University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Reading Coverage Is Fundamental
August 13, 2008 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Aug. 13, 2008
By Adam Lucas
John Shoop doesn't play games. He does exercises.
So it's not fair to call this particular routine a "game" that he plays with his quarterbacks. Instead, as starting QB T.J. Yates is quick to note, it's an "exercise."
Fine, we'll use his terminology. The exercise goes like this: offensive coordinator Shoop gathers his quarterbacks in a Kenan Football Center meeting room. On the video screen, he has cued video of that week's opposing defense. On the screen, the play is frozen the second before the snap.
"How many steps can you do it in, T.J.?" Shoop will ask. His question is simple. When he presses play, he wants Yates to be able to identify the details of the opposing defense in the minimum number of steps. He wants to know which defenders are blitzing and which are dropping into coverage. And he wants to know it in seconds--or less.
"Ideally, you'd like to be able to see the defense take one step and name everything about their defense," Yates says.
That's how college football has evolved. It has become a game of split-second decisions that can turn a busted play into a big play.
The challenge begins as soon as the offense breaks the huddle and comes to the line of scrimmage. Tar Heel quarterbacks have a checklist to work through as they evaluate the situation: field location (red zone, fringe of the red zone, middle of the field, or backed up into their own territory), down and distance, defensive front, defensive coverage.
"We're doing that because once we've gone through our checklist, we can eliminate a lot of things," Yates says. "For example, if the SAM linebacker is on the end of the line, then they're not in cover-two. Then, once you've eliminated a lot of options, you're able to look at tendencies. That's where studying film helps. If you've watched a lot of film, you know that a certain guy might only look at you if he's blitzing. Combine those tendencies with what you've eliminated and you've got a good idea of what's going to happen."
But what if what's going to happen isn't a good fit for the play that's been called? That's when it's time to audible. The college football rules committee has thrown a wrinkle into the process with the new 40-second play clock that will be used this season. Shoop doesn't expect a major difference in the time it will allow at the line of scrimmage, but he acknowledges that especially after big plays, it will require the offense to hustle into the huddle to conserve precious seconds.
Carolina's offense allows either Yates or the sideline to change a play.
"We have a phrase that whoever has the chalk last, wins," says Shoop. "And how do you get the chalk last? With the clock running, it's a big cat-and-mouse game."
"The main thing with checking off is that you always want to check into a safe play," says Yates. "You don't check into a risky play. You want something that whether they're bringing the blitz or not, you're going to be OK. The main goal is to get out of a bad play into a better play, not necessarily a home run play."
The Tar Heel quarterback can relay those changes with his voice, with a series of signals...or simply with a nod. One of the benefits of having a returning starter who took virtually every snap in 2007 is that Yates and his receivers usually know what each other are thinking. They've studied film together, they've run routes together, they've been through endless seven-on-seven drills during training camp.
So when both Yates and Hakeem Nicks see a cornerback creeping to the line of scrimmage, it takes just a moment of eye contact to alter the play that was called in the huddle.
"You have to trust each other that we see the same coverages," Yates says. "Because when we see it, the route can completely change. If we're confident in each other, we can both be on the same page and make the right adjustments."
That's when it's time to get instant feedback on how many of their reads were correct. Not in the film room and not with the benefit of a pause button. It's time, finally, to snap the ball.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
