The “Kick” Concept: Harvard’s Explosive Hybrid of Duo and Power

By Mike Kuchar with Jim Jackson
Offensive Line Coach
Harvard University
@CoachJimJackson

“We wanted to be a Duo team but you don’t get explosives unless you get pullers to rip the defense in half. So, this concept came to life”
- Jim Jackson, offensive line coach, Harvard University (MA)

When you ask Harvard’s offensive line coach Jim Jackson about this play, his first answer is, “we should have run it more.” The play is a combination of both Duo and power- two mainstays in the Crimson menu- and the declaration is determined on the leverage of the minus one linebacker. At Harvard it’s called “Kick,” and according to Coach Jackson, it’s “racially” in the power family but it’s an auxiliary run to affect to minus one linebacker- who is traditionally the read in Duo.

The origin of it traces back to over a decade ago when Coach Jackson was at San Diego and had issues against Odd Front defenses. So, he started studying which concepts best exploited these looks and the four-surface Duo run kept populating in his brain. The answer was obvious: it allowed the offensive line to build a wall backside and got the second tight end matched up on a smaller outside linebacker type. Coach Jackson saw Boise State run it with Ashton Jeanty and he was already affiliated with offensive line coach Tim Keane. So, the connection was there. “You see good people do it and it makes sense why it’s successful,” he said.

So, Coach Jackson went about blending both Power and Duo to solve the issues the ball carrier was having with quick trigger backers. “We want to be a Duo team but we couldn’t get explosives until we decided to add pullers,” he said. “That is when you can rip the defense in half and use their leverage against them by trapping them inside.”

And at Harvard, Kick is taught on the same install day as Power. Duo is taught on a separate day.

If you’re a gap scheme team that has Power and Duo in its menu this blend of both will alleviate the responsibility of the back to read the minus one linebacker, allowing him to treat the play like a gap scheme.

When you're done reading this report, you'll be able to:

• Identify the specific leverage key that tells your quarterback or playside lineman whether to run Power or "Kick" — and install the automatic built right into Harvard's system
• Apply Harvard's gap scheme blocking rules for the "Kick" concept to both three-surface and four-surface fronts — including how to handle the minus one linebacker without putting that read on your back
• Coach the pulling Guard's open pull technique, including the "Stick Step" footwork Harvard uses to scrape the edge and kick anything he sees — even when the picture gets muddy
• Counter backside pressure with the same technique Harvard used to hold up against Villanova in the FCS playoffs
• Teach your running back the proper entry point and tempo off the puller — the "Piano Read" progression Coach Jackson borrowed from former Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren
• Instantly adapt your existing Power and Duo installation to add this concept — since Harvard teaches Kick on the same install day as Power
• Use this scheme at any level — Coach Jackson confirms he ran these same principles as a high school coach in Texas long before he was coaching at the FCS level