Oklahoma State’s Coverage Catalog from 7-Up Presentations

By Mike Kuchar with Joe Bob Clements
Former Linebackers Coach
Oklahoma State University
X&O Labs
@MikeKKuchar

“Cover Zero became the foundation for us. Then we kept the same presentation and gradually built off of it.”
- Joe Bob Clements, (former) linebackers coach, Oklahoma State University

The base premise of “7-Up” presentations is to show pressure and dictate protections. What started at Oklahoma State (and other programs) as a cover zero tool gradually morphed into a complete coverage catalog of these pressure presentations. They were traditionally used on second and long and third and medium plus passing downs against 2x2 open and 3x1 open formations. The pressures don’t work as well against seven man protections because each defender can be accounted for.

At Oklahoma State, the “7-Up” pressure presentation catalog was tagged in the following ways:

“A’s/Conseco”- Cover Zero

“Purple”- Tampa

“Black”- Cover Two

“Magenta”- Bracket

Zero Coverage Variation:

This is ground zero for this 7-Up pressure presentation package. The goal is to outnumber these six-man protection schemes with seven defenders at the line of scrimmage. There are no games or stunts in this presentation. Each first level defender has a gap to own, but, in order to make sure this scheme is coached well enough, you have to be able to teach defenders to handle any screens. Therefore, Coach Clements and the staff at Oklahoma staff devised a set group of rules that gave them their responsibility on any wide receiver tunnels or running back delay screens.

The rules are below:

• Defenders on Guards: Full slide technique. If guards block them, they go into a bull rush with eyes on RB for slip screen.
• Defender on Center: If Center looks at him and blocks him, he bull-rushes with eyes on the slip screen of RB.
• Defenders on Tackles: T Read technique. Tackle goes out, they come underneath. Tackle goes down, they come off his ass.
• Defenders Outside Tackles: Speed rush off edge with peel control on RB.