How TCU Utilizes and Teaches their Inside Zone Variations
Jul 07, 2023 6:09 pm
Coach ,
Season Preview Capsule
In one year Sonny Dykes took the Horned Frogs into the CFB and beat a highly touted Michigan team to take the sole title as the First Big 12 team to make it to the National Title Game in the CFB Playoff era.
With that said he will have no easy task on hand this season as he replaces Heisman finalist QB Max Duggan and star WR Quentin Johnson. The positive note is there are plenty heir apparents for the departed Frogs and the first 5 games of the season will take place in Texas with only one being hosted outside Fort Worth.
The Offense is largely relying on the transfer portal to fill in the blanks. Former 5-star recruit Trey Sanders looks to make a splash in his post Alabama home and TCU will lean on him along with the likes of Emani Bailey and Trent Battle. The Receiving corp is where majority of the new faces are going to appear with JP Richardson, Dylan Wright, and Jack Bech all transferring in from other successful Big 12, SEC and Big 10 schools.
Perhaps the most exciting piece of the offense is actually a returner, Savion Williams is looking to have a breakout year with the aided distractions in the rest of his receiving corp. While Williams only boasted 29 catches this past season he held a 100 percent catch rate on contested balls. Look for the 6-5 senior receiver to be a problem this year as a major red zone target.
On the other side of the ball the Frogs look to build upon last year and finish much higher than their previous 95th ranked defense. Expect the 3-3-5 defense to continue its solid marks and bend but don't break tendency. This will be largely enforced by the return of their men up front in Damonic Williams and a hopeful redshirt sophomore leap from Paul Oyewale.
Linebacker and tackling machine Johnny Hodges will be a continued name to watch as he holds down the fort. While fifth year senior Mark Perry will be expected to step up and guide the secondary this coming season.
Needed Now More Than Ever - The TCU Inside Zone Variations
Perhaps the biggest hit being Max Duggan’s graduation, expect TCU to need a major uptick in their running game to ease the load of their new gun slinger. Bailey, Battle, and Sanders will need to literally hit the ground running and take advantage of these Inside Zone Variations to lighten the load. Offensive Line Coach AJ Ricker explains in this video those exact schemes:
Video: Aj Ricker | TCU | Inside Zone Variations
Rules to Run By
In the game of football today looks become more and more expansive and intricate. Erase and minimize the problem by providing footwork and answers to those looks. But, do this in compliance with the rules you implemented on the play for the entirety of your offensive line. Rules should never change. The better you teach the rules and the better you athletes understand the play, the more equipped your offensive line will be to match the chaos that defenses impose today.
An important aspect of this is teaching your players the entirety of the play. I’ve said it before in previous emails and I am not afraid to continue repeating myself. I have seen it at the college and high school level where everyone wants to teach only their positions of responsibility and sometimes even utilize a system that whether it be by numbers or verbage cuts the line of communication off from the O-Line.
Teach the concept first, show the entire scheme and get everyone on the same page of what you are trying to accomplish with each play. Not only does this further the game and lead to future coaches but, it increases productivity of your plays. Coach Ricker adds that incorporating the TE & RB unit within these specific installs can help with the teachings of the concept:
Video: Install/Drills
Promote Knowledge
The title says it all and I think this applies more to the O-Line than any other position. The rules of the play and everything are great, a solid base is built by the understanding of the play, offense and the players jobs. The great players look at it like a coach and have their base but have begun to understand tendencies and the fronts/alignments that make them able to create a plan but also understand the potential stressors by alignment and assignment.
Preach development of your off the field tools at any level of football
I think a large tie into promoting the knowledge of our players is teaching them to watch film. Aid your players in their recognition especially at an early age and promote them through guided discovery, push them toward the answer, take the coach hat off sometimes and put the teachers tie on.
If your players can talk about it and recognize it during the week on film, I am going to go out on a limb and say they are going to make that play look a whole lot better when it pops up on the weekend. Jimmy’s and Joe’s win games, don’t put a ceiling on what they know.
Universal Footwork
The most enjoyable piece for me from watching Coach Ricker talk to us about his inside zone variations is the simplicity of how he communicates his footwork terminology. You can tell watching the plays that his players understand the necessary footwork as you see the fluidity and consistency across the board.
This is most likely largely influenced by his EDD drills, the consistency portrayed and the understanding of what the play is trying to accomplish. Guide yourself through the entirety of this course and see Coach Ricker provide you with the explanation of the steps while providing you with in game examples of these steps.
Strive to Succeed!
Coach Kauffman
Other Clinics from TCU Staff:
How to Put Together An Offense - Sonny Dykes, HC
Defensive Fundamentals of SMU Football - Sonny Dykes, HC
Linebacker Play & Pressure Out of the 3-3-5 - Joseph Gillespie, DC/LB
TCU Drills - Texas Christian Univ. Staff - Paul Gonzalez, SAF, and Doug Meacham, Inside WR
TCU Offense Analysis:
TCU Offense: RPOs and Wrinkles