Coach ,

We all love learning from the best. That’s how “best practices” are born—shared at clinics, adopted into programs, and refined over time. But sometimes, even those best practices become too standardized.

Take situational football, for example.

At East Carolina, Head Coach Blake Harrell and the Pirates take pride in dominating third down. Their goal? Be the best in the country. To get there, they’ve set a lofty benchmark: 70% success on defense in key third-down situations.

But here’s the difference—they don’t start by setting a rigid definition of those situations.

Instead, they let the opponent define the breakpoints.

Each week, Coach Harrell and his staff study the offense closely. Does the OC change his approach after crossing midfield? Is he more conservative when backed up? What happens in bad weather or when playing with a lead?

By identifying these tendencies, ECU builds their call sheet around the opponent’s strategy—not a static rulebook. The result is a defensive plan that’s specific, flexible, and effective.

▶️ Click below to hear Coach Harrell explain how he builds those breakpoints into the call sheet.

Video: Break Point Rules

Thank you to Coach Harrell for sharing this presentation.

-The Lauren's First and Goal Clinic Team