Playing the wide receiver position when running the triple option offense is like fishing for Muskies in Minnesota. When fishing for Muskies it is going to take you a ton of casts, but when you finally hook into a Muskie, you are going to have some fun! When being that receiver in the triple option game, where the offense might only throw a handful of times you have to put in your blocks (your casts) in order to have that opportunity of a big pass (the Muskie) over the top for the touchdown. It takes a lot of discipline, pride and patience to play wide receiver in a triple option system, but you will get your chance to shine!
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. The two receivers can line up wide like in the image above or might line up only a couple of yards outside the offensive tackle.
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 – Wide Receiver
The receiver can come in many shapes and sizes. First of all he must prove that he is threat to catch the ball and to score. If the receiver is too slow or does not show an ability to catch the ball when given the opportunity, the defense can start to cheat.
If weaknesses are recognized, the defense might be able to play some very aggressive bump and run coverage and not allow the receiver to make a clean break off the line. This will create smaller alleys to run through on the edge. Also, with a receiver who is not a threat vertically, a team might run some corner force with a blitzing corner and then play a safety over the top. A receiver who cannot take advantage of that space really misses his chance at giving his offense a big play.
While I have had some smaller receivers who are tenacious at blocking and can really drive the secondary defender crazy with their effort, there are times where a taller/longer receiver with good feet is really effective on the edge. It is kind of like being a boxer with a longer reach who would be able to normally land more jab punches. That taller/longer receiver is able to get his hands onto the defensive backs shoulder pads and is really able to control where the defender can go.
In the end a receiver must be a hard worker because many times it can be his block on the edge that will spring the play for a big gain.
Pre-Snap Responsibilities
As the receiver approaches the line he must first recognize the force player and the deep player. The force player is the player who is going to cover the flat if the ball is passed. The deep player is somebody at the 3rd level who is typically protecting the deep 1/3 or 1/2 of the football field.
Why is this important? Because we want to give the blocking assignments on the edge the best chance of success.
Key Point: It is easier to block a player for a shorter amount of time than a longer amount of time.
So for this reason we want the receiver to be able to come off the ball, attack the deep player with speed, and then break down to block him. This allows the receiver to spend a second or two simply gaining space without having to actively block the defensive back.
That is what happens against this 4×4 Cover 3 defense, where the receiver can block the corner since he is the deep player.
If we instead had told him to block the force player, which is the outside linebacker here, the receiver would almost immediately have to engage that defender and probably could not hold that block for the 2 seconds or so it will take for the pitch back to be looking to cut off of his block.
Here is an example of a 4×3 Cover 2 defense where the corner is going to cover the flat if there is a pass. We do not want our receiver to try to block that corner since it would be too long of a block to hold. We will have him work up to the safety instead and have the A back arc to block the corner.
Alignment
The receivers in this Flexbone formation typically would line at the bottom of the numbers if on the short side, on the top of the numbers if the ball is in the center of the field and a couple yards outside the hash if he is on the wide side.
Key Point: Don’t line up too close to the sideline.
I do see some receivers who will line up really close to the sideline. They might be thinking they are bringing the defensive back far away from the play, but they are really limiting their ability to run a route and the ability to block back inside on a safety. It also gives a big tendency that it is a running play.
Stance
Typically the receiver would have his inside foot up when lining up wide away from the line of scrimmage. Some coaches teach the outside foot to be up when lined up close to the line of scrimmage. I do not have a hard opinion on which foot should be up, but I strongly believe that it should be consistent. That way when doing footwork on routes or stepping inside to block, the receiver can learn proper footwork through consistent drills.
For their hands I do not have a strong opinion if the hands should be relaxed at the sides, in a sprinters pose or in a blocking pose at the chest. I just like to have all receivers to adopt the same hand placement in the stance so that hand fighting drills against a pressed defensive back can be consistent.
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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Footwork
Making sure the receiver is not taking false steps is the first thing to work on as he comes out of the stance. Slow down the film, or even show them on the film at practice to make sure they see themselves if they are doing it wrong. Film does not lie and it helps a player with immediate feedback.
Coming out of the stance explosively will allow the receiver to eat up space and to force that defensive back to respect the deeper route. False steps take away from this explosiveness and creating the proper spacing/blocking to allow blocking to succeed.
The Stalk Block
It is rare for a receiver to be able to cut block anybody so we have to typically rely on the stalk block. Sometimes a defender can simply be run off on a fly route if he turns his back to the play. That works really well, but at some point the receiver will most likely still need to break down and get into a stalk block. If the defensive back is going to turn his back to the play and run, then surely run him off for 10 to 15 yards first if not more.
Let’s get back to the typically scenario where the defensive back is going to back peddle a bit and then start attacking the line of scrimmage when he recognizes it is a running play. The first and most important part of the stalk block is to break down 2 to 3 yards before reaching the defender. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a receiver try to run right up to the defender and the defender simply ducks around him and makes the play for a short gain.
Key Point: Be aggressive enough to make the block and to equal the force of the defender, but do not be off balance so that the block is missed.
As the receiver approaches the defender he should be angling to try to reach the outside/sideline half of the defender. If we can pin the defender to the inside this will typically be the best position if we are getting to the pitch since it is the pursuit from the inside that usually tackles the ball carrier. Even if the receiver cannot pin the defender to the inside, the mere act and motion of working to control that outside shoulder should cause the defensive back to widen even more. This widening towards the sideline will create a bigger cutback lane for the pitch back to work into and to avoid the pursuit from the inside.
As the receiver breaks down he should widen his base and be ready to shuffle inside or outside to intercept the defender and deliver a blow. The receiver must be aggressive, delivering a blow with his arms and working to control the shoulder pads of the defender. This is where that receiver with the longer arms can really control a smaller defender. Sometimes a small corner just cannot get off a good stalk block by a larger receiver.
Above all the most important thing is just to stay between the defender and the ball and to try to create a two way go for the back with the ball. Typically the receiver is blocking for the pitch back, but there are times the quarterback may be cutting off of his block especially when working inside to block a safety. The worst thing is if the receiver is so aggressive that he overruns the defender or if he gets out on this front toes to deliver a blow and misses. We have all seen that defensive player in basketball who goes for the steal for the big play and gets beat 90% of the time. We do not want that to happen in our stalk blocks!
Touchdown Time!
When a Flexbone team does throw the ball, it is most likely going to be for a big play down the field. The secondary is attacking the alleys and the line of scrimmage so much that the underneath space is not open. It is the routes over the top with all of that green grass that open up almost magically at times.
Just look at the 2019 Status for Navy and Air Force when they were both 11-2. Navy averaged 11.9 yards per attempt, while Air Force averaged 12.71 yards per attempt. If you look on the NCAA Stats page for 2020 for Passing Yards for Completion Navy was #2 at 17.09, Army was #3 at 15.34 and Air Force was #9 at 14.76. Wow.
Key Point: Receivers must be patient and be relentless in their blocking. They will get their chance to dance in the end zone during the school song!
The receiver must make the first 5 to 6 yards look the same whether it is a run or a pass all the time. This is going to setup that long catch when the play-action pass is called.
Key Point: The receiver must use his hands to really sell that another stalk block is about to begin.
The receiver should not come to a complete stop when selling the stalk block, but should raise his hands and make a little bounce/hop to make the defender think he is breaking down for the stalk block. This visual cue of seeing the hands come up will typically cause most defenders to start to attack the stack block and to start moving towards the line of scrimmage. Just a little forward momentum is all that is needed most times.
If you are on twitter, here is a great video from @FileHistoric where the receiver on the top of the screen really sells his stalk block with his feet and arms and then blows by the defender for a touchdown.
Once the receiver has made his move he may need to ‘rip’ (arm goes under the shoulder) his arm nearest to the defender as the defender tries to collision him as he recognizes what is happening and that he is about to get beat deep. Do not try to ‘swim’ (arm goes over the shoulder) a defensive back to allow him to knock the receiver off course.
Once the receiver has beaten the defender, then he should immediately ‘stack’ the defender. This means to have the receiver move his body between the defender and the goal line. Typically when the ball is thrown it gives the defensive back a chance to make up some lost ground. But that lost ground is much harder to gain back if he has to move through the body of a receiver that has ‘stacked’ him.
Finally, the receiver should look the ball in all the way, tuck it away and watch out for the defensive back trying to punch the ball out from behind. Do not bring the ball out of the protected position until half way into the end zone to make sure the ball is fully across the goal line. I also like to teach my guys to really bring the ball high and tight as you get to the 5 yard line to really protect the ball on the way into the end zone.
There are so many layers and coaching points to working with these receivers beyond what I have written here. I hope I have given you at least one new Key Point in your understanding of the receiver 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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