Coach -

Today we put the focus on the interior defensive linemen and our own Trent Kaufmann, who is now a graduate assistant with Wake Forest shares insight from a coach he has worked with in Dave Cohen as well as Rutgers new DL Coach Colin Ferrell .

Having a dominant interior takes the pressure off of your edge and level two players and allows them to play better. The coaches highlighted here share ideas to help you coach-up your interior.

-Coach Grabowski

Unleash the Inner Beast in Your Interior Defensive Lineman

Having a stalwart interior defensive lineman or two can completely alter a game. The inability for a offense to capitalize between the tackle is increasingly problematic and leads to more and more leverage across 

Pass Rush is great and we will get back to that with the interior defensive lineman another day. But I tell ya what, I love a DT that just constantly puts a wrench in RPO’s and Zone schemes. 

We will dive into this topic with two of the best DL coaches in college (I’m biased). Coach Dave Cohen and Coach Colin Ferrell collectively shared over 2 hours of defensive line tape and talk in their various presentations and have worked directly with Lauren’s First and Goal for these Clinics.

Don’t Get Reached

In today’s game, the gap and zone scheme have pushed the run game really into an area where you are simply trying to be sealed on from the flow in a large part of plays. Offensive coaches will largely tell you that they are still teaching rooting players out of gaps, but the schemes just simply aren’t the same where that has to happen. 

Because of this nature, we cannot get into situations where we are being reached by blocks or sealed. Working feets and hands then becomes uber important. 

Coach Cohen consistently works with his defensive line day in and out to negate this situation and this clinic gives you a good beginning grasp on how to do the same. 

Video: Get Reached Drill

The drill is simple enough but, that is a huge piece of it and it really offers an opportunity for your athletes to rep it often and get a full feel and sense for the action that you are looking to induce. 

It also shows the importance of having good hands and feet especially in these situations.

This gives us an easy lead into planning a pre practice segment into this where we constantly develop these skills and our athletes know why we are doing such a thing. 

Block Destruction 

Coach Ferrell of Rutgers gives us a great bridge here and talks on hands and the pre practice process.

Video: Block Destruction - Hands/Pre Practice Circuit

Athletes are like race cars and tuning them up and continuing checking on the engine and all those things fall into place. For athletes the pre practice process and working with these skills especially their hands and feet for the defensive line is that part of the process. 

We know we have to be great at this and giving our guys avenues to build and process this faster and faster everyday to the point it becomes second nature is quite literally a difference maker. 

Gain some ideas on this part of the process and how you can take your guys to the next level with something as simple as this circuit from the video above and Coach’s clinic all together. 

As Always,

Compete!

Coach Kauffman

PS These two presentations are bundled together… they are a steal for 46% off here.