Offensive Linemen: Developing Fast Feet

As an offensive line coach, you’ve probably learned by now that a football team has two types of players: skill and linemen. Players that are athletic and agile become backs and receivers while those that are slower, clumsier, and less athletic, inevitably, become linemen. Whereas I understand that backs and receivers need to have blazing speed and the ability to cut on a dime, as a line coach, I know that in order for linemen to be effective, they must have many of the same qualities, although not necessarily to the same degree. How else can we expect them to explode off the ball, pull into and outside the line, and block linebackers and defensive backs downfield? Therein lies the dilemma: how to help a non-athletic player develop the attributes we desire? In my opinion, there are three keys that must be established in order to be successful: COMMITMENT, APPROPRIATE TRAINING, and