Defensive Line Stunts: Proven Ways to Get To The Quarterback

Defensive line stunts can be a crucial element to put pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback in pass plays. We talked to two defensive specialists to find out their general philosophy concerning stunts and examples of stunts they like to use. The coaches are Richard Bell, defensive coordinator at the Air Force Academy, and Jeff Smith, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Urbana University in Urbana, OH. Strategies     Bell said the Air Force defense uses stunts to compensate for its lack of size. “We don’t have oversized linemen, so we have to mix our rushes up,” he said. “We can’t depend on a simple four-man rush like Florida State and some other teams. We have to use different things to enable our guys to have a chance at the line of scrimmage to get free, to use their speed. We start with our four linemen. We’ll take the two inside guys and have