Halfback’s Stance
The feet of the halfback should not be wider than the shoulders, and staggered in a heel to toe relationship with each other. The weight should be on the balls of the feet, but will vary slightly depending upon the direction the halfback must move in carrying out his particular assignment. With the snap of the ball he should throw himself in the direction he is going, and he should not use a cross-over step.
His knees should be bent a little beyond 90 degrees, with the knees and heels turned slightly in, and the tail a little higher than the shoulders. The halfback’s shoulders should be square, with his head and eyes in a position to see the defensive linebacker on the opposite side from him. The inside hand should be down, slightly forward and inside of the knee with the thumb turned a little to the inside. The body weight should be forward slightly.
Fullback’s Stance
The fullback lines up with the feet even and a little wider than his shoulders. The cleats on the heels of his shoes should touch the ground. The heels and knees are turned slightly in with the weight on the balls of the feet. The head and eyes are in a relaxed position, but where they can see the second man standing outside of the offensive end. The hands are directly in front of each foot with the thumbs turned in. The shoulders are square, the back is straight, the tail is directly above the heels, with the weight slightly forward, but not to such an extent he cannot start quickly in a lateral direction to either side.
OFFENSIVE LINE SPLITS
The use of intelligent line splits by the offensive guards, tackles and ends must be mastered in order to realize the full potential of our basic offensive attack. Without proper line splits, it is impossible for the offense to function at 100% efficiency. Therefore, we must present line split theory and coach our linemen in such a way they will have a clear understanding of why and when we want to move in, out or remain stationary. Mastering the intelligent use of line splits is one of the most important single duties of the offensive linemen. (The other is a quick offensive charge together on the starting count.)
The Pre-Shift Position
When the linemen leave the huddle and come up to the line of scrimmage in a pre-shift position (hands on knees in a semi-upright stance), the basic split rule for the guards is to split one full man. The tackles and ends will split slightly more than one full man. As the linemen go down into their offensive stance, each man (except the center) will move in, out or remain stationary, depending upon the particular defensive alignment and the individual’s split rules.