11/27/2018
Establishing a Full-Field Zone Run Concept
Establishing a Full-Field Zone Run
Concept
 Category: Insiders Clinic Reports: Offense
 Published: Sunday, 25 November 2018 05:37
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By Gerald Hazzard - @CoachHazzlec, Offensive
Coordinator, Lake Erie University
Lake Erie University finished the 2013 season as the second best offense in Division 2- averaging 551 yards per gameand it did so by meshing the inside and outside zone to create a full-field zone concept. In doing so, the Storm averaged
7.8 yards per carry in the zone scheme and converted on 71.2 percent of third downs. Offensive Coordinator Gerald
Hazzard details his full field zone concept in this clinic report.
By Gerald Hazzard - @CoachHazzlec
Offensive Coordinator
Lake Erie University
Editor’s Note: Assistant Head Coach Gerald Hazzard joined the Storm coaching staff as the offensive
coordinator in January 2007. Hazzard was the first assistant hired by Mark McNellie. LEU finished 2013 as
the second ranked offense in Division 2 averaging 551 yards per game. Hazzard coaches the quarterbacks
and has produced 18 all GLIAC performers in 4 years. A 1999 graduate of North Olmsted High School, he
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was a three-year varsity fullback and
linebacker. The Cleveland na ve and his wife,
Emily, married in June 2007. The couple
resides in Painesville with their children
Gerald IV and Lucy.
One of the first ques ons I always get asked
is “What do you run in short yardage and
goal line situa ons?” I always answer quickly
that we do what we do best, and that is run
zone. This past season we converted 35/46
short yardage situa ons when we called a zone play. Note: for us, a short yardage situa on to us is 3rd and
4th down with 1-3 yards to go, or running a play from the 3 yard line in.
No ma er what offensive system you use, I am firm believer that in cri cal situa ons you should always call
the plays that you execute the best. The zone is “what we do best” because we make it that way. We
spend 20 minutes a day working our zone concept with our linemen so it has to be what we do best. We
believe so much in zone blocking schemes that it encompasses about 75% of our run game. In addi on, we
make sure that the zone play gives us a few op ons to get the 3 yards that we need to move the chains.
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Here are a few of those concepts (some of which will be looked at later in the report):
1. We are a read zone team, but we have the added dimension of incorpora
ng a pitch guy any me our
QB pulls the football. This can come from the slot or a second or third back.
2. We run a “full field zone” as opposed to the inside or outside zone. This concept allows the RB to take
the ball anywhere from outside the 9 technique to the playside or outside the 5 technique to the
backside all based on his two reads at the snap of the ball.
3. We teach our linemen that we don’t need to drive the defense ver cally on short yardage plays, we
just need to make creases. If we make a crease the RB just needs to hit the hole and fall forward and
chances are we will move the chains.
4. We will add an addi onal running back to lead the play if needed. These aren’t tradi onal fullbacks,
they are tailbacks that understand how to run the play as if they had the ball allowing them to read
the defense and lead the back to the right hole in our full field zone.
Starts Up Front
The key to the success of our zone option game is the offensive line. When we recruit offensive lineman we are looking
for kids who have great feet, can get to the second level quickly, and have a natural ability to stick like glue and finish their
man. Our zone blocking assignments are the same as any team out there. Where we are drastically different is in our
technique. We take what we call a 4 o’clock step with our play side foot as soon as the ball is snapped. This technique is
used regardless of where defenders lined up. Absolutely, defenders will not always stay where they line up. Our 4
O’clock step will allow the defense to declare itself so our second step is always correct. We are going to line up our
offensive line as far off the ball as the officials will allow us. It creates angles and we should be able to get our second
step in the ground before contact is made.(Commonly referred to as a bucket step) This allows the defense to declare
where they are going. Our second step which we call our crotch step is designed to split the crotch of our assignment.
When these first two steps are executed properly our offensive lineman should be on a perfect course to execute their
assignment.
The next step in executing our zone blocking scheme up front is our hand placement. We are trying to get our inside
hand to the center of our assignments chest, and get our outside hand on his hip. If we get this hand placement we
should have our defender reached. The next step is to run our feet like crazy and FINISH. If we cannot get our inside
hand to the center of the defenders chest we will switch our hands on the fly and put our outside hand to the center of the
defenders chest and our inside hand on his hip. The next step is the same as before, run our feet like crazy and FINISH.
Our offensive lineman can make the decision to switch their hands as soon as they realize they cannot get their
assignment reached. It may happen as early as our first step. We believe that horizontal displacement of the defense is
just as good as vertical displacement. I want the first level defenders moved. If we can drive them off the ball and put
them on their back I’m happy, if we drive them 3 gaps down the line of scrimmage I’m happy.
Our technique getting to the second level is also a key part of our scheme. We are actively trying to AVOID
DOUBLETEAMS. We stress the importance of getting a body on a body and not wasting an offensive lineman on a
defender that is getting blocked. Our pace to the second level is as fast as our guys can go. We do not believe in duck
walking or any technique that would slow us down. The hand placement on a second level defender is exactly the same.
If we get them reached at the second level its good, if we do not, we switch our hands and run our feet like crazy and
FINISH!
When you watch the film, it will look like we are utilizing a man blocking scheme, but we never consider anything we do
on the backside to be a man concept. Our backside tackle has a handful of rule changes based on the look. For
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example, if the backside 5 tech crosses his face he will take him and wash him as far down the line of scrimmage as he
can. Our backside guard in most cases will compensate and climb to the second level. As for blocking out: we call that
our “no one to veer to” rule. If the backside backer removes himself from the box and is in a position to where he cannot
fold back into the play we will block back on the end. We do not make a call; the backside tackle will do it on his own.
The QB’s rule is to give the ball whenever we block out on the end.
QB ID’s and Reads in Zone Read
Our quarterback is also a key component to making our zone op on work. We are looking for quarterbacks
that are great leaders and compe tors. The ability to run is an added bonus to the scheme but we can get
away with someone who makes great decisions and may not run as well. We run the triple op on off of the
vast majority of our zone plays.
The quarterback’s first assignment is to identify the widest unblocked defender on the option side of the play.
That
defender is designated as the pitch key. Sometimes this means that the corner can be a pitch guy if we are in 3
x 1 and we use our wideout as the pitch guy. This isn’t common, but is can certainly happen.
The next defender inside of the pitch key is the give key. This could be a blitzing backer, but it is more often than not a
defensive end. We set our quarterback with his heels at 5 yards to give him the maximum amount of time to make his
read. On the snap of the ball the QB will drop his near foot to the tailback and will “rail road spike” his front foot. I do not
want him to move his front foot at all. This technique allows maximum room for the tailback to make his cut and also
keeps the QB in an athletic position. If your QB is leaning during his read the first thing he must do when he pulls the ball
is stop leaning, which will slow him down.
Another technique that we focus on with our QB’s is their arm extension. During the read we want our QB
to have his arms fully extended and we tell him to make his decision off the back of the tailbacks helmet.
We want the QB to be very pa ent making his read. The tailback will at some point cross his line of vision
during the mesh of the play. We want the QB to make his decision when the tailback has gone by and he
can see the back of the tailbacks helmet.
The QB is responsible for the read, right or wrong he can never change his mind to give or pull mid play. If he gives the
football he will explode off the mesh and fake as fast as he can to try and draw defenders. If the QB does pull the football
his aiming point is the outside shoulder of the pitch key. If we do get to the outside shoulder of the pitch key we want to
step on his toes and let the pitch fly. This is a fixed aiming point. If the outside shoulder of the pitch key widens out our
QB will stick his foot in the ground and accelerate up the field. We call this technique “ripping the zone”. We will never
allow the defense to “feather” the option portion of the playI stress with our guys the importance of pitching the ball heart
to heart. Anytime your QB carries the ball low there is a good chance that the ball will be pitched low.
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Coaching the TB to Read the Zone
The last major component of our zone op on scheme is the tailback. We are looking for speed, durability,
and a guy who is a playmaker. Size is not a big factor for us at this posi on. Our current starter is only 5’7”
175lbs, but he rushed for 1,500 yards and had 24 touchdowns this past season. Like the QB we back our
tailback up. He will align in the “B” gap with his toes at 6 yards to give him the maximum amount of me to
read what the defense is doing. Before the snap he is responsible for iden fying the first down lineman
past the center coun ng a half shade.
On the snap of the ball he will take a 4 o’clock step with his play side foot and execute what we call
a 1 to 2 read. The first down lineman past the center is his first read. Based on the reaction of the
first read, the tailback’s second read will vary. For example, if we are running against a standard
four man front with the 3 technique to the direction the tailback is going he needs to read the 3
techniques reaction to understand where to hit the play. If the 3 technique comes inside to the A
gap the second read becomes the front side defensive end. If the 3 technique plays hard into the
B gap or gets washed down the line of scrimmage the second read becomes the backside tackle.
Our tailback will get a read and make a cut based on the reaction of his second read as well.
When you watch the film, you will see that many times the ball carrier ends up coming out the back side of the play, but in
every case, the read is always started on the front side. We word it as the first down lineman past the center counting a
half shade. If the front down lineman plays strong into his gap, (example: a 3 tech takes the B gap hard) we will not get
him reached and that will trigger our tailback to cutback. The same thing can be said for a front side nose playing hard
into the A gap.
Using this technique we are able to truly take advantage of what the defense gives us. If our tail back is on
his reads we will bounce our zone, cut it back, and hit all the interior gaps throughout a game. We tell our
tailbacks to never fight the pull. The decision to give or pull is completely in the hands of the QB. On his
fourth step he should be making his decision on what hole to hit. On the fi h step we want our backs to be
“shot out of a cannon”. I want them to hit the hole as hard as they possibly can. If they make a great read
but are hesitant we will not get the yardage we should. If they make a poor read but accelerate off the fi h
step we s ll have a chance to make a play.
Coaching the Pitch Player
We will bring our pitch guy from every single angle that we can dream up. If he is backing up we tell him to
take 3-4 steps back (will vary by kid and we don’t over coach it) and be pa ent. One of the hardest things
to get a kid to do is sit s ll on the football field. They are not used to that. We want him to use a 5 x 2
rela onship with the QB (meaning 5 yards wider and 2 yards behind him). We will also coach him to stay
with the QB no ma er where he goes. If we send him in mo on we tell him to use “controlled speed” so he
does not get too far out in front. If the mo on carries him thru the backfield we want him to run thru the
“heel line” and on the snap of the ball get into 5 x 2 rela onship with the QB.
Adapting to the Diamond Formation
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This past year we used a lot of 3 back sets to run this play in short yardage situations. When we make this change, the
backs each have very specific responsibilities. The lead back in our diamond is responsible for blocking the first second
level defender outside of the offensive tackle. The couple clips where they end up on the front side end, is our guys being
knuckle heads and not doing there assignment correctly. I did use this formation a good amount in short yardage and
goaline, although it performed very well in other situations.
To see video of Lake Erie’s full-field zone read concept, click on the link below:
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Zone Read-Lake Erie University
https://youtu.be/5bAC2B0Gg3Y
Offense
Clinic Report
Run Game
Running Game
Zone Scheme
Inside Runs
Perimeter Runs
Inside Zone
Outside Zone
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