Wing-T From The Shotgun: Part 2 (16 pages, PDF)

Wing-T From The Shotgun: Part 2 is the digitised edition of the printed Gridiron Strategies Special Coaching Report of the same name, written by Jim Santomassimo, Assistant Football Coach at Darien High School in Darien, Conn. Its subtitle says what it sets out to do: "More Winning Plays To Maximize The Wing-T From The Shotgun Formation." Moving Wing-T plays into the gun is easy to sketch on a board and hard to install, because every assignment changes with the front you are facing. This report deals with that page by page — each main play gets a full per-position responsibility list (front-side end through backside tackle, both halfbacks, fullback and quarterback) and is then drawn against the fronts you actually see: the 50, 4-4, 6-1, 4-3, Eagle and 6-2.

Santomassimo writes from what he has run at Brien McMahon, St. Joseph and Darien High School, adapting the passing game at each school to fit his personnel. All 16 pages are included with a searchable text layer, carrying 79 numbered play diagrams plus a lettered run of 26 more variation diagrams (A through Z) down the sidebar — the 3-step game, the trips package, the sprint-out calls, the 90 3-Step Series and the shuffle pass.

What's inside

• Down Iso Right and Quarterback Down Right — Gray Ace Right — the left halfback through the hole the fullback creates, then the quarterback-keep version through the gap between tackle and tight end. Both against all six fronts (Diagrams 1–12), with the front-side guard pulling to kick out or log the first defender past the tackle.
• Weak Trap Right — Gold Ace Left and QB Weak Trap Right — Gray Ace Left — fullback aiming for the outside leg of the guard off QB Belly left, and the quarterback-keep twin that runs between the center and right guard. Six fronts each (Diagrams 13–24), with the dog (lead) / dog (post) / backer rules for the front side.
• Long Trap Right — Gray Ace Right — the crossing left halfback on an inside handoff off a fake trap left and fake Waggle, with separate EVEN and ODD rules for the front-side end, tackle and guard (Diagrams 25–30).
• Trap Option Right — Gray Ace Left — fake the inside handoff to the fullback, then option right, keeping or pitching off how the defensive end reacts, with the left halfback running the pitch path (Diagrams 31–36).
• Power Right — Gray Ace Right — backside guard pulls to hug the dog block and seal, and the ball carrier's aiming point changes by front: backside of the tackle against an odd front, inside leg of the tackle against an even front (Diagrams 37–42).
• Sprint-out blocking rules — front-side tackle married to the defensive tackle with the "stay" call when three men are on the line of scrimmage, guards pulling and stacking behind the tackle and center, and the fullback's aiming point two yards outside the ghost tight end. Six fronts (Diagrams 43–48).
• Counter XX Right — Gold Ace Left — "Liz" motion by the right halfback, who takes the handoff and gives it inside to the left halfback crossing behind him while faking power left (Diagrams 49–54).
• Jet Sweep Right — Gray Ace Left — "Rip" motion, ball snapped when the halfback reaches the B-gap, quarterback carrying out Waggle left, with the switch call between the front-side tackle and right halfback (Diagrams 55–60).
• Fullback Trap and Belly — the two base plays, each against the 50, 4-4, 4-3 and Eagle on the same responsibilities, with the ball going to the fullback, the quarterback on a keep, or the crossing left halfback depending on the front (Diagrams 61–68).
• Jet and Jet Criss-Cross — the Jet with the left halfback in motion through the fullback, and the criss-cross where the right halfback takes the first inside handoff and gives it back outside to the left halfback. Four fronts each (Diagrams 69–76).
• Sweep — quick fake to the fullback then the ball to the looping left halfback on a 90 cut, with pulling depths of three and two yards for the guards and the tight end flipping sides against the 4-3 (Diagrams 77–79).
• The 3-step passing game — the two-receiver combination he runs from base Wing-T against run-stuffing teams (split end on an out, slant, hitch or fade; halfback on a seam or swing), the choice route off Jet or extended motion, plus four sidebar variations: with Jet motion, with choice, with no backs and with trips (Diagrams A–D).
• The trips package — Bandit, Rocket, Raider and Rebel — eight diagrams (E–L): the four base calls off extended motion, then the same four from a no-back set, each with the quarterback's first, second and third read written out and the difference between the calls being who the second read is.
• Sprint-out variations — six calls on one blocking scheme (M–R): Gray 190 Flood Red, Jet Gray 190 Flood Red, Gray 190 Special Red, Jet Gray 190 Special Red, Jet Gray 290 Flood Red and Gray 190 Comeback Red, with the note that the front-side routes and protection mirror the Waggle so there is nothing new to teach.
• The 90 3-Step Series — Gray 190 Red vs the 50, Gray 91 Red vs the 4-4, Gray 192 Red vs the 4-3 and Gray 199 Red vs the Eagle (S–V), sending two receivers short and one deep while the fullback stays in for maximum protection.
• Shuffle Pass — four variations against the 50, 4-4, 4-3 and Eagle (W–Z), the same responsibilities each time, with the quarterback taking sprint-out steps and reading the end to shuffle to the crossing halfback at three yards or keep it.

Who it is for

Wing-T coaches who have moved the offense to the shotgun, or are thinking about it, and want the assignments written down rather than worked out on the fly.

• High school staffs installing a shotgun Wing-T — the per-position lists and front-by-front diagrams are install material; this is the level the author coaches at and writes from.
• Coaches who already run the Wing-T under center and want a shotgun package that keeps the same blocking language — dog calls, Houston, reach, gap away, Waggle, Belly.
• Offensive coordinators looking for answers to run-stuffing defenses — the 3-step game, trips package and sprint-out series are there to replace the run when the front takes it away.
• Quarterback and skill coaches — the trips and 90 series plays spell out the read progression on each call rather than just drawing the routes.
• Defensive coaches preparing for a shotgun Wing-T — the same pages show you the reads and blocking rules you will be facing.

This is Part 2 of a two-part report; it stands on its own, and Part 1 is a separate report covering the belly series, sweeps, QB sweeps, halfback and QB traps, the belly down, shuffle passes, option passes and a complete Waggle series.