Linebacker Play – Knowing Your Assignment Pre-Snap

At Texas State, in order to execute zone coverage against the pass, it is critical to know the positioning of the opponent’s wide receivers.Today, the spread offense and passing game have become very prevalent.  As LBs, we are run defenders first. However, more often than not, we will find ourselves defending the pass more than the run throughout the course of a game. At Texas State, our dilemma has become teaching our LBs how to stay fast and aggressive to the run and, at the same time, sound and effective against the passing game. We have adopted what we feel to be a very simple philosophy to get this accomplished.     We are primarily a zone team, and regardless of the zone coverage that is called, our technique stays the same.  We use the same key phrases and terms to describe our responsibilities in all coverages.  The only requirement that I have