Building a championship football team

We want our blockers to use the same block that our backs use when protecting the passer. We want them to remain on their feet until they feel they are losing their man. Then they go into a crotch block. The deep back who does not field the ball will get in front of the ball carrier and lead interference. The back who receives the kick-off will start straight up the field attempting to gain as much yardage as possible. When he sees daylight in the line in front of it, he breaks for the opening at his discretion.

If the kicking team places the football on the hash mark to kick-off and we are employing a middle return, we will count the end man closest to the football and block him, and disregard the two farthest men from the ball on the opposite end of the line.

OUR ON-SIDE (SHORT) KICK

The on-side kick, i.e., legal short kick, is one of the best weapons a team can have when you must gain possession of the ball after a touchdown. We work on the on-side kick, practicing it every week. If an on-side kick helps us to win one football game, then it is well worth all the time we have spent on it.

Previously I mentioned our 1955 game with Rice where we were behind 12-0, with three minutes remaining to play in the game. We scored on a running play, kicked the extra point, and with the score 12-7 we still needed a touchdown to win the football game. Having rehearsed the on-side kick during the week, as we lined up for the kick-off, we knew our strategy would be a short kick. We recovered the ball successfully on the on-side kick, then scored with a long pass, and converted the point-after-touchdown, making the score 14-12. Rice attempted to get back into the game by passing as time was running out. We intercepted a pass, scored again, and won the game 20-12. You can see why we are firm believers in the on-side kick.

Figure 95 illustrates our on-side kick to the left. We line up in our regular kick-off alignment. When the kicker approaches the ball, instead of driving through with the toe of his kicking shoe, he kicks the football with his instep. He merely tries to get a piece of the ball, sort of punching it left or right so we can go down and cover it quickly. The end, tackle and center (Figure 95) do not try to recover the ball, but try to wedge in front of it and wall off the area so the men on the receiving team cannot get possession of the football. Our halfback comes down fast and his assignment is to recover the football (behind the wall). When we kick the ball to the left, as illustrated in Figure 95, the quarterback will swing in behind the halfback in the event he misses recovering the ball and the opposition is trying to advance the kick-off.

We also try an on-side kick down the middle with the tackles and guards (see Figure 95) forming a wall in front of the kicker, who tries to recover the football.

When we try an on-side kick to our right, the principles are the same with our end, guard and tackle forming the wall while the right halfback tries to recover the ball.

DEFENDING AGAINST AN ON-SIDE KICK

We also work on defending against the on-side (short) kick because we know the opposition will attempt to use it against us. The last year I was at Kentucky, we were playing Cincinnati and I knew they would attempt an on-side kick. I sent 11 players into the game with the sole responsibility of recovering the kick and not permitting Cincinnati to get the football. I wish I could report that we were successful, but Cincinnati recovered its on-side kick. However, our boys at least knew we had worked on defending against the on-side kick and we were not surprised when the opposition used it.

When we are expecting an on-side kick, we want to get our best ball handlers up close to the restraining line so they can field the ball. Figure 96 illustrates our receiving alignment defending against the on-side kick. Our halfbacks and quarterback are at the 45-yard line, with the fullback deep and the ends in their usual alignment. We put our five interior linemen close to the restraining line for two reasons. First, we do not want them to handle the football. Second, we want them to block or wall off for the man who is going to field the ball. Our quarterback is our surest ball handler so we place him in the middle, hoping he will be the one to field the ball. Note the halfbacks are inside of the end men on the restraining line in front of them. If the ball is kicked to our left, our front men sprint quickly to a point in front of the football where they can block the men on the kicking team before they can recover the football. The halfback on the left side is instructed not to try to advance the football, but merely to fall on it and get possession of the football. The quarterback and right halfback swing in behind the left halfback in the event he mishandles the football. If the kick were to our right, the right halfback would handle the ball with the other two backs backing up the right halfback. If the ball is kicked down the middle, we want the quarterback to fall on the ball, with the two halfbacks swinging in behind him in the event he mishandles the ball. Our five front men would block in front of the ball for their quarterback.

OUR EXTRA POINT AND FIELD GOAL PROTECTION

Our extra point and field goal protection are the same with the exception that on the latter we must cover the kick. Our point-after-touchdown and field goal attempt blocking rules are as follows:

Center—Our center’s main responsibility is to make a perfect snap to the holder, and then he braces himself and holds his ground. We actually try to get our center to grab the ground with his hands so that he cannot be knocked backwards. Should the latter occur, the center would leave a hole in the line. The center must hold his ground, and he should keep both feet stationary.

Guards, Tackles, Ends—The other six linemen have exactly the same blocking rules. The guards and tackles do not take splits, so the line from tackle to tackle will be tight. The ends will split approximately six inches. None of these men can move their outside foot. It must remain stationary. They will line up looking in at the football. On the snap of the ball, the guard will step with his inside foot toward the center. He will put his head in front of the center’s leg, with his neck firm against it. The guard must keep his outside leg stationary as the tackle will put his head and neck firmly against the guard’s leg. The end will use the same technique putting his neck against the tackle’s outside leg. We are trying to build a solid wall so the opposition cannot penetrate it and get to our kicker. We are trying to force the opponents to rush from the outside, rather than permitting them to rush inside.

Up-Backs—The up-backs line up about a yard deep and a yard inside our offensive ends. They are in a position where they can reach out and touch the tail of our end on their respective sides. The up-back’s assignment is to keep his inside foot in place and force the rushers to go wide. He cannot move his inside foot, and he must not be knocked down. On a field goal attempt he has wide responsibility to his side of the field. He will leave as soon as he hears the thud of the ball.

Holder—The holder lines up about six yards and one foot deep and his responsibility is to place the ball on the tee in a good position, permitting our kicker to get his foot into the ball.

Figure 97 illustrates our place kicking formation. The whole operation for the extra point or field goal attempt should take only one and three-tenths seconds. If it takes longer than this, it is likely the kick will be blocked.

We have our extra point and field goal kickers out 20 minutes early every day practicing their specialties. We have a set of goal posts approximately one-half as wide as the regulation width that our kickers practice kicking through.

DEFENDING AGAINST A FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT

When we are trying to rush a field goal attempt, we never rush from both sides at the same time, and we always play our 3-deep pass coverage. The only exception is that our safety will line up a little deeper so he can handle the ball if the situation warrants it. We are always as conscious of the fake field goal attempt and pass as we are of the actual place kick.

We only rush from one side at a time, and it will probably be our right side if the kicker is right-footed. We overload to that side, as illustrated in Figure 98, trying to get one of our fastest ends in there to block the attempted place kick.

CONCLUSION

I think the kicking game is very important as it is tied in closely with our defensive football. You must be sound in all phases of the kicking game, as neglecting any one phase can cost you a football game. In order to have a winner, our kicking game must be sound.