2020 Program Assessment Report See where you stand. Get your new gameplan. Own the next season. Prepared for Paul Hefty at State College 9th grade L E T T E R F R O M T H E C O - F O U N D E R

The differences between wins and losses are often measured by yards. We all know this as coaches. A rst down conversion here, or a missed missed block there, can mean the difference between sub-.500 seasons and championships.

Traditional coaching philosophies are full of passive rhetoric like, “If only we would have done this.” But the paradigm has shifted to data-driven decisions. Great coaches are recalibrating their mindset from reacting to anticipating.

By using the data in this report, you'll be able to control these important game day circumstances. Thanks to Hudl’s national collection of data, we already know the main predictors that separates wins from losses. We're using the 16 most inuential to provide coaches insight on how to get, or stay, on the winning side next fall.

The most important thing you can do this offseason is re-evaluate all your successes and failures. We hope our assessment will give you actionable steps to boost your eciency in all these areas.

So in and get started. You may nd these results to be surprising—and enlightening.

Mike Kuchar

Senior Research Manager and Co-Founder, X&O Labs @MikeKKuchar 2 0 2 0 P R O G R A M A S S E S S M E N T R E P O R T Offense Q U E S T I O N 1 What was your pass completion rate in 2019?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 5 5 %

You’re under the national threshold that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. Hudl’s latest data says you need to complete at least 59.8 percent of your passes in a high school game to win. Here’s how you can improve.

Offseason Prep: Develop a Tag System in Your Pass Game The Air Raid has become a prevailing school of thought at every level of the game. You don’t even have to adopt the system full on. Its passing concepts are universal, tailored to attack almost any coverage from any offensive scheme. To take full advantage, we recommend implementing a tag system for your .

Tags allow you to be multiple in your passing attack by adding extra players. They’re easy to install, let you the ball faster, and get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quicker. And by attacking the whole eld—not just a half, as some are prone to do—you hold the defense in check.

Archbishop McNicholas High School (Ohio) offensive coordinator Paul Romolo has shifted his mindset from mirrored pass structures to tagging routes off of defensive coverage. That in turn generates high-percentage passes. He’s taken the Air Raid philosophy and applied it to any pass game concept by building in pass tags to combat any coverage structure. In his clinic report, you’ll nd more insight into how you can build tags into your own system. Hudl Game Plan: Create Summary Reports for Passing Concepts Summaries of your entire volume of passing plays will give you an overview of what’s working and what’s not. You can use quick lters to easily make all these playlists at once. But taking it a step deeper will give you a better understanding of the why, not just the what, of your performance.

Create custom columns for individual passing concepts to neatly compartmentalize the important stuff. Building playlists and running reports will give you a better idea of which concepts are hitting at a higher frequency than others. Q U E S T I O N 2 What was your average yards per in 2019?

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You’re under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. According to Hudl’s latest data, you need to average least 5.8 yards per rush to win in a high school game. Here’s a few tips on how to improve.

Offseason Prep: Implement Smart Splits to Boost Your Run Game Of the key factors needed in ecient yards per rush, none are more important than understanding what your personnel does best. Sounds obvious, right? But the reality is, too many coaches try to force a variety of run concepts that might not t the skill set of their offensive line and ball carriers. Convention says to lean towards tighter zone schemes with bigger lines and backs with good vision, and to use -oriented runs such as pin-and-pulls or counters for smaller offensive lines and quicker backs.

Berry College (Ga.) offensive coordinator Rich Duncan adjusts his splitting in ways that give his linemen the advantages of increased blocking angles, ecient double teams, and reducing gaps for penetration by the defense. He has a system that changes the split of his offensive line based on the scheme itself, whether it be gaps, tight zones or wide zones. These include big, interior, gap and zone splits (using an acronym BIG Z for his players).

Duncan’s system has been in place for three full seasons. Along the way, he’s seen these unintended benets:

Identifying and picking up twists Detecting pre-snap line movements Recognizing blitzes

Additionally, running backs and quarterbacks are able to see blocking schematics and running lanes before the snap of the ball.

All of these intangibles equate to a positive-yardage mindset before the ball is even snapped. Hudl Game Plan: Track Your Tendencies with Each Type of Split Varied splits can become easy tells for smart defenses. That's why it's important to mix it up. Creating a custom column for splits, and creating playlists with them, is a great rst step. Combine reports from those playlists with live replay during games, and you'll be able to correct your own tendencies more eciently.

Since the end zone provides a far better angle of your line splits than the press box, be sure your lm is intercut when you’re tagging the plays. Q U E S T I O N 3 What was your third down conversion rate in 2019?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 4 0%

You’re under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing. Hudl’s latest data says you need to convert at least 46.5 percent of your third downs to win a high school game. Here’s what to do to improve.

Offseason Prep: Give Autonomy to Your Quarterback A defense can provide a multitude of pre-snap looks when it comes to third down disguises. Your quarterback’s ability to identify and diagnose before the snap can make all the difference in converting. It’s crucial for you to give them the tools to identify and convert against anything a defense presents.

Dakota Ridge High School (Colo.) offensive coordinator Jeremiah Behrendsen outlines how his quarterbacks drive the run and pass game to convert third downs. He’ll allow them to call the direction of nearly every run play based on his scouting report and rules. These decisions can be based on the defensive personnel, or specic techniques that he wants to run that week.

Some of his examples:

Running at or away from the one technique. Running at or away from specic alignments. Most commonly, this involves an overhang linebacker.

This strategy has allowed him to call the type of play he wants (e.g., inside zone, outside zone, power, counter), and the quarterback to decide on the direction.

The same can be done in the pass game. Dakota Ridge’s screens fall into two main categories:

Ones where the quarterback calls the directions, such as bubbles and tunnels Double screens where the quarterback decides based on what a specic defender does (e.g., a tailback screen to one side, and a screen to the other)

This mindset of coaching the quarterback to make these types of decisions on their own ensures they’re running a play into a look that optimizes their chances of success. Hudl Game Plan: Build Bulk Playlists to Chart Third Downs Empowering your quarterback to attack an opportunity they see helps you be less predictable on this important down.

Hudl has made that easier than ever with the ability to create bulk playlists of all your third down plays. Combine that with down-and-distance and play eciency reports in Assist, and you’ll have a better idea of how you can surprise opponents.

You might also be surprised at the benets you see from lming practices. Being able to highlight your team’s mistakes and good decisions in training will make for a more engaging lm review. Q U E S T I O N 4 How many explosive plays (e.g., runs of 12+, passes of 20+) did you average per game?

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You’re under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing. Hudl’s latest data says you need to complete at least 7 explosive plays to win a high school game. Here’s what you can work on.

Offseason Prep: Dictate Explosive Plays with Predictors Explosive plays = wins.

It’s a proven fact.

The process of creating these plays centers around two main components: the study and the scheme. Generating explosive plays is less about yards and more about analytics.

Many coaches' denitions and classications for explosive plays varies. The key is to track and diagnose all the explosive plays in your offense, and see why they occurred.

University of Minnesota-Crookston offensive coordinator Jared Hottle undertakes this progression each year. But in order to get the right sample size, he uses points as the dependent variable instead of wins. He found for every run of 12 or more yards, or pass play of 18 or more yards, a team can expect 3.57 points.

From a scheme standpoint, as Hottle outlines, you don’t need to be a vertical passing team to create explosive plays. Instead, the emphasis needs to be on creating ecient positive plays. How can a coach so focused on explosive plays be creating an offense focused on ecient plays?

Hottle found that 62 percent of his explosive plays happened on the fourth play of the drive or later. He also found 60 percent of explosive passes and 78 percent of explosive runs came in the second half. These kinds of revelations should inuence your play-calling patterns.

You can attribute this to the confusion and fatigue that can settle into a defense on a lengthy drive. The length of the game also increases the tendency to miss tackles and assignments. To put your opponent in this kind of position, you need to get rst downs, take snaps and stay on the eld. Hudl Game Plan: Call Out Explosive Plays by Formation Explosive plays are imperative for any scouting process. In 2018, revered Pulaski Academy (Ark.) head coach Kevin Kelley found that 88 percent of his offensive drives with a gain of 20 or more yards resulted in a touchdown.

The great news? Any summary report you run with Hudl Assist will specically call out explosive plays.

The “favorites” called out in formation reports are also valuable. Because whatever a team calls most often, chances are it’s giving their opponents some degree of trouble.

Track these with ltered playlists and Assist reports to nd common themes with how the longest gains came about. Q U E S T I O N 5 How many yards did you average per pass?

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You’re above the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. The latest Hudl data says you need to average at least 7.9 yards per pass to win. Here’s what to do to keep it up.

Offseason Prep: Provide Tools to Receivers to Gain Separation The key to a higher yards per catch average? Producing more yards after the catch. This comes with training your skill players to create separation either at the or on the breaks of routes.

Creating separation is often relegated to three simple factors—size, strength or speed. Even if you don't have gifted receivers, you can cultivate these traits. It comes down to understanding the three defensive positions: access, no access and head up.

Fort Valley State University (Ga.) offensive coordinator Buddy Blevins has a systematic approach to this. It consists of attacking off man or any zone scenario when, at the top of their route, a receiver has a nearby defender attached to him.

It’s a two-part process:

1. Recognize the leverage of the DB by the top of your route (right before your break) 2. Utilize one of two methods to create separation: a. A deceptive move b. An angle adjustment

In his clinic report, Blevins details how he teaches his receivers to understand the following three scenarios based on each route in his system.

We’ll use an out-breaking route as our example. Access No Access Head Up This is the best-case scenario for a Here you can utilize both a Similar to the previous, the receiver receiver. When the defensive back deceptive move and an angle has to judge how far away the is shaded to the inside, you’re adjustment. Why an angle defender is, then decide how he'll solely between him and where you adjustment, rather than simply an create space. want to go. angle route? Because the latter can bring you directly to a defensive back that undercuts you.

Hudl Game Plan: Track Plays Based on Techniques Faced, Not Just Coverages Today's high school defenses are better than ever at giving multiple coverage looks and creating confusion. That’s why it’s important to track how the defense played it, so you know how to maximize your separation with each route your receivers run.

Chances are, you’re already evaluating your offense versus cover 2, cover 3 and man coverages. But would you go through your route against press coverage the same as you would off coverage? Playlists of each, with reports run on them, would come in handy here.

You should expect a good counter from defensive backs after you’ve established the way you’re going to play. That’s why instant replay from Hudl Sideline can be so valuable—you’ll stay one step ahead. Q U E S T I O N 6 How successful were you on fourth down?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 3 5 %

You’re under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. The latest data from Hudl’s says you need to convert at least 39.2 percent of your fourth downs to win a high school game. Here’s what to work on.

Offseason Prep: Build Read Defenders in the Run Game Once you've decided to go for it on fourth, you have to give a numbers advantage back to your offense to convert.

In most cases, defenses will play some form of man coverage. That means the majority of fourth-down conversions are quarterback runs, or man-beaters in the passing game. For the numbers advantage, consider teaching the quarterback to manipulate potential read defenders at or around the line of scrimmage.

Montini Catholic High School (Ill.) uses an installation progression to teach quarterbacks how to identify and read the right defender in the run game. This can be a tall task, which is why it’s important to give specic rules on reading plays.

These are offensive coordinator Brian Casey’s guidelines:

1. Read Player Identication 2. Read Key 3. Quarterback/ Mesh 4. Automatics 5. “When in Doubts” 6. Post-Read

Casey’s details on how each of these aspects tie into his run game vary by scheme. Take his power read. Here, the quarterback will “set the table” by taking two at shue steps in the direction of the play (in this instance, the weak side), and read the waist of the front-side end man on the line of scrimmage. If the defender attacks up eld or widens, the quarterback pulls the ball and comes downhill off the pulling guard’s outside hip. If the read defender squeezes inside or sits, the quarterback hands the ball off to the running back on an outside zone trajectory.

An extra defender aligned or showing off the edge serves as the “automatic” keep for the quarterback. When in doubt, the quarterback keeps the ball and rides that guard’s hip.

Hudl Game Plan: Track Fourth Down Tendencies by Distance Your fourth-down play call will change drastically between short and medium yardage. It’s important to understand how your opponent likes to play this do-or-die situation. Use Hudl’s new quick lters to build bulk playlists of a defense’s tendencies for every type of fourth down.

Reporting on your own down-and-distance tendencies is perhaps even more important. Updating your reports regularly ensures you’re not becoming too predictable. It’s important to understand what works, and how you can add new wrinkles. 2 0 2 0 P R O G R A M A S S E S S M E N T R E P O R T Defense Q U E S T I O N 7 What was your opponents’ average third-down conversion rate against you?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 4 0%

Well done! You’re at or below the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. Hudl’s latest data says you need to keep your opponents under 36.8 percent on third down conversions to win in high school football game. Here’s how you can stay on track.

Offseason Prep: Add Simulated Pressures to Alter Protections and Disguise Coverages The ability to produce complex pressures at the line of scrimmage can be what gets your defense off the eld. Sometimes the mere threat of pressure can be more effective than an actual blitz.

This is especially true with double A-gap pressures (also knowns as simulated pressures), where can manipulate the offense's protections by blung blitzes. It not only confuses the offensive line in protection schemes, it convolutes the quarterback’s post-snap read. This tactic has long been a staple in college and the NFL, and now we’re starting to see this trend on Friday nights.

These designs give the offense the perception of a max blitz while giving the defense the exibility of using a max blitz, zone pressure or play coverage. Several coverages can be used behind these pressures. Jenks High School (Okla.) defensive coordinator Adam Gaylor uses them all in his mug pressures. Here’s an example of one of Gaylor’s double A-gap pressures. The Trojans use this as either a blitz or a simulated pressure, though it’s rst installed as the latter. Cover 1 is usually played behind this blitz, but a “Hot”, or three-deep, two-under can be played as an alternative. In this instance, the Mike and Will linebackers both blitz their gap, reading the turn of the center. Whichever way the center turns, that linebacker will “dent”, or drop out, and become the low hole cut player in coverage.

Hudl Game Plan: Custom Tag “QB Pressures” in Your Film Forget about sacks—they’re unreliable when it comes to gauging pass rush ability. Tracking opponents’ conversion rates against plays with a QB pressure is more useful for shaping your third down strategy.

You might nd that many of your opponents tend to pick up interior blitzes a certain way. Maybe it’s fanning out, and releasing an interior defender to the running back. Or maybe it's squeezing linemen inside, and letting the back pick up an edge player. Charting your opponents’ success rates by protection scheme is bound to give you new ideas about how to create turmoil.

By reviewing your pressures during games, you can see if they’re protecting how you expected, or how you to adjust if your blitzes aren’t getting home. Q U E S T I O N 8 On average, how many yards per rush did you allow?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 4

You’re doing great, you’re right at or under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. Hudl’s latest data says you must keep your opponents under 3.8 yards per rush to win a high school game. Here’s how you can keep up the great work.

Offseason Prep: Alter Blitz Angles in Run Pressures on Early Downs Yards per rush continues to be one of the highest quantiable differences between winning and losing programs. At the top of any coach’s priority list is being able to run the football and stop the run. But with the advent of RPOs and read elements, offenses today are too sophisticated to simply line up in base and shut down the run game. Conversely, bringing constant all-out pressure on run downs can leave you out-gapped or out-manned at the point of attack.

The answer may lie in calculated pressure concepts. This allows the defense to stop numerous blocking schemes out of virtually any formation, due to its balance and ability to adjust.

There's a huge variety of zone run schemes, gap run schemes and man run schemes out of multiple formations. Having a system that applies pressure and dictates tempo is therefore critical to run down success. It also allows defenses with different levels of personnel to play fast while staying sound, instead of bending but not breaking.

South River High School (Md.) defensive coordinator Steve Erxleben has found the ability to adjust blitz paths is critical to stopping the run. This concept adjusts the angle of the run play, and spills it to safety support and/or the unblocked defender as gaps close or cancel themselves out. South River blitzes a lot—76 percent of the time, actually. Teaching defenders to read and adjust their blitz angles by keying the hips of down linemen is critical.

This tactic, from Erxleben’s clinic report, allowed his players to play gaps across the line of scrimmage and effectively attack the offense. Hudl Game Plan: Create Summary Reports Based on Run Concepts Take the reporting on your opponents’ run games one step further. Don’t just read the down-and-distance reports, or running game summaries. Get a summary on your opponents' eciencies and tendencies by types of runs. This is especially important when facing run-heavy teams.

Sometimes where a team’s superstar athlete lines up on the eld exposes the type of play that’s coming. Other times, it’s a particular blocking back, whose positioning gives away the direction of the play. That’s why you should also consider creating reports based off of a key player’s positioning on the eld, like you can see below. Q U E S T I O N 9 How many explosive plays per game (e.g., runs of 12+, passes of 20+) did you allow on average?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 5

Did you know you’re under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams? Hudl’s latest data says teams need to keep opponents under 5 explosive plays to win in a high school game. Here’s how you can maintain your streak.

Offseason Prep: Drill Defenders on Different Leverage Points The main ingredients in a sound defense are limiting big plays and creating turnovers.

There’s some technique associated with the latter. But limiting explosive plays comes down to leverage and pursuit.

Coaches have become more progressive on teaching the proper leverage and pursuit angles for closing in on ball carriers. The rst part of this progression is to analyze why the big play occurred. In most cases, this results in a defender having lost leverage either on the perimeter or in the run box.

Dickinson State University (N.D.) defensive coordinator Jason Thier found that 35 percent of all explosive plays came from missed open eld tackles. Missed engaged tackles (in the box) accounted for 29 percent of explosive plays.

So it makes sense to train the leverage of defenders by establishing a corrective action plan to address these issues. Thier classies and drills his techniques based on these ve leverage points:

Outside-in leverage Inside-out leverage Engaged leverage In the hole (run box) leverage Pursuit leverage He'll then take those scenarios and build pursuit drills to teach how to track the ball carrier, shown in his clinic report. It comes down to examining why each explosive play occurred, and building a framework to teach the techniques to suppress them. Hudl Game Plan: Track Opponents’ Formation Tendencies Based on Personnel If your opponent has a home-run threat, they’re going to get creative with how they get him the ball. It’s surprising how much play tendencies vary based on where that player lines up.

Say your opponent has a burner that’s been gassing defenders from all over the eld. Why only chart formation tendencies without regard to where he lines up? Take note of the difference in the two summaries from a scouting report by a northeastern high school that played for a state championship in 2019: Q U E S T I O N 1 0 What was your turnover differential per game last season?

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You’re slightly under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams for high school football. Winning teams have a turnover different per game of at least +2. Here’s a new spin on how you can stay up, and even improve.

Offseason Prep: Devise a “Winning Formula” to Promote Takeaways Sure, it’s simple to make a declaration like “takeaways win games”. But the more practical approach is to examine how many takeaways win games.

Simply winning the takeaway battle can be a sound factor in success. But an analytical approach is more effective. Start by guring out how many takeaways per game are needed to win the game.

Utica College (N.Y.) uses what they call a “winning formula” to dene how many takeaways are needed to win. Once they nd that number, they gear everything toward hitting that mark. To use an educational metaphor, it becomes about teaching to the test.

Of course, it depends on an individual program’s circumstances. Utica's defensive coordinator Will Pluff ran through prior seasons’ numbers and concluded that to win, they need "winning plays" on over 20 percent of the game.

Plays that count towards winning plays include:

Takeaways Third down wins Sacks Pass breakups Tackles for loss

Plays that count against winning plays percentage include:

Offensive plays of 20 or more yards Touchdowns If over 30 percent of your defensive plays t this winning play categorization, you’ve had a good night. Pluff says it’s important to set the standard percentage of what it takes to win, but even more important to raise the bar between good and great.

Utica’s staff devotes 10 minutes of individual drills a week to a defensive takeaway circuit. The rotation is done by position. The drills can be adjusted for each positional group.

Hudl Game Plan: Create Custom “Winning Play” Tags in Your Library Put this proven formula into action by creating a custom "wins" column in your library. Share these winning plays with your athletes each week during lm review to pump up morale. Seeing a great defensive stop, or a turnover, energizes players as much as it motivates them to keep doing better. From there, you can zero in on good technique, pointing it out with notes on the screen. Q U E S T I O N 1 1 How often did you allow four or more yards on first downs?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 4 0%

Great job—you’re at or under the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing teams. According to Hudl’s latest data, winning teams hold opponents to under 39.5 percent on rst down. Here’s how you can keep this up.

Offseason Prep: Develop a System for Movement and Stems at the Line of Scrimmage Putting an offense behind the chains early allows a defense to pin its ears back and get after the quarterback on third down. Incidentally, rst down is a major run tendency for offenses across the country. To win on rst down, a defense must confuse an offensive line by altering its intended gap responsibility up front. This comes in the form of a systematic movement progression (or stem) for the defensive line.

Pre-snap defensive line stems give the appearance of complexity, creating confusion for offensive linemen. Some coaches have deferred stems to keep things vanilla. Others, like Sioux Valley High School (S.D.) defensive coordinator Jordan Fast, have found ways to use stems while giving defensive linemen sound responsibilities. Organized stems can do a lot of good things, including:

Putting blockers in conict Creating negative plays Forcing offensive lines to have sound blocking rules Allowing defensive linemen to make aggressive plays Keeping offensive line pads off linebackers

Stems, in both odd and even fronts, create a defense that’s destructive rather than reactionary. Any offensive line can block vanilla defensive fronts. But incorporating and using stems will make your players faster and more explosive.

Fast has a system for stemming his front at the line of scrimmage. This includes communication methods, vocabulary and movement progressions from his 30, 40 and 50 front stems. Hudl Game Plan: Utilize Predictive Models for Opponent Scouting Here’s where a lesser known feature of Hudl Assist, the “What’s Next” formula, can come in clutch. Your goal as a defense is to try and create as much confusion as you can. This predictive model of expected play calls in a variety of situations will help you bait your opponents into making the wrong decisions, and turn the game in your favor.

For utmost accuracy, use at least ve games worth of scout lm on your opponent when running this report. Q U E S T I O N 1 2 On second down, how often did you allow at least 50 percent of the yards needed to convert?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 4 0%

You’re under the national average! Hudl’s latest data says winning teams hold opponents to under 40.3 percent on rst down. Now let’s keep you ahead of the pack.

Offseason Prep: Protect Vulnerable Overhang Defenders Be it a run or pass, defending second down lies in how a defense trains and protects its overhang defenders.

These are defenders on the perimeter with dual responsibility—they have a gap to defend in the run game, and an area to defend in the pass game. Ideally this is one of your most versatile athletes, usually a linebacker or safety.

Overhang defenders have a critical role in perimeter run force, as well as in underneath coverage. That's why having a thorough understanding of proper alignments, key reads and technique is crucial. Do this well, and you'll see a signicant impact.

Since many offenses are now RPO-based, second down is where a quarterback will read that defender and make a decision off his reaction. Hartwick College (N.Y.) defensive coordinator Mark Theophel teaches these overhangs with three alignments.

Walk alignment: Split the difference Star alignment: This is most Hip alignment: On the backside of between the end man on the line of applicable in three-deep coverages a two-back or trips formation, the scrimmage and an open number that requires an overhang to defend linebacker is on the outside hip of two wide receiver. the number two in the seam or in a “ghost” tight end. His toes should the at. be as deep as the nearest defensive linemen’s heels. Sometimes the game plan calls for walking this alignment out as wide as the slant window of the number one receiver. Hudl Game Plan: Differentiate RPOs in Tagging Procedures Removing defenders from the box to open up holes between the hashes is nothing new. But when good RPO teams want to run something inside, they’ll nd ways to freeze overhang defenders. Learning your opponents’ pre-snap patterns can reveal a lot. By tagging RPO plays and ltering them into a playlist, you can pick up easily on tendencies.

Those patterns will also likely change during the game. Live replay with Sideline lets you go back and take a second look at any play. Q U E S T I O N 1 3 How often did your opponents convert on fourth down?

Y O U R AN S W E R LE S S TH AN 3 0%

You’re under the national average, 29.1 percent! Hudl’s latest data says that’s what winning teams hold opponents to on fourth down. Here’s how to stay where you’re at.

Offseason Prep: Empower Defenders with Block Destruction Techniques Based on Leverage Defending fourth down is all about understanding and executing proper leverage.

Often, an offense will try to match numbers by running the quarterback. Defenses tend to play man coverage here, creating 11-on-11 football with no free hitters at the point of attack.

A defender will need to get off a block to make a . When a defender has block destruction techniques based on leverage, it’ll make all the difference.

To teach the necessary fundamentals, University of Mary (N.D.) defensive coordinator Jason Thier breaks down progression into four phases:

One-step approach: This is used in a close-quarters situation where defenders need to engage a blocker quickly. The emphasis is having a squared stance, with the lead foot splitting the defender. He’s anticipating a near foot, near shoulder contact point. Five-yard approach: This is used when a defender is approaching a ball carrier downhill. The coaching point is for defenders to begin to chop their feet as they get closer to the bag, allowing them to nish in the proper base. The hit: This is the phase where the defender has positioned himself with a proper low and compact base. Here they’re taught to be able to uncoil their hips and explode into the blocker. The escape: The nal phase is something that should be specic to each player based on their skill set. Some players will be better with using a physical style of escape like a push-pull-release. Others may be better at a quick escape like a tap-swipe. Players don’t need to have three or four different escape moves—they just need to be great at one. Hudl Game Plan: Stay Updated on Opponents’ Down-and-Distance Tendencies You know not all fourth down scenarios are the same, whether it’s the distance or eld position. That’s why a down- and-distance report is key to your strategy. Running weekly reports on your scout lm will spark more sound ideas of your opponents’ philosophy on this do-or-die down. Better yet, you'll be less predictable with how you scheme it up front.

Teams tend to have similar concepts for their fourth down plays based on how they've scouted your fourth down defense. You'll also nd goal-line concepts are similar to what they would do at other areas of the eld. That's because they tend to be their "best plays" since they’re so close to scoring points.

Along with reports, take a look at these in real time with instant replay. That way, you'll be better prepared the next time you see the concept. 2 0 2 0 P R O G R A M A S S E S S M E N T R E P O R T Special Teams Q U E S T I O N 1 4 What was your average starting field position after returning a kickoff?

Y O U R AN S W E R AB O V E 3 5

Well done—you’re above the national average that marks the difference between winning and losing football teams. Hudl’s latest data says winning teams have an average starting eld position after kickoffs of at least their own 35-yard line. Here’s how to stay a step ahead.

Offseason Prep: Keep the Front Line Active and Athletic Kickoff returns are one of the more telling data points in determining eld position. Yet many coaches don't devote the time or resources to make sure they have the right personnel on the eld.

An explosive kick return not only ignites a crowd, it boosts momentum and raises the level of play for the entire team. The key to this unit will always be using one or two players who are a threat every snap. But it’s also important to have a scheme that’s simple and effective, and gives a coach the ability vary returns.

That’s why using more athletic personnel along the front line could make a difference. Washington and Jefferson University (Pa.) special teams coach Christopher Smithly prefers to use a front line consisting of safeties, corners, receivers and athletic linebackers.

He'll typically put the linebackers at the guard position. The athletes with better hands are at the center and tackle positions, since they're more threatened by a surprise . The ends and fullbacks consist of tight ends, running backs and bigger receivers who have the ability to catch the ball in a pooch-kick situation.

Once you start nding success with your return unit, you’ll be surprised how many kicks will go to the guys at the end and fullback positions. Regardless of the kick return scheme you go with, having this type of personnel along your front can make a big difference. Smithly’s full report shows how his personnel groupings look on the eld.

Hudl Game Plan: Track Tendencies to Locate Return Opportunities A lot of times, due to lack of kicking talent, high school teams have to get creative with how they send the ball to you. When compiling playlists, be sure to stop the tape to add notes on the keys you pick up on.

This is also where it’s highly benecial to use end zone angles in your evaluation process. Did you know that press box and end zone angles are automatically intercut when you record and upload with Hudl Sideline? Q U E S T I O N 1 5 What was your opponents’ average starting field position after their kickoff returns?

Y O U R AN S W E R AB O V E 3 5

You’re above the national average, which is the 31-yard line. Here’s how to keep your opponents’ average starting eld position after kickoffs farther back.

Offseason Prep: Use Overload Alignments to Give Cover Defenders Free Reign High school kickers are rarely able to kick consistent . Even the top kickers will struggle to clear the 15- yard line. That’s why having the right athletes going downeld to cover kicks is the key to a successful kickoff unit.

Putting ve players on each side of the kicker makes it easier for return teams to double-team your best cover players. In turn, it makes them susceptible to wedge returns and compromising lane integrity.

New Palestine High School (Ind.) special teams coach Wes Anderson has an inventive take on this. He allows his top three cover players to line up wherever they want and run directly to the ball, regardless of how the return unit sets up.

Anderson calls them “hitmen”. They have no alignment or assignment. They’re encouraged to line up differently on every kick so opponents can’t account for them with the same player.

The other seven players still have a lane they're responsible for. But they'll line up four yards deep, instead of ve, to allow the hitmen to move freely around the formation during the approach. His kicker always kicks from the dead middle of the eld. There are no safeties in coverage.

Hudl Game Plan: Use Custom Groups to Teach How to Disrupt Returns Think of how unpredictable you can be when your most ferocious gunners have the autonomy to pick their lane and run with it. All the more reason to pay extra special attention to how you’re organizing your special teams lm.

Use end zone angles, in the lm room and on the sideline, to help those kamikazes get in the mindset of making calculated decisions. They’ll be able to see which areas of the eld are the best opportunities to disrupt the return team. Then show them their own tendencies on kickoff, and reinforce the importance of mixing it up. Q U E S T I O N 1 6 Did you block any punts in 2019?

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What are you waiting for? We estimate that in 80 percent of games with a blocked , the blocking team wins. Here’s how to get started.

Offseason Prep: Develop an Opportunistic Mindset with the Punt Block Unit Few moments can jolt your team to life like a blocked punt. This play can trigger a sharp momentum shift, and boost your team’s energy level.

It also delivers victories. By one estimation, 90 percent of NFL games with a blocked punt are won by the blocking team. Special teams are just as imperative in the high school game—they can make or break you.

Onalaska High School (Wis.) head coach Tom Yashinsky scouts special teams more than most of his peers, and the results speak for themselves. The Holmen have never lost a game in which they blocked a punt. Some of the biggest upsets in history, as Yashinsky points out, featured a blocked punt.

He doesn’t have any linemen in his punt blocking unit—only his fastest, most versatile athletes. A certain level of fearlessness also helps. He nds his fearless players with their “thump” drills in practice, which you can learn about in his clinic report.

Here’s what Yashinsky looks for when scouting an opponent’s punt unit:

Line splits: Tight splits up front mean a shorter edge, while wider splits mean more opportunities up the middle. Don’t try to run through a wall. Do try to put the personal protector in a bind. Scouting the punter: From his athleticism, to the way he steps, to how long it takes for him to kick, there are valuable signs that can work in your favor. Protection: If they’re protecting gaps, overload those gaps. If they’re kick-stepping or retreating, put your fastest players in the middle gaps, swim the long snapper and go. If they’re in man protection, use stunts and twists to confuse them. Personnel: Yashinsky loves when opponents put linemen on their punt unit. If they can’t handle your speed, make it a race to the punter.

Hudl Game Plan: Organize Scout Film by Formation Once you’ve identied your blockers, get them into the right mindset with scout lm. Organize it by the different types of punt protections they’ll see. Whether it’s tight, spread or a shield punt, every look presents its own opportunities.

Build on that knowledge by lming these drills in practice, then sharing your notes with your special teams groups. As the game progresses, having real-time analysis on your sideline can help you spot where the chance is going to be. Good luck in 2020!

The days of data and lm working in separate silos are long gone.

From the game-breaking plays on the biggest stages, to the game-winning calls in your local state championship, analytically-driven lm analysis is empowering teams at all levels like never before.

Stats aren’t just to get your star players in the local newspaper. They support the most important decisions you make in your program. They empower those stars to take ownership of their performance. And most importantly, they put them in the best possible position to win.

Let this assessment be your guide for a strong 2020 season. (And tell us how we can make it even better in this survey.)

Thanks, Hudl + X&O Labs

M O R E R E S O U R C E S

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