Combining the 4-4 Swarm & 3-3 Monster - Inside Linebackers

Clovis East head coach Tim Murphy built the 4-4 Swarm and 3-3 Monster around his inside linebackers, and this session is the position clinic for them. He shows how he took undersized backers and put them in position to pile up over 100 tackles in a season and force turnovers along the way. The structure is deliberate: the two inside backers and the free safety are involved in nearly every play an offense can run at you.

What you'll learn

• How the defense is designed so both inside linebackers and the free safety are in the fit on almost every snap
• The keys and reads that let backers diagnose plays before the guard can climb to them
• Footwork and angles that keep offensive linemen from getting hands on undersized linebackers
• How to coach production - tackles, takeaways and finishing at the ball
• A simple pass-coverage system for inside backers that holds up without heavy teaching
• How inside linebacker play ties into the rest of the 4-4 Swarm structure

Who it's for

High school linebackers coaches and defensive coordinators, especially those in a 4-4, 3-3 stack or 3-3-5 who are trying to win with smaller, quicker linebackers.

About the coach

Tim Murphy was head coach at Clovis East High School in California, where his 4-4 Swarm and 3-3 Monster defense was built around aggressive, undersized inside linebackers.

Coach Murphy teaches the position in full and confirms it with press box and end zone angle cut-ups. It is the inside linebacker installment of his 4-4 Swarm and 3-3 Monster series.