College football coaches employ drills to train and evaluate players in order to establish starting rosters. Mobility drills develop footwork and balance. Skill drills improve techniques at the various line and backfield positions. Some coaches design drills to discover a standout player among the ranks. Many college football drills conducted during the season duplicate game situations and fine-tune the performance of offensive and defensive units.
Five on Four
This drill stresses blocking and rushing techniques used by offensive and defensive linemen. The offensive center, guards and tackles line up on the line of scrimmage. Four defensive linemen set up across from the offensive line. The coach calls a blocking scheme and designates a gap as the point of attack for a ball carrier. At the whistle, offensive linemen must take the correct first step in the direction of their blocks and position their feet for maximum balance and power. Defensive linemen are taught to charge straight ahead and use their strength to manipulate blockers and get to the gap. The coach blows the whistle at any time to freeze the players and discuss nuances.
Bail for Ten
Defensive backs must backpedal into pass coverage areas and break on the football when it's thrown to a receiver. The bail for ten drill is set using target cones at various locations in the defensive backfield. A defensive back lines up in position to cover a wide receiver. At the whistle, a quarterback drops back to pass and the defensive back backpedals for 10 yards. The quarterback sets and throws the football to one of the target cones. The defensive back must break at the correct angle and use his speed to intercept the football. The drill can be conducted with two quarterbacks and two defensive backs at opposite sides of the field. The ball should be thrown to short, intermediate and long targets.
Lions vs. Gazelles
Kickoff and punt teams require enthusiastic players that possess the speed to get downfield quickly, as well as the skills to evade blockers. Lions vs. Gazelles is designed to sort out players that have the ability to beat a double-team block and take the most effective angle to the kick return man.
Two players line up as wide-outs on the line of scrimmage. Two defenders are assigned to block each wide-out. The kick return man is positioned deep to receive the kick. At the whistle, the punter kicks the football. Each wide-out attempts to evade the double-team block, sprint downfield and tackle the kick return man. Players must maintain outside containment when they run downfield to cover a kickoff or punt.
The absence of other players on the kicking team gives the return man a huge advantage. Players who make a tackle in the Lions vs. Gazelles drill are often standouts during games.
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