Adjusting Your 3-5-3 Defense to Various Offenses

A defense is only as good as its answers, and in this third session of his 3-5-3 series Taylor Burks details the adjustment for every offensive scheme a staff is likely to face. Burks helped develop the 3-5-3 defense at Georgia Military College, where the Bulldogs ranked consistently among the top defenses in the country, and here he shows how front, coverage, pressure and stunts work together to limit what an offense is able to run.

What you'll learn

• Why gap control is the foundation underneath every adjustment
• Adjustments against the Pro-I formation, and using an over front or an under front effectively
• How to make adjustments against twins and doubles formations
• Adjustments to one-back and two-back sets, with or without a tight end
• Two tight end set adjustments
• Limiting the offense through front, coverage, pressure and stunts, and changing the way the offensive line has to block
• Boundary and field adjustments depending on where the ball is placed
• Roll 3 coverage, with three defensive backs each responsible for a third of the field
• Countering trips, the Wing-T and the spread with inside zone while staying an attacking defense

Who it's for

Defensive coordinators and front-seven coaches at the high school, junior college and college levels who run the 3-5-3 and see a different offense every week, from Wing-T to four wide spread.

About the coach

Taylor Burks was the defensive coordinator at Hillwood High School in Nashville and coached the defense at Georgia Military College for nearly a decade, where he helped develop the 3-5-3 and had the Bulldogs ranked consistently among the top defenses in the country.

The third session of Coach Burks' three-part 3-5-3 series. Runtime: about 31 minutes.