Morrison Special Teams

Finding Hidden Yardage (& Points) in the Special Teams

Cory Bielema
Head Football Coach
Morrison High School
cory.bielema@morrisonschools.org

Special Teams Philosophy

Our philosophy is based on an aggressive approach to
put pressure on our opponent in all phases of the
football game.
Force opponent to crack under pressure.
Force opponent to spend extra time in practice.
Force them to execute perfectly on not losing the
game.
Expect to make big plays.
We set a high standard of expectation for our
performance and effort level.

KICKOFF

keeps the ball in front & inside.

4 man cover Coverage
4 hand tap no 4 hands, coverage team
Find coverage players
Good summer/shells drill
Excellent conditioning

repeats.
No hand on returner = cover the next one.
Tapped Returners go to coverage line,
Tapping coverage players go to return line.

3 on 3 Wave

Find players who can & will do

1. Be Physical
4. Fight of
blockers
2. Block on the move
on the run
3. Run hard with the ball
5.
Tackle on the run

Coach chooses teams of

three.
Both groups have turns of
Off. & Def.
After each player runs the
ball, sides switch. Game
over after 6 total runs.

D
D
D

Touchdown
= + 6 offense
= + 3 offense
= + 3 defense
= + 6 defense
O
O

FUMBLE
= + 3 defense
RECOVER FUMBLE
= + 6 defense

Rodeo
Enhances lane
Drill
responsibilities

8 seconds to rally around the correct cone.

C whistles & points to cone 3 seconds after k
players 2-9 do NOT run to the ball.
#1 & #10 always sprint to the cone on their
they are responsible for ball retrieval

Excellent conditioning

10

10

KICK RETURN

Triple Option Kick

Align front 5 along the 50 yard line (Use tallest player to help conceal
the QB)
Return
Align Ends on the 35. One should have good blocking skills, other should

have speed.
Align the QB on the 30. He needs speed and great hands.
Alignment of the Returners will vary.

E
Q

Triple Option ReturnLeft Wing

The front 5 must defend against onside kick first.
Return
LG, C, RG, RT sprint to approximately the 30 yard line.
They center the formation in front of the QB - form a wedge & protect
him.

E
Q

Triple Option ReturnLeft Wing

LT swings wide left 7 loops back.
His job is to attack the 1 man to react to the
Return
reverse.
st

LE is responsible for kicking out the sideline

defender.

L
M

Triple Option ReturnLeft Wing

After the kick, QB turns toward deep backs, slowly works his way toward
the ball.
Return

The RE works to get to the same depth as the QB.

The QBs responsibility is to receive the ball & hand it off to the RE

T
G

L
M

Triple Option ReturnLeft Wing

The Right returner is responsible for anyone who reacts off the wedge.
The Left returner does the same for the other side.
Return

Should L or R receive the kick, M would trade responsibilities.

T
G

L
M

Ms path should bring him to the right side of QB.

When M is 5 yards away, QB yells Go signally the front line to move
wedge left.
To ensure the handoff is not forward, M hands the ball off after passing
QB & extends his arm backward.
M continues his path after handoff should look like a middle wedge
return.

T
G

T
R

L
Q

QB now hands the ball to the RE approaching from his left.

The RE should be at full speed at the mesh.
QB continues fake to the right sideline
Timing and precision are essential!
Sell the wedge.

T
G

R
M

L
Q

Triple Option ReturnQB Right

Return
T

E
Q

R
M

Triple Option Return Middle

Return
T

E
Q

R
M

PUNT

Scoring:
G-5 yard line = 3 points
6-10 yard line = 2 points
Enhances our competitiveness
11-15 yard line = 1 point
Enhances our directional punting
+15 yard line = 0 points
Excellent conditioning
End zone or Out of Bounds = 0
points
Earn 5 points from each area L/M
C
C
C

15
Points
Drill

PUNT RETURN

Punt Return
Base return

Jammer Technique
Align 1 x 1 inside leverage
Dont give up the inside
Must get a hand on Gunner
Dog Technique
Align on LOS 3 yards outside slot
Attack outside shoulder of slot
Make sure ball is kicked
On return side, attack & drive slot
then find the punter
Away side, peel down call side
& seal inside
NO ROUGHING PENALTIES

B
C

B
N T D

Punt Return
Base return

Line & Linebackers

NT shades side of return.
Line attacks and drives
LBs eye on personal protectors
watch for fakes
Once punted, peel to the wall
Returners
Catch everything
Off-returner blocks first
off-color jersey

B
C

B
N T D

Punt Return
Cone drill

R
C

R
C

R
B
B
T
N

T
D

Punt Return
Catch drill

Punt Return
Group

R
R

R
R

P
P

P
P

Punt Return
Group

G
G
C C

C
C

Punt Return
Group

C
T
N
B
C

D
D
B
C

PUNT BLOCK

Punt Block

C D

BT

Punt Block

D BT
C

D
C

B M D

N
B

T
B

M D

N
B

T
B

M D

EXTRA POINT

Swinging Gate

Gets the huddle out of the way of the kicker/block

placement.
Opportunity for points if Defense is napping.
Minimal time to install One more thing for them to
prepare for

E T G G T E

L
H
K

Swinging Gate

Count players over & to the right of

the ball:
If less than 4 = run option right
If more than 4 = run screen left

E T G G T E

Screen Left

L
H
K

Swinging Gate

Count players over & to the right of

the ball:
If less than 4 = run option right
If more than 4 = run screen left

E T G G T E

Option Right

L
H
K

NEVER GET TACKLED WITH THE BALL !!!

Swinging Gate

Count players over & to the right of

the ball:
If less than 4 = run option right
If more than 4 = run screen left

E T G G T E

Kick the Extra Point

L
H
K

Swinging Gate
Many option from the Swinging
Gate

L
H
K

G G T

H
K

NEVER GET TACKLED WITH THE BALL !!!

Swinging Gate
Many option from the Swinging
Gate

H
K

H
K

Sideline or Goal Post

Enhances our set up for quick
FG
Enhances our kickers focus
Excellent conditioning

PRACTICE

WEEKLY PRACTICE TIME

Game week

Monday

Wednesday

Rodeo Drill(10 min)

KO vs. scout (7 min)
KR vs. air (7 min)
KR vs. scout (7 min)
Punt groups (7 min)
Sideline or Goalpost (10-15)
15 points (15 min)
Conditioning
Conditioning
Thursday
(KR & PR to the sideline)
Special Teams Script (30-45)
Tuesday
PAT/FG/Hurry up FG (10 min)
Punt vs. scout (7 min)
Friday
PR vs. scout (7 min)
Walk thru / Depth chart
Conditioning

SITUATIONS
SCRIPT

KICKOFF
Regular
Onside (Must & Surprise)
Squib, Pooch, &/or Short
Free kick after a safety (Kickoff or
Punt)

KICK RETURN
Regular
Return Squib, Pooch, & Short
Onside - Must (hands team)
Onside - Surprise
Free kick after a safety (Kickoff or
Punt)

PUNT
From our End zone
Taking an intentional safety
From Hash marks
From 45-50 yard line
Bad snap
Executing fakes

PUNT RETURN
Receiving punts deep in own territory
(10 yard rule).
Rushing punts when opponent is
backed up to his goal line.
Reacting to fake punts.
Defending the punt swinging gate
Executing punt block

P.A.T / FIELD GOAL

Swinging gate
Bad snap (FIRE)
From Hash marks
From 10, 15, 20
Reacting to blocked kick