The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 🎅🏼 The Start of Bowl Season
Dec 16, 2023 6:21 pm
Coach ,
Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing a series of emails featuring clinic talks from the day’s and week's bowl games. Coach Trent Kaufmann is back to help us out.
Enjoy the games!
Coach Grabowski
Game Previews:
Myrtle Beach Bowl - Georgia Southern Eagles vs Ohio Bobcats
The Ohio University Bobcats are aiming for their second 10-win season as they prepare to play against the Georgia Southern Eagles for the first time in program history on Saturday, December 16 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
This is the Bobcats' first appearance in the fourth edition of the Myrtle Beach Bowl. It is also the second consecutive season they have made a bowl game, the first bowl game appearance resulted in a 30-27 victory over Wyoming in the 2022 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. The Bobcats finished second in the Mid-American Conference East Division and won four of their final five conference games.
The Eagles have also made it to their second-straight bowl game, having won the required six games in a season, two years in a row. The Eagles finished fifth in the Sun Belt East Division with a 6-6 record.
A big part of the Bobcats’ success this season was a time of possession in which they boasted the #3 T.O.P in the nation. As usual a large portion of this is attributed to the run game. Here’s some coaching points from OL Coach Allen Rudolph and Head Coach Tim Albin on the the OU run game.
Allen Rudolph - OL Pre Snap Process and Eye Fixes
Ohio Offensive Line Coach Allen Rudolph teaches the pre snap process for each lineman. He includes how they identify fronts, alignments, and secondary contours in order to understand what the defense is doing and make the right decisions before they snap the ball.
Video: Why teach a pre snap process
Location of your eyes in almost every sport allows you to have a better sense of the situation. In basketball and every other sport from a young age they ask you to keep your eyes up and assess the situation.
The best at this become your point guards and the individual you trust most with the ball outside of shooting it. This has to be your offensive line acknowledging the picture in front of you and coordinating your double teams based on pre-snap alignment is possible.
The Sprint Option
Sprint Option is one of the best run schemes in neutralizing a defense that attacks up the field through multiple fronts and blitzes leaving them one dimensional looking for answers.
Your offensive personnel do not need to be the biggest or strongest at your level to gain the explosives from this series. Through simply spending 15 minutes of practice time 3 days a week, these blocking drills with easy ID's will help your guys upfront better understand blocking angles and defensive schemes that will leave the opposition searching for answers to slow you down.
Coach Albin gives an overview of Sprint Option in this video:
Adding gaps and creating issues by having a widespread and virtuous run game can create many complications for a defense. Having few plays out of a multitude of formations is something I have continually harped on as it increases the production of your offense.
Possibly the hardest run to prepare for especially if you are largely effective at it is the option. Tune into the D2 national championship game this afternoon and you will see Harding run it frequently and just how effective it can be.
Adding this as a small portion of your run game and another item to prepare for can be just the things you are missing.
Other Clinics from These Staffs:
Getting To The Second Level in Double Team Combos - Base Fundamentals
Volume 1: The Spread Pistol to I-Formation, Manual for Teaching Blocking
Volume 2: Perfect Ball Protection
Volume 3: Y.A.C. to the House
Cure Bowl - Miami Redhawks vs Appalachian State Mountaineers
It's a runner-up against a champion. The Appalachian State Mountaineers, runners-up in the Sun Belt conference, get a chance to avenge themselves in the Cure Bowl against the MAC champions, the Miami (OH) RedHawks.
The RedHawks are coming off a massive 24-13 upset victory over Toledo to secure their first Mid-American Conference championship since 2019 and second since 2010.
Standout running back Rashad Amos matched Toledo's total on the day by himself, rushing for two touchdowns in the win. The problem now though lies in their quarterback position. Filling in for Brett Gabbert, after Gabbert suffered a season-ending injury mid-season, quarterback Aevon Smith led the RedHawks to five straight victories before entering the transfer portal. He is not expected to play on Saturday. Miami (OH) may be forced to rely on inexperienced sophomore Henry Hesson.
With inexperience on both sides and various other factors this matchup is shaping up to be whose defense can play the best and App State must meet the challenge and perform better than they have thus far this season. On the other hand, look for the Redhawks to continue their Top 30 defensive performance and give whoever their QB may be the best opportunity to succeed and have the ball in his hands often. With this defensive battle we are featuring Coach Scot Sloan of App State and Miami Head Coach Chuck Martin’s clinics.
Scot Sloan- Defensive Backs Development/Drills/Tackling
App State Defensive Backs Coach Scot Sloan breaks down the various fundamental drills that he incorporates into his practices. Developing a perimeter tackler in the game today is paramount to the success a defensive backfield and defense as a whole may have and this is exactly what Coach Slaon targets in his clinic.
The cutback has provided some of the biggest runs with the development of the zone scheme. With the additional emphasis of insert zones and wham blocking schemes it’s no longer as simple as preaching, filling your gaps and gap responsibility as the offense creates additional gaps in various locations. In this clip specifically you get a preview of using your secondary to set the edge and negate the cutback. Using the Pin the Hip technique you will be able to improve your secondary’s tackling and ability to factor in from a variety of angles.
Defending RPO from 1 High - Chuck Martin
Head Coach at Miami of Ohio Chuck Martin is known for having strong defenses. In this clinic he teaches why the one high structure provides them advantages.
The Redhawks take the approach that they will make an offense 1 dimensional while taking away conflict from their own defenders. For them it's about keeping their best linebackers in the box and not allowing the offense to dictate and make them apex players who have to get on the edge and tackle in space.
Coach points out that they know what their kids are good at and they ask them to do those thins. Their 1 high system is simple and gives them the advantage in getting aligned quickly. He illustrates their defense with examples on game film.
Looking into Miami’s defense, a top 10 scoring defense. They keep people out of the end zone plain and simple. Coach Martin teaches the implementation of the 1 high safety system to create issues in the box and show the ability it allows for your rover and nickel to make the RPO picture problematic and ultimately cause them to run a play out of a picture that they do not want to see. Defense comes down to numbers and if you can consistently make their numbers appear as if they are on the wrong end.
LA Bowl - UCLA Bruins vs Boise State Broncos
After an underwhelming 3-2 start in conference play for the Boise State Broncos, the team bounced back tremendously en route to their third Mountain West championship in seven years. Their reward? A matchup against one of the toughest defenses in the country, in the UCLA Bruins.
Going up against UCLA's defense will be even tougher now that the Broncos have lost quarterback Taylen Green to the transfer portal. Replacing him will likely be freshman CJ Tiller, who has played just two snaps all season.
The Bruins are facing quarterback troubles of their own. They also lost a quarterback, freshman Dante Moore, to the transfer portal, and while they still have options in Ethan Garbers and Collin Schlee, both players are dealing with injuries and may not be at full strength by game time on Saturday.
This game will feature an interesting amount of changes ranging from Head Coaching position all the way through the coaching staff. With UCLA featuring a higher ranking defense and Boise a higher ranking offense it should set up an intriguing matchup.
Featured for this matchup is Jeff Faris who has since taken the head coaching position at Austin Peay State University. Coach Faris led the tight ends room at UCLA which featured the #3 leading receiver for their team in Moliki Matavao. Learn about his run and pass fundamentals in the following clinic.
Jeff Faris - Tight End Run and Pass Fundamentals
Jeff Faris teaches Tight End Run and Pass Fundamentals. In this comprehensive course, he covers all aspects of tight end play in the run game and pass game.
Coach demonstrates each drill and skill with a practice drill video and follows with how each translates in-game film examples.
More and more prevalent today are receiving tight ends. They provide a matchup nightmare. But a lot of times these guys get lost in their younger years as either a receiver or a blocking tight end and not the ultimate weapon that they are. Listen to NFL and college coaches talk and the parallels between basketball moves and playing wide receiver are uncanny. Here Coach Farris shares the Joradn drill.
Independence Bowl - Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Boise State Broncos
Texas Tech’s turnovers came in clumps. Four against Oregon, five against BYU, three against Kansas State and three more against Texas - all losses. But, those four games accounted for 15 of the 21 on the season. Cal’s 24 turnovers were more like a steady trickle.
Cal was 1-5 when allowing 34 points or more, and 5-1 when it gave up fewer. Texas Tech was 2-6 when failing to get to 34 points, and 4-0 when it did. These two are similar in so many ways, expect this contest to come down to 3-4 plays that define the game. The offense that gets into a groove first will likely take this one. But, special teams and turnover margin could play a part in deciding this one. Featured for this contest is Head Coach Joey McGuire and Coach Kenny Perry highlighting the impact of Special Teams.
Joey McGuire & Kenny Perry - Texas Tech Univ. - Be Special on Special Teams
In this clinic, Coach McGuire and Perry are very candid about the importance that special teams have on a program. In some ways special teams can be the roots of the tree that is team culture as it pertains to the younger players and their fundamentals and efforts to contribute from top to bottom for the program. The importance of special teams is highlighted by these two coaches in this featured clinic.
The presence of your upper coaching staff has repeatedly proven invaluable. Think of names like Bill Belichick who speaks often about how he manipulates his roster because of special teams. Or other coaches who got a start in special teams and understood the impact such as Bill Cowher, John Harbaugh and Mike Ditka. Work top down, display your enthusiasm, and see the dividends that it pays with scoring percentages increasing for your offense based on yardage, stops accumulating for your defense and turnover creation. Take charge, take it over and take the hidden yardage!
Video: Changing a Program Through Special Teams
Other Clinics from These Staffs:
Installing Multiple Front & Coverage Defense
LIVE DEMO - Quarterback Drills
Hill Country Football Clinic 2023
Enjoy the games!
Coach Kauffman