Villanova’s Gap Scheme Menu for Athletic Tackles

By Mike Kuchar with Sean Devine
Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator
Villanova University
@devine_sean

If you’re from the Northeast, then you already know the football rich tradition that’s built around the Valley Forge area in Pennsylvania. Villanova has long been at the top of the ladder when it comes to FCS football. Just this season, the Wildcats advanced all the way into the semifinals on the backs of a 11-game winning streak. Despite falling short to Illinois State, Villanova finished near the top of every offensive category.

And you’ll continually find the Wildcat run game at the shoulders of those top offensive categories. For the last nine seasons, offensive line coach Sean Devine has been directing a unit that continually over-achieves. That’s nothing different when it comes to Villanova football. But what was different this season more than others, was the athleticism that Coach Devine was blessed with at the bookend position. Coach Devine had two Tackles that were very athletic and can run, which is a rarity even at that level. So, when it came time to devise the run game Coach Devine started to lean on concepts where he can get his 6-6, 315-pound left tackle and his 6-6, 310-pound right tackle matched up on smaller bodied personnel.

So, this season ‘Nova majored in two gap scheme runs- Duo and Dart. It became a monumental shift from the tight zone run game that Villanova hung its hat on for years. “We love the inside zone and the universal Duo plays that everyone is running but I’ve been a big believer in carrying a way to cut the defense in the B gap,” coach Devine said. “You have to create seams for the running back to cut the defense and that happened most for us with Duo and Dart.”

It Started with Duo:

We’ve already reported on the Tackle Pull Variant of the Duo play, where the backside Tackle (or frontside depending on how you’re terming it) was responsible for kicking the support defender. It was something that William and Mary were building a season before. Coach Devine felt that skill set best fit his Tackles, so he morphed it into his own version this season for the following reasons:

1. It became a 3x1 formation answer, where you can get the force defender blocked
2. The Duo combinations stay the same
3. Was good vs. 3-4 Odd teams where the play side Tackle was uncovered play side

The read is the same as in Duo- the backside LB but the Tackle is trapping the outside force defender. The ball carriers window is B gap, to C gap to inside out on the Tackle pulling.

But the Duo Tackle pull variant is only one build-in that Villanova used. Where the Wildcats got most of their mileage from was derived from its Dart concept, which had it used to manipulate both Even and Odd fronts during its national championship run. The focus of this report will be how Coach Devine and ‘Nova designed its Dart concept to manipulate the defenses in the CAA.

Here’s what Coach Devine shares in this report:

• See exactly how 'Nova designed Dart to attack both Even and Odd fronts, with full installation diagrams
• "No Hips in the Hole" — the play side Tackle technique that shut down B gap penetration and why it's the key to making Dart work
• Kick vs. Insert Pull rules for the backside Tackle — how Devine teaches his pullers to read the defense and make the right decision without a call from the sideline
• How to handle the 4i technique — the lateral shuffle cue that prevents your Tackle from getting washed out on Odd fronts
• The Duo Tackle Pull variant — how Villanova used it as a 3x1 formation answer to get the force defender blocked when teams tried to outnumber them at the point
• The mindset shift — how Devine walked away from 9 years of tight zone and rebuilt the run game identity around two gap schemes in a single offseason
• Why a rival CAA coach said it was "the most difficult thing to prepare for all season" — and what that means for how you can use these same concepts to create preparation nightmares for your opponents