Offensive Line Play

The difference between winning and losing takes place upfront. Can not move the ball effectively if the blocking upfront does not take place. The debate of Man versus Zone scheme blocking still goes on today. Both are effective on the offensive scheme and philosophy of what the program would like to run. Being a line coach on both sides of the ball, I have found that Man is easier to teach to athletes, whereas Zone is more complex, and agreeing with some of the coaches on here has said it is more difficult to teach an athlete to an area. Both are useful and have their place in the offense philosophy. I have noticed more and more as the years of coaching have gone by because there is more of a hybrid approach than a total Man versus Zone mentality. I prefer to teach and coach both schemes to my athletes because, in games, it is not always going to be a one or the other scheme approach. Teaching both also increase our arsenal of what we can accomplish on the field. Both Man and Zone blocking require a lot of communication and teamwork for full execution to happen. A lot of the approach also depends on what type of lineman a team has. While having tall, an athletic lineman is preferred, it is not always realistic.





The offense that will run will be multiple styles of the Spread, Wing-T, and Pro I with Hurry Up-Tempo Offense's approach. I have had many successful years with this approach, and it keeps the defense on their heels as they do not know what to expect because of the multiple formations and plays that come from them. With that being said, I use the hybrid approach of the Man and Zone blocking scheme. One of my head coaches played under Gus Malzahn and took his offense style when he became an OC at another college. I took what he taught me and applied it to my own freshman teams over the years. WE had much success teaching both. The Man scheme worked great for our running game for the lineman to know whom to get on each play. Setting the running game is my priority as it wears down defenses fast and starts to pull the safeties in tighter. Our bread butter play was our zone read on both sides, depending on what number was called. Communication was key, and comradery was essential. Tandem, Solo, Momo were all calls we used to set up the blocking and calling out who was getting whom. We liked to do a zone blocking scheme when it came to our screens and passing game. It helped alleviate some of the mental stress on our lineman and made our blocking a lot more effective when we started throwing. It also helped our quarterbacks set the protection they wanted. After setting the running game, I love to throw the ball. It helps keep the ratio to a balance of what we want to do. I have had great QB's and WR's, and in other years, I have had solid RB's. I put my athletes on the field and athletes in positions that will help our offense out.