Coaching the quarterback who is running the triple option is such a fun challenge. You need a quarterback with the feel for running the triple option and the explosiveness to take advantage of a blown assignment. Let’s dive into it! Pun intended!
The above formation is the base one we are used to seeing in triple option football from the college teams like Army, Navy and Air Force these days. There are two A backs that line up just outside the tackles, a B back with his heels at about 5 yards behind the quarterback and then the quarterback is under center.
It is a ’30’ personnel formation meaning there are 3 running backs, 0 tight ends and 2 wide receivers. There are 5 possible receivers in a formation excluding the quarterback, so the wide receivers have to do quick math to figure out how many of them are in the game: 5 – 3 = 2.
Physical Characteristics – QB Back
The quarterback and his decision making is going to make or break this offense he needs ‘football smarts’ to make great decisions. He has to be athletic enough with his feet to make a play if the defense forces him to keep the ball. I have heard some offensive coaches say they you take your most athletic player and you put him at quarterback. This is because while you can scheme on defense to take an A or B back out of the play, there is typically a blocking scheme that would leave the ball in the QB’s hands.
He has to be able to do the footwork well enough to do the reads properly. Sometimes a potential quarterback has happy feet and cannot do footwork properly or trust his read properly. That player might have to go play A back or a wide receiver.
What if the most athletic player cannot throw the ball very well? In a well run triple option the ball might be thrown only a few times a game. Is there an A back who is actually a decent thrower and a halfback pass can be done with him? Is there a backup quarterback who could come in during obvious passing downs? Can the potential quarterback even throw a screen and that might be the team’s long yardage scheme? I was on a team once where the fullback was a heck of a thrower and we would do a fullback toss and he would throw the ball.
I see seen many players of many sizes and shapes find success as a triple option quarterback. There are 6’5” 245lb guys who act like a fullback if they get a pull read. There are 5’9” 165lb guys who are so quick you cannot find them once they cut up field.
In the end a quarterback has to be found who can be trusted to make great decisions on every play.
Pre-Snap Responsibilities
As the quarterback approaches the line he must scan both his offensive formation and how the defense has reacted.
Key Point: The quarterback must ensure everyone is lined up properly before he calls for the ball.
I put this on the my quarterbacks from day one. If somebody is not in the proper position, or if we do not have 7 men on the line of scrimmage that is the quarterback’s fault.
Alignment
The quarterback lines up under center with a balanced stance. Hopefully he does not have to get too far under the center as we do not want his knees bent too much. If he is all the way down in the position like at the bottom of a good squat he is going to have trouble making his first steps.
In taking the snap he should have his throwing hand flat against the center’s butt with his middle finger in the middle of the butt. His non throwing hand will then touch the thumbs of the throwing hand and be at about a 45 degree angle.
Key Point: Both hands must press up against the center’s butt.
If the quarterback is doing it right the center’s butt should lift a little bit as that pressure is exerted. The center should often be asked if he is feeling that pressure so that he knows where the quarterbacks hands are at.
This upward pressure is also so important because the quarterback’s hands must move with the center’s butt as the center executes on the snap. A good center will be executing his first step as the ball is being snapped back to the quarterback so his butt is going to move. Therefore the upward pressure by the quarterback’s hands will allow the hands to move with the butt and to stay in contact with the butt to effectively receive the snap.
Let’s take a look at a Georgia Tech triple option play to see how this looks with some live action.
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Defensive Recognition
How can we make this simple for the quarterback? The first question is whether we have good NAG principles for running triple option. Is the defense balanced to the offensive formation so the Numbers match? Are the Angles good for the lineman to have success and for our back to have room to run? Is there enough Grass to run to if we are sitting on a hash?
If the quarterback can make a good NAG recognition as he comes to the line, the offense should get into a solid direction to run the play. Now the quarterback needs to figure out who is going to be the dive key and who is going to be the pitch key. An entire book can be written about that, which shows how complicated it can be, but for this blog post we are going to assume we figured that out. In most cases it is typically the player who is on the line in the C gap. In the picture below we have our triple option against a typical 4×4 Cover 3 defense.
While you can play games with the dive and pitch key out of any defense, let’s assume the defensive end in a blue rectangle is our dive key (Read a Book), and the outside linebacker in the green triangle is the pitch key(Pitch off a Tent).
Key Point: Just before the snap the quarterback should get his eyes on the dive key.
I have seen many young quarterbacks looking all over the place and then trying to get their eyes right after the snap. The dive read happens very fast and the eyes need to be focused on the dive read as the snap occurs. Get the eyes right before the snap.
Footwork
As the Quarterback receives the ball he should first move the ball towards his stomach for protection. It won’t be near his stomach for but for a moment but we want the ball protected before we extend the ball for the ride.
Key Point: The quarterback must get his two feet in the ground before the ride begins.
The first step, with the playside foot, is about 20 degrees back, and the toes will be pointed at the sideline. It is basically pretty close to just rotating the heel and making the foot point at the sideline. The second step, with the backside foot, will move that foot closer to the sideline than the first step to create a 45 degree path for the fullback. The second foot should end up slightly farther downfield than where his toes were originally at the snap.
The best place to coach all of the quarterback footwork is on the sideline facing the sideline. Each quarterback lines up at the five yard markers and puts his toes on the sideline. Then as the quarterback takes his first two or three steps for any play he instantly gets feedback based on the lines as to how his feet are doing.
A mistake I see new quarterbacks make is to drag their 2nd step or to not make it to the 45 degrees angle. This then messes with the mesh with the fullback and does not leave the quarterback in a balanced state to accelerate after the ride. Get those two feet in the ground! In practice I like to say a quick ‘One’ / ‘Two’ after they take the snap to help them understand the quick action their feet should take upon receiving the snap. If we are on the sideline working footwork, they immediately see how their feet are in relationship to the sideline and can quickly work to correct any mistakes.
At this point the two feet are in the ground. As this is happening the ball is moving from the center to the quarterback’s belly and then extending back to the B back. The ball show always remain about belly level. The moment the quarterback has extended the ball, the fullback should be there to start the ride. If the B back is not getting there in time, please see some of my notes about Coaching the B Back in the Triple Option.
Here is a another play diagram against a 5×2 defense. I wanted to call out the foowork built into the lines of the diagram here. From the quarterback circle there is a line moving back at about 20 degrees. This represents the first steps. The line then continues downfield at a 45 degree angle. This represents the angle the two feet will make once they are in the ground. Finally the line extends slightly downfield showing that the quarterback must force a decision by the pitch key.
Now the quarterback is ready to do the amazing thing in option football as he is going to eliminate a defender by making a proper read. If the dive key can tackle the B back for a 1 to 2 yard gain then pull the ball. Proper angles and timing should force that the dive key should have to tackle the B back about a yard downfield from the mesh. If the dive key is tackling the B back in the mesh, then something is wrong with the timing or spacing of the offense.
Key Point: If the quarterback does give the ball, he should accelerate down the line and fake a pitch.
Triple Option is the ultimate team play. Players must play, act and fake until the whistle. By having the quarterback carry out his fake he can keep the edge players occupied and allow the fullback to work against a minimum number of players as he runs with the ball. The A back should also be carrying out his fake as outlined in my blog post on Coaching the A Back in the Triple Option.
The Pitch Phase
Now let’s assume the quarterback has pulled the ball. The first question is whether he made the right read. What should he do if he pulled the ball and recognizes that it was a mistake?
Key Point: Do not pitch off the dive key. On a bad read the QB should turn up field and get what he can behind the B back.
It takes a lot of practice for a quarterback to not pitch off the dive key as that is the natural instinct. He cannot do that because the pitch player is unblocked and can simply go tackle the A back. Just live for the next play by following the B back and the QB will probably get 1 to 2 yards anyway.
So now let’s assume the quarterback has pulled the ball AND he has make a good read. At this point he has two feet in the ground. The best case now, so that he does not bubble back into the backfield too far is that he should take his back foot (the first one he had put down first), and move that one downfield as he starts to attack the inside shoulder of the pitch key.
I would love to have some conversations about inside shoulder vs outside shoulder on Twitter to dive into that discussion. I think there has to be some angle downfield to force the pitch key to make a decision. If the quarterback is running straight down the line, for example, the pitch key would be able to ‘slow play’ the quarterback all the way to the sideline.
Key Point: As the quarterback is attacking the pitch key the ball should be at the chest help by both hands.
This ball security makes sure that if the quarterback is tackled from behind or the side he does not fumble the ball. As he does start to pitch the ball, the ball should move directly from the chest and as the hand is extended the thumb should rotate down to help with a consistent pitch.
Coaches and players must watch this on slow motion on film to make sure it is happening. I recently watched a division I quarterback, while pitching the ball, drop the ball down to his waist and then pitch the ball. This caused a slower pitch and a ball being pitched at an upward angle which is harder to catch. The pitch back ended up dropping the ball and in that close game this was the difference between victory and defeat. No detail is too small!
There are many different footwork ways that a pitch can be made. The traditional way and the one that the quarterback should learn first is to step towards the pitch back. This step gives momentum to get the pitch and also allow the quarterback to fall away from the pitch key if he decides to tackle the quarterback.
There are advanced ways to pitch the ball where the quarterback would step downfield with his outside foot as if he is going to turn upfield and then pitches the ball. It requires a good amount of strength to do this so it might only be done by a senior in high school or a seasoned quarterback in college.
Key Point: If the quarterback keeps the ball, he should remember that he might get a chance for a ‘second level’ pitch.
A ‘second level’ pitch means that the quarterback has kept the ball and has worked downfield past the pitch key. At this point the pitch key will typically leave the A back and will chase the quarterback. If the A back hustles and continues on his patch downfield, there is typically a window for the pitch to be made as the pitch key angles back towards the quarterback. This pitch angle it typically straight down the line of scrimmage. This is a more dangerous pitch as there are a lot of bodies around at this point, but it is also has the potential for a very explosive play. Even if it only happens once a year, I think it forces the A back to stay engaged in the play and to be around the ball in case he can throw a block or help if there is a fumble.
Let’s also take a view of a another inside veer play being run by Georgia Tech in 2018 against a 3×5 defense with a ‘Seal’ block to watch the play develop closely. The video shows it as ‘Midline Base’, but I would not call it that. This QB is not doing ‘Midline’ footwork. I don’t like even calling it ‘Midline Triple’ (or M3) as that would be telling the fullback to run straight at the center instead of the inside hip of the guard. I would just call this ‘Inside Veer’ or ‘Triple Option’ when using words to describe it.
I wish the B back would have moved up a bit as I think he is a bit late to the mesh. The tackle by the dive key on the B back is a little bit too close to the mesh for me. It works out, but I would like to see the quarterback to not have to bubble back quite as much. After the ‘pull’, the quarterback just does the rest with his explosive speed!
There are so many layers and coaching points to working with these quarterbacks beyond what I have written here. I hope I have given you at least one new Key Point in your understanding of the quarterback position in the triple option!
I will leave you with one more triple option play from that Georgia Tech 2018 film.
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