O n behalf of Coach Rick Comegy and
the Tuskegee football program it is an
honor to contribute to this year’s Summer
Manual.
As an offensive line coach, my players
must believe and have confidence in every-
thing I’m teaching in order for us to have
success. Everything starts up front”
Running the football is an attitude. Every
year, the first day of training camp, I let my
players know what I expect from them and
what they should expect from me. On the
field, I want them to have a chip on their
shoulders when it comes to running the foot-
ball. I remind them everyday that we are an
attacking offense when it comes to running
the football. Training camp at Tuskegee has
to be the toughest training camp in football.
When the dust clears and training camp is
over I know I have the five (mentally) tough-
est football players in America.
I use a common sense approach to
coaching, it’s like building a house. You don’t
build the roof first, you start with the founda-
tion, clear the land, and build upward.
It’s the same way with run blocking, start
with the stance and work your way up.
There are certain things we do fundamen-
tally, everyday (I mean everyday) to help us
stay sound. I live and die with theses drills.
Stance: A good stance is comfortable to
the player (he’s the one that has to move
from that stance). Where he can move for-
ward, backward, pull left or right and gener-
ally be able to move in a good football posi-
tion without wasted motion. I remind my play-
ers all the time that everything (on a running
play with the offensive line) will happen with-
in two seconds after the ball is snapped, so
we cannot afford any false steps.
Step Drill: We start with the feet and
make sure we are taking the proper steps. If
we are going to the left, we want to start with
our left foot first, take a six-inch step gaining
ground towards the defense, and bringing the
rest of our body with us, and do the same
thing to the right. Three to five minutes.
Ropes: Good footwork is essential.
Offensive linemen have to be able to
“dance” on the field. We will spend three to
five minutes to get quicker every day.
Fit Drill: I want to show them leverage is
on the defender. Hands, head, shoulders and
feet (base). It’s important to know what part of
the body we are attacking, also making sure
our pad level (leverage) is under theirs.
Chute: The chute will help us get and
maintain leverage. If I had a dollar for every
time I turn on the film and saw an offensive
lineman stand straight up on the snap of
the ball (and play high). I would be a multi-
millionaire. It’s so important for us to be
Building an Attacking
Offensive Line for the
technically sound and stay low to have suc- Run Game
cess running the football.
Seven-Man Sled: Last but not least, the
seven-man sled is the most important drill
that we do. The sled will help build tough-
ness along with sound technique. We com-
bine all the other (fit, chute, ropes and step)
drills into one when we get to the sled. I want
to drive our offensive line to the very limit of
no return, and then bring them back. All the
while, we are working on staying low, main-
taining leverage, getting a good fit and taking
the proper steps (I off-set the line to the left
and the right of the pad so they can step
every time).
Every day, I try to find a way to keep my
guys motivated so we can have a successful
practice. Sometimes you have to change-up
things at practice, but the one part of practice
that I never change is fundamentals. Like
most coaches I’ve learned or stolen tech-
niques from someone else. One of the things
I’ve learned from my o-line coach in college
(Allen Bogan-FAMU) is setting up a realistic
goal the offensive line can obtain. I use the
phrase “Mounties” as in Royal Canadian Wayne Campbell
Mounted Police. They have a motto, “A
Mountie always gets his man.” If you can get Offensive Line Coach
your man 80 percent of the time, you can
become a Mountie. The players seem to like Tuskegee University
the idea of being a Mountie. They know
that’s the ultimate compliment. Tuskegee, Ala.
Our philosophy for run blocking is we want
to hit you first (not catch) and play on the
other side of the line of scrimmage. We want
movement (not position) at the point of attack
and movement on the back-side. I never
want to put the line in a passive mode. Alot of
coaches will ask the back-side to position. I
want our guys to always be on the attack. We
try and create a game-like situation everyday,
all-day in practice, so when the fourth quarter
rolls around we have something left inside to
keep attacking. Probably the best compli-
ment I’ve ever received was overhearing an
opposing team’s middle linebacker describ-
ing our offensive line to his coach. The coach
asked what happened in the fourth quarter,
and the middle linebacker said, “They keep
coming. Every play they keep coming.”
I was taught when I first got into coaching
to make sure I put my players in a position
where they will be successful on the field.
That’s why my preparation is so important.
Whenever my players fail on the field, (don’t
get their man) I’ve failed as a coach.
• AFCA Summer Manual — 2002 •