62 Defense: Stuffing The Run (15 pages, PDF)

A digitised edition of the printed Gridiron Strategies Special Coaching Report "62 Defense! Stuffing The Run" — 15 pages, delivered as a PDF with a searchable text layer so you can find a front, a coverage or a drill by name. Nick McGrain built the 62 defense at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kan. for a simple reason: the teams in his league loved to run the ball, his defense needed help in the off-tackle hole, and he had several quality linemen he wanted to make better use of. The answer was a six-man front with two linebackers in which every player knows his alignment, responsibility, gap and technique on every call — which, as McGrain puts it, is what makes the defense easy to teach and easy to learn. This report collects the fronts, the secondary play and coverages that go with them, and the position drills that hold the whole thing up.

What's inside

• Nine defensive fronts, gap by gap — calls "1" through "7" plus "8 Right" and "8 Left." Each call carries written responsibilities for the defensive guard, defensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker: which foot steps first, which number of the blocker to jam, which gap to work into and at what depth (most linemen stay a yard into the line), and what to key once they are there. The text says plainly which call is for a dive or power to the stunt side, which is for an off-tackle run, an outside veer or a wide-option pitch, and which fronts shut down inside running.
• Defensive Fronts Quick Reference Guide — a single page giving the gap responsibility and alignment for the defensive guard, tackle, end and linebacker in every call, laid out as a grid to keep handy at practice.
• Secondary spacing in the 62 — weak-side corner alignment at 7 yards off and 2 yards outside the tight end, with the read progression from tight end to back to quarterback; safety depth of 10 yards in man coverage and 13 yards in the deeper zones; the adjustment against a full-house backfield; and five rules for letting the sideline work as an extra defender.
• 10 critical rules for the secondary — a copy-and-hand-out list for defensive backs and linebackers, covering focus, communication, sideline use, red zone angles and pre-snap positioning. The report credits these rules and most of its secondary concepts to a collaboration with McGrain's late assistant coach, Ken Caywood.
• "Mabel" man-to-man coverage — the base man call, usable with any front and normally called with the "2" and "4" fronts where the linebacker is stunting and the safety helps on the tight end or inside receiver. Diagrammed against a split-receiver set, a two-receiver strong side, and both receiver motion and tight end motion, with cushion and technique tips for the cover men.
• "Echo" coverage — puts the defensive ends into man coverage while the safety stays free. Covers the one rule the call lives on (the end must funnel his receiver inside), the walk-away alignment for the "3," "5" and "8" calls at 3 to 4 yards depth, the Echo-Funnel change-up that releases the receiver to the safety and drops the end to the flat, why Echo will not run with the "6" call, and 8 Echo essentials.
• "Zebra" zone coverage — four underneath and three deep, with the zone widths worked out off the hashmarks so every defender knows how much grass he owns. Includes how the weak-side linebacker changes between sprint/play-action and a straight drop back, the Zebra inside the "2" and "4" calls, 15 zone principles, and 10 tips for linebackers dropping into coverage.
• "Fox" coverage — a two-deep zone with a corner roll, for shifting quickly and putting pressure on the ball or the perimeter. Shows the call in the "3," "5" and "8" fronts and in the "6" and "7" fronts, why it does not belong with "2" or "4," and how to handle a two-wide package when the tight end comes off the line.
• Defensive line drills — Read and React, the Rip drill, Forearm Lift, the Two Gap drill and Shoot the Gap, from Mike Aruanno of the MOT Cavaliers in Middletown, Del. They are built for the 62, where linemen attack the inside or outside of a blocker rather than playing head up.
• Linebacker drills — Bull in the Ring and Bust the Line for taking on blockers and double teams, then the Pursuit drill and Around the Cones for shuffle, crossover and backpedal agility, with the coaching points on shoulder, pad level and body position.
• Secondary drills — Back-Pedal and Break, the Centerfielder drill, Secondary Angle Pursuit, the Tackling Triangle and Turn for the Ball, aimed at breaks on the football, correct pursuit angles and never turning your back to the ball.

Who it is for

High school and youth coaches facing run-first opponents, and any defensive coordinator who wants a front that puts six down linemen in the gaps without leaving the secondary guessing. It suits a staff whose best athletes are linemen rather than linebackers, a coach who wants gap assignments written down so they can be taught position by position, and position coaches looking for drills that match the scheme rather than generic work. The fronts and coverages are described for a tight end/two-back era of offense, which is still the world most sub-varsity and small-school run games live in.

Be clear on what this is: a coaching report built from Gridiron Strategies articles, not a full team playbook and not a video. The pages are scans of the printed report — original diagrams and all — with a searchable text layer added, so the text can be searched and copied and the file reads on a computer, tablet or phone.