Philosophy/Background 

During the 2016 Season, Coach Gower and his Norman (Okla.) North Defense we’re in the midst of an undefeated regular season and a deep playoff run. Looking for a way to break tendencies of future opponents, and simultaneously defend the high-powered 1-back passing offense they would see that week, Gower experimented with his defense. He took the boundary Overhang (known as the Jack from here on) in his odd front structure and backed him from his 3x3 outside EMLOS alignment to 8 yards deep. The 3-safety defense has grown and adapted from there. 

Although the Jack’s depth has changed, his run fit hasn’t (boundary C-area). From left to right, the passing strength safety (SS) would align like normal, the middle safety (MS) essentially becomes a 20-tech linebacker that would align to the same side as the running back, poaching No. 3 as a C-gap fitter, only from 8 yards of depth. As mentioned, the Jack would drop into a boundary safety role. Giving the ability to invert the Jack safety or “trap” (explained later), the boundary corner and three safeties structurally worked wonders facing 1-back trips formations. However, Coach Gower wanted to expand this package to defend 2x2 spread sets as well. To do so, they BOW’d (backers on weak) the Will backer into the apex player the Jack previously aligned leaving what looks like a four-man box with double 4is, a Mike backer, but a middle safety inserting from depth.

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The Jack safety that gains depth is the only player within the defensive structure that has any added learning. The Jack becomes the 2-1 match player in “Palms” quarters coverage toward the boundary. Coach Gower does not sub the Jack out because the pedagogy is relatively straightforward and the Jack is alleviated by being spaced into the boundary (where 80 percent of the high school game is played anyway).

For reference his rules are as follows (and rather simple):

1. If the No. 2 receiver goes immediately under or out to the flat, he will match No. 1
2. If the No. 2 is vertical, match him vertically 

 

No added learning happens for either the boundary corner or the Will backer, who was already playing overhang  Palms/quarters rules when the Jack was firing off the edge as part of the pressure pattern.

When facing 10 Personnel 1-back offenses, Coach Gower lives by a math equation to define why they play a double 4i, three-down front(Okie/Mint/Tite).

5 > 4. 3 < 4. 

3 < 4 

In 1-back 10 personnel there are four Interior gaps(B-A-A-B). In a 4-3 2-hi structure there are only three players to defend those four gaps, with one player in as a conflicted B-gap/pass cover player.

5 > 4 

If you take the same formation, there are still four interior gaps(B-A-A-B), but now there are five players to defend the interior gaps. Doing so gets rid of the conflicted B-gap player. The front side C-gap is defended by the outside backer and the backside C-gap is defended by the Mike nesting against the run. 

(Nest: the Mike backer takes backside C-gap to keep overhang out of conflict. The nose would “lag” into backside A, 4i is fitted inside the B, allowing the Mike to fall back into C-gap.)

Coach Gower based out of two main coverage/run fits on the boundary side of trips: invert and trap.

Invert:

The Jack is the boundary C-gap player, just as he would be in their base two-high defensive structure.

Trap:

The boundary corner’s eyes will key the mesh when the back is opposite him. If the corner reads mesh, he will trigger, knifing into the C-gap area to fit the run. The Jack safety becomes the deep half player to the boundary.

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When playing lock (special/stump/mini or one of its many variations) to the three-receiver side, the free safety can now be the extra fitter and QB player, manning the back versus pass from his depth and allowing many different backside coverage variations (two-man, bracket, Cut). Having the FS man the back is a great adjustment to defend “post/back wheel” where the X-receiver is a stud and you want to bracket him. The FS can cover the wheel of the back with ease from his depth.

Defensive Line in 3-High Structure

As a base call, the nose will play what is called a “lag” technique. First, he will “jet” the center from his 0-alignment or attack the center not allowing him to climb to the next level. Then he will feel for the double of either guard, turning hips and “boxing out” the guard. Taking the double will place him in the backside A-gap of the run fit, allowing the zeroed Will to scrap over the top untouched and into the play-side A-Gap. When one guard pulls to the frontside (gap scheme), the opposite guard will block back. The natural reaction of lag technique by the nose will adjust him into the play-side A-gap, evening the gap advantage the offense was trying to create to the play side.

On both sides of the line, the 3-safety structure employs 4is that are essentially playing lag technique as well, creating carryover within the scheme. 4is strike the inside shade of the tackle first. He will key the guard’s knee. Following are the 4is block recognitions:

1. If the guard’s knee comes toward me, 4i will keep hands on tackle and turn his hips to the guard boxing him out. This will look exactly like the lag technique from the nose.
2. If the guard’s knee goes away, he will chase the guard feeling/fighting the pressure of the tackle’s block
3. If the guard’s knee goes away and the our[GP1]  pressure key(tackle) also leaves, “surf” and step down the line, spilling all pullers. (As an adjustment, Coach could make a “charge” call, where the 4i would attack the mesh.)
4. If the guard’s knee comes toward me, but my pressure key (tackle) goes to the inside to wrap, wrap with the puller, staying on his hip.

 

Using a strong (anchor end) and a weakside (tackle end) allows the defense to seamlessly transition into an over front. The anchor is a smaller player that can beat OTs in a pass situation sliding into a 5 alignment in their “over” front. The tackle is more of a plugger and slides into a 3-alignment in the over front. 

Adjustments in the 3-Safety Defense

The first game Coach Gower’s defense employed this 3-Safety structure, the offense they faced came into the game calling roughly 75 percent of their plays passes. The offense decided to make the adjustment in the second half to run the ball more, particularly using inside zone and “arc” blocking the boundary 4i while having the tackle climb to the next level (pseudo-“midline” scheme). Coach adjusted to this by having the nose use a “push” technique, which is basically the opposite of the nose lagging. He “jets” the center like before, but instead of boxing out his hips to the backside, he will allow the guard to push him into the play-side A-gap against inside zone. This placed the zeroed backer into the backside A. With the 4i being “Arc’d” around, he would step down, closing off the B-gap and giving the backer a cloudy read. This allows the Mike to fall all the way back into the C-gap, gaining both him and the middle safety as QB players.

Another great time to push the nose would be against an offense using dart schemes. Mike would fall all the way inside tackle as the MS would be able to box the ball, keeping the Nickel out of the run fit. Finally, when pushing the Nose, guards pulling could potentially be tricky. Coach Gower teaches them to naturally exchange gaps with the 4i. The 4i is taught to chase pulls, effectively closing off the A- and B-gap fits. Because of this, Coach Gower (nose push technique) will wrap the nose behind the 4i, gaining a player on the QB. 

P.S

One of the most fascinating conversations within was Coach Gower teaching his players to read the level and position of the back. When done effectively, this can accelerate defender’s diagnosis of plays. I made a simple chart below to demonstrate.