Building a championship football team

by Paul W. Bryant

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.

Figure 96

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.