Coach ,

The National Championship provided some important lessons last night.

Here’s five takeaways:

Takeaway #1 - You have to take away their best player to win. Devonta Smith was unstoppable. 

You might not face a receiver like him, but ultimately, there will be a game that you need to take a star receiver away. 2020 state champion Steve Specht has a solid plan for that. 

In this video he gives a strategy that can be applied in every defense to take away a star receiver regardless of where he may be aligned.

Here’s Coach Specht breaking down how to defend the Single Side Receiver

He has an entire course on “Defending a Key Receiver.”

Takeaway #2 - Motion stresses a defense. A strategy that freed Smith up so often was to utilize motion.

Eric Marty, head coach at Reedley College likes to put stress on defense PRE-SNAP. His belief is that motions create two formations on the same play

Here Coach breaks down his return motion which Bama used several times with Smith:

 In his “Comprehensive Motion System” course, Coach Marty will walk you through the logistics of calling and communicating motions Additionally he will show you why this creates STRESS POINTS for the defense and makes the run game better. 

Takeaway #3 - Procedures and Tempo are a weapon. Ohio State gave Bama some problems early with tempo including fast tempo out of the huddle

That is exactly what Coach Josh Gibson does at Pleasant Grove in Texas, using the strategy to win a state championship in 2019.

Coach Josh Gibson exemplifies how to keep the defense on their toes and potentially catch them off guard. He goes over multiple types of plays out of the "sugar huddle" that you need to know in order to dice up your opponent's defense.

Why the Sugar Huddle?

• Defense must prepare for the tempo
• Offense can sit on the clock
• Stress the defense by flying to the line and snapping the ball 3.5 seconds after breaking the huddle
• Objective is to confuse the defense and make them panic right at the snap of the ball
• Use unbalanced formations and snap the ball before they can adjust

Coach shares this strategy in his clinic talk from Texas High School Coaches Association “Holding Defenses Accountable with the Sugar Huddle and Big Passing Plays”

Takeaway #4 - Protect the passer - Mac Jones had time to find his receivers and running backs all night. Coaches must never get outcoached upfront and always be studying Pass Protection to keep your quarterback upright. Below is a clip from Alcorn State OC/OL Coach Elliott Wratten study of “5 Man Pass Pro & Adjustments.” 

In this video Coach Wratten explains how they handle a 6-up look.

Another must-watch is from Allen Rudolph, OL Coach at Ohio University. In this video, Coach shares why they use independent hands in pass protection.

This was taken from his series below

Volume 1: Pass Set Fundamentals

Volume 2: Pass Set Spot Teaching

Volume 3: Pass Pro - Independent Hands

Takeaway #5 - Speed kills! Both teams had plenty of speed. That’s why they were in that game. Upgrading your team speed this offseason will pay huge dividends in the fall.

Tony Holler explains how stacking anaerobic work will get your team aerobically fit. He talks about that and Brian Kula’s work with Christian McCaffery in this video:

If improving speed is a focus this offseason consider checking out some of his latest training he recently released:

Sprint Based Football

Sprint Based Football II

The Offseason Speed Workout

The X-Factor

As we sit back and analyze the big game I am sure there will be plenty more to learn from. 

Congratulations to Alabama and Ohio State for a great season.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski