to opening up the running lane and building the wall for the Power and Counter. It might now always be a perfect block, but teaching the OL to strain to finish allowed them to make good things happen. Coach Moore gives the coaching points on the down block in this video.
The Takeaway
I talked about the Outside Zone as a great starting point play for an offense last week, but obviously the Counter provides a ton of versatility in its use and its add ons like play action, RPO and Screens.
Taking a deep dive into the counter scheme in your offseason study can be worth it. These three resources are packaged for an Early Black Friday Deal from the C.O.O.L. Clinic and are listed below:
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski
2023 C.O.O.L. Clinic Counter Bundle (56% off)
What’s included:
Alex Atkins - Gap Scheme Variations with Screens and Play Action
Eman Naghavi- Counter, Counter Variations, and RPOs
Sherrone Moore- Gap schemes- Teaching Progression and Attacking Defenses
