Below is a sample taken from Coach Tom Herman's book Wing-T Offensive Line Blocking Techniques Drills and Practice Organization (2002 Edition) pages 4-8. For information on how to order this book or Coach Herman's other Wing-T material click here or email Tom Herman.
Introduction
The intent of this booklet is to instruct you on how I teach, organize and drill offensive lineman to shoulder block. Since the Wing-T Offense is so multiple in nature it is very important that you understand the special practice organization and drill progressions that are used to make our practices more efficient. It is also important that you understand the base principles of the Wing-T Offense and why we use the shoulder as our main blocking surface.
The Wing-T is a philosophy of offense, not just a Wing formation.
We
coach the “Shoulder” for initial contact and the “Shoulder Block”
as a base
way of blocking because of the nature of the offense. Our base schemes are not
designed to knock people off the ball with a base one-on-one block. Our primary schemes involve angle blocking,
trapping, logging, and double-teaming. In my opinion, the best way to use your power in a
run and hit or angle-blocking situation is by using your shoulder as the base implement of contact.
When you develop a progression-oriented method to teach Wing-T blocking to
your players or fellow coaches, you must further understand that the three principles of the offense are based on:
1). Angle blocking (run and hit), 2). Shoulder blocking, and 3). Multiple
plays and schemes.
A. Angle Blocking (Gap, Trap and Fold Blocking)
1. The base Wing-T (Philosophy) blocking scheme consists of a block
in at the hole, a block out at the hole, and
someone leading through the hole.
2. Examples of this are the Buck Sweep, Cross Block, and our Off
Tackle play.
a. 121 (Buck Sweep Right)
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b. 187 XB (Belly Cross Block Left)
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c. 132 Power (Power Off Tackle Right)
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B. Shoulder Blocking
1. It is the cornerstone of the
Wing-T Philosophy. I am not sure what is good for other offenses, but I am sure that
shoulder blocking is the best way to block in the Wing-T.
2. It is the best way to use
your power in a Run and Hit Situation. It is also the safest way to use your power in a run
and hit
situation. If you were to coach your players to use their helmets as the primary point of contact one of
your
players could make contact improperly, jam his neck, and become permanently injured. You put your players
in a
run and hit situation when you coach them to:
a. Pull to trap.
b. Pull to kick out on Sweep.
c. Pull to log on Waggle and Keep Pass.
d. Pull to wall off.
e. Crack block on the SS or OSLB on Sweeps and Option plays.
f. When you block cut-off.
g. When gutting (folding) around for LBers.
3. It is the best
way to make contact when you are Angle Blocking. Examples of angle
blocking are:
a. When Gap Blocking to the inside to prevent someone from penetrating.
b. When Down Blocking to the inside to seal a defender to the inside.
c. When you are the Lead blocker on a double team block.
C. The Wing-T is a Multiple and Flexible Offense.
1. It is a multiple
offense because of:
a. The large number of plays in the offense.
1. There may be only four base series (The Buck, Belly, Counter and Power),
but with each series you have an inside play, an outside play, a counter and a play
action pass.
2. With each play there are a large number of alternative plays a coach can
run. Each alternative play is run to take advantage of a Defensive adjustment to stop a
base play.
3. In recent years the split side Belly Option and Read (Triple) Option series
have been added to the offense. This has given the Wing-T a better split side attack and
added even more plays to the offense.
b. Its multiple blocking schemes.
1. It is obvious that we have a large variety of plays. It is also obvious that with
a large number of plays come a large number of blocking schemes.
2. Each base play contains one or more blocking variations that can add to your array of blocking schemes.
Each scheme as stated above takes advantage of defensive adjustments.
3. Note: A plus to the Wing-T Offense is that there are a lot of variations
available to help you add conflicts to defensive schemes. These variations sometimes seem
endless. A negative to this is that sometimes we practice to many plays and variations, and our players never become
proficient at anything. Make sure you have a core of 8 or 9 base plays that are your bread and butter plays.
Remain efficient at theses plays and add a few variations each game to keep the defense off guard.
c. Its multiple techniques and footwork.
1. The multiplicity of plays and variations give us offensive line coaches a lot of techniques and footwork to
coach our players.
2. Make sure you constantly remind the coordinator and the Head Coach how much your line can and cannot
handle.
d. Its multiple formations.
e. Its multiple shifts.
2. It is a flexible offense because
of:
a. The Efficiency and Simplicity of its Call System.
1. It allows the offense to align in almost any conceivable formation and backfield set.
2. It allows you to use any type of motion and shift.
3. It allows you to easily adapt to almost any offense. You can begin by running
the Base Wing-T plays and if your personnel changes add portions of and in some cases go to the following type of offenses :
a. The Run and Shoot.
b. A Wishbone or Option type offense.
c. A Multiple drop back passing attack.
d. Any combination of the above.
b. Its Ability to Adapt to each teams personnel. The Wing-T’s multiple and flexible make up allows you to
easily adapt the series of plays that is best suited for your personnel. It can do this better than any offense
I have ever used. This keeps you from having to change offenses every time you change QB’s, Offensive Lines, or
get a talented Running Back.
1. Quarterbacks
a. If you have a fast QB that doesn’t have a great arm you can run a lot of Options, Boots, Waggles, and
Sprint Out plays.
b. If your QB can throw and is slow you can run more hand off oriented run plays. You can design your
waggle and bootleg blocking schemes to allow your QB to pull up & throw over the TE area, rather than
have him attack the flank. You can also add a few Run & Shoot or Drop Back passes.
2. Offensive Line
a. If you have a small, quick line you can use a more traditional Wing-T approach. This type of line
would be best suited to pull on the Sweep, Waggle, and Traps. It would also be good for quick hitting plays,
Options, and down blocking plays.
b. If you have a big, slow line you can run more of the power game. This
type of line would be best suited to come off the ball by running your Powers,
Bellies, Blasts, and your On Blocking schemes (24 & 26 On). This type of line is also best suited for the
drop back passes rather than Boots, and Waggles.
3. Running Backs
a. If you have a great running back you can still get the ball in his hands as many times as
you desire.
b. You should put your best running back at Full Back.
3. Our Teaching Check List
a. What do I need to teach
b. How do I Organize the Information
c. How do I Verbalize it
d. How do I drill it
e. How do I evaluate it
4. My Practice and
Teaching Philosophy (I teach in repetition)
a. I tell them what I am going to tell them
b. I tell them.
c. I tell them what I told them.
