“Choke” and “Hammer” Tags to Adjust Play Side Blocking in Counter G/T

Apr 27, 2020 | Offense, Run Game, Gap Run Concepts

By Chris Norton
Head Coach
Perryville High School (AR)
Twitter: @Coach_Norton


 

Over the past eight years, our offense has evolved from being zone heavy to entirely gap scheme in the run game.  Using the quarterback, heavily, in the run game was part of that evolution.  I love the ability to get an extra man involved in the box using the quarterback and the stress it puts on second-level defenders.  Offensive football is about creating grass and winning leverage - QB run helps us do this.

Quarterback GT

GT has become our bread and butter run game concept. Our quarterback position accounted for 987 yards rushing and 15 TDs with, specifically, quarterback GT producing 481 yards of that total and averaging 8.29 yards per play!  We called quarterback GT 58 times this fall.

Most of our snaps, 21%, this season were run from Early (trips right), which is the base formation used in the diagrams below.  In my opinion, the use of the quarterback is critical when running GT from anyone back set as it helps hold backside defenders.  Our base rules for GT, like virtually everyone else’s, are as follows:



10 Personnel Quarterback GT vs. 4-2

PST:  B Gap to BSLB

PSG: A Gap to BSLB

C: Backside A Gap

BSG: Kick C Gap

BST: Wrap to PSLB off G

F: Fill Backside Pursuit

A major tenant of our offensive philosophy is to run as tight to A gap as possible.  This is especially true with our GT game - we want to hit it as tight as possible by collapsing the playside defenders.  If A gap is cloudy, we teach our kids to work gap over, gap over as needed. This is a difference from most spread teams, who either do not or cannot test A gap effectively in the running game.  It is a goal of ours and on most of our explosive runs this fall, we hit tight to A gap downhill.

To study game film of this concept, click on the video below: