Sacred Heart’s Q Duo and Duo Read Package

By Mike Kuchar with Brad Tiernan
Offensive Line Coach
Sacred Heart University (CT)
@CoachTiernan

Gotta keep it simple for the big boys up front- we all know that as offensive line coaches. So, for the Hogs in Fairfield CT, Duo is inside zone and inside zone is Duo. The expensive piece in these concepts comes with educating the tight ends and running backs on their roles. When the offensive staff design the Q Duo and Duo read principle, it’s treated like inside zone. So, against four down structure the first combination works to the Point LB, the second combination works to the minus one LB and the third combination works to the minus two LB.

Now, the uniqueness of the scheme comes with how the staff is manipulating the edge of the surface. Sacred Heart has two different concepts off its Duo play- one is a read concept and one is pure QB Duo. In the read concept, the staff can tag it as a C gap, D gap or E gap read from the sideline. Or, the QB can make a call based on who they read to give us the best numbers. “We try to deploy the tight ends to put us in the best situation,” said Coach Tiernan.

The other concept SHU pairs its Duo scheme with is pure QB Duo, when the back blocks his responsibility for the QB run. There is no read in this concept.

That's the framework. The rest of the report gets into the details Coach Tiernan uses to make both concepts work — the rules, the reads, and the film. When you log in, you'll get:

• The one blocking assignment that makes pure QB Duo work without a read — including where the back must hit his entry point to force second-level backers to trigger downhill faster.
• The single pressure indicator that tells the QB to abort the mesh immediately — and exactly where the back goes when it happens.
• How SHU tags C gap, D gap, and E gap reads from the sideline to manipulate defensive personnel and structure — plus the one non-negotiable coaching point for the QB anytime he pulls the ball.
• The two E-gap looks where the QB should still give the ball — even when most staffs would coach a pull — and why Tiernan trusts the give in both.
• The arc answer SHU built for dominant 5-techniques who were closing down the dive at the line of scrimmage.

Plus, you'll get five pieces of game film in our Film Room — raw cutups of QB Duo and each read principle, along with the full narrated breakdown of the entire package.