The Clemson Shotgun
Quick Game Passing
F irst of all, let me say what a great honor
it is for the Clemson offensive staff to
speak to you today. On behalf of our head
Attack coach Tommy Bowden we would like to
express our gratitude to the AFCA and the
program committee for this opportunity.
Rick Stockstill, who is our wide receivers
coach, Burton Burns who coaches our run-
ning backs and our offensive line coach
Brad Scott Ron West along with myself will each spend
a little time with you this morning.
Offensive As with any offensive system, several
Coordinator aspects must be executed with consistent
precision in order to effectively move the
Clemson ball and score points. One of the most
University important aspects that we feel is crucial to
our success is the quick passing game.
Clemson, S.C. Because we run about 80 percent of our
offense out of the shotgun, we must be
able to execute the quick game out of the
gun as well.
As everyone knows, you must have crisp
timing in your execution of the quick passing
game. We feel our timing is often better in
the shotgun than it would be under center.
We will still go under center on occasion with
Rick Stockstill the traditional quick three-step drop (one big
and two gather steps), but we prefer to be in
Wide Receivers the shotgun and use a catch and throw with
Coach our quick game route packages.
The components of our quick game
include the following facets:
The Snap
One advantage of the shotgun game is
that the zone dropping linebackers or sec-
ondary won't get as fast a read that a quick
Burton Burns pass is coming as they would if the quar-
terback went under center and did his quick
Runningbacks three-step drop. So instead of buzzing flat
Coach underneath routes, the linebackers/defen-
sive backs must hesitate a little longer to
clear the run or drop-back passing game.
Another advantage of the shotgun is that
the quarterback (especially if he is under
six feet tall) can get a better pre-snap read
of the defense because he is lining up five
yards behind the line of scrimmage. Our
pre-snap read will determine which side of
Ron West the formation the quarterback will work
after snap. If the snap is poor (extremely
Offensive Line high or low) then the shotgun becomes a
Coach disadvantage because the quarterback has
to shift his eyes completely to the ball and
he will lose his pre-snap read.
We want our centers to snap the ball
firmly around chest-high and preferably to
the right side of the quarterback's chest (if
the quarterback is right-handed). The
• Proceedings • 78th AFCA Convention • 2001 •
important thing with the center snap is that
it is firm and consistent. If the snap is con-
sistently to the left of the quarterback, then
you can move the quarterback’s stance to
the left to compensate. It is also important
that the centers work diligently on their
snaps while taking their protection steps
(either man or gap protection). It helps to
have a flexible center and he must be able
to sit on the ball to be effective. A high snap
is often the result of a center's rear end
raising up to soon.
Our quarterback will line up five yards
from the ball with his arms out (but elbows
bent) to receive the snap with a slightly
staggered stance (right foot to left heel)
with the feet underneath the arm-pits.
The Catch and Throw
The quarterback will get a pre-snap
read before the cadence and then prepare
himself to catch and throw the ball as
quickly as possible. We use the analogy
that he is a shortstop in baseball preparing
to turn the double play as he will move his
hips and his feet while his hands work to
get the laces on the ball. It is important that
the quarterback work his hands and feet
quickly and that he is surveying the cover-
age as he gets the laces. The quarterback
(with a decent snap) should be able to
catch and throw in 1.4 seconds or less. We
work on this technique more that any other
in practice and the best drill we do for this
is when we feed a quarterback five balls
from a bag as quick as we can and he must
catch and throw them with accuracy.
Because we will determine what side of
the field we will attack with our pre-snap
read, the quarterback's eyes can focus on
the ball with peripheral vision on that half of
the field as he readies his feet, hips, and
shoulders for the throw. And we remind our
quarterback's, timing and accuracy are
more important than velocity.
The Routes
All of our quick game routes (except the
fade) have pre determined steps so it is
important that our wide receivers get in a
good stance and do not false step. They must
be physical and quick versus press man and
they must attack the defender's outside
shoulder on the snap (slot receivers will
attack over their alignment in zone coverage).
Alignment
It is very important in our many forma-
tions that our wide receivers have the prop-
er alignment on all of our plays and spacing
is very critical in our quick game. Our base
alignment in our four wide receiver set has
our outside receiver to the short side (X)
five yards from the sideline; our outside
wide receiver to the wide side (Z) is five
yards outside the hash; our inside receiver
to the short side of the (H) splits the differ-
ence between the X and offensive tackle;
our strongside slot (Y) lines up one yard
inside the hash. As a general rule, in near-
ly all of our formations the wide receiver will
always have five to six yards between them
and the nearest offensive player. Our
receivers have their inside foot up in their
stance.
Our quarterback is five yards from the
ball in the shotgun, with our tailback also at
five yards directly behind the tackle.
The Protections
We will use either a gap or man protec-
tion-based on our formation. However,
occasionally the protection will be based on
the defensive scheme we are attacking if
the formation allows for either man or gap
protection. In both cases, our offensive line
will be aggressive on the line of scrimmage
and will attack the mid-section of the rush-
ers to keep their hands down and not allow
penetration.
The Read
Most of our quick game route packages
are mirrored routes so we can work on either
side of the defense. This allows our quarter-
back to have a helpful pre-snap read and to
force the defense to balance their coverage
from sideline to sideline. Our quarterback will
always locate the free safety before each
snap and then take a quick pre-snap read of
the coverage before having the ball
snapped. With the many disguises, rolled
coverages and variety of coverages that are
employed with today's defenses the quarter-
back must not rely solely on the pre-snap
read to determine where to throw, it will, how-
ever, help him to pick a side to work.
The post-snap read depends on the
route package but most of the time it is the
flat defender (a corner with a two-safety look
or a Will linebacker/strong safety with a sin-
gle look).
Quick Game Route Packages
We have four quick game route pack-
ages that we will use in every game. We
like to use a multitude of formations with
each package, particularly with all of our
• Proceedings • 78th AFCA Convention • 2001 •
spread formations. We feel that the execu-
tion of these packages is vital for us in
order to have an answer for the many dif-
ferent defenses that we could face. T h e s e
four packages include:
Hitch
Diagram 1
Diagram 2
Wide Receivers: Run five step hitch
(sell the fade); inside foot is always up it the
stance; snap head and elbow back to quar-
terback on fifth snap.
Tailback: In backfield, block protection
in no-back formation, run hitch.
Offensive Line: Man or gap aggression
protection.
Quarterback: Pre-snap read for softest
coverage; if the coverage is equally soft,
then work the shortest throw; post-snap
read the flat defender to the side you pick.
Catch and throw as quickly as possible.
Notes: We like to throw the hitch pack-
age out of many formations and the wide
receiver's will not convert their route on the
run if the corner squats or lines up in press.
We will, however, change to another pack-
age (slant or fade/bow) before the snap if we
think it is a hard, two-deep corner or if we
like one of our match-ups in press coverage.
Slant
Wide Receivers: Run three step slant
(attack outside shoulder of defender) and in
at about 45 angle. NEVER go behind the
defender. Inside (slot) receivers should
break flatter verses press coverage.
Tailbacks: Block protection of play fake
in front of the quarterback. (Diagram 4).
Offensive Line: Man or gap aggression
protection.
Diagram 3
Diagram 4
Quarterback: Pre-snap read the cover-
age; post-snap read the flat defender.
Catch and throw (you may need to
squeeze the trigger and hold the ball for a
fraction of a second if it is Cover 3 and the
flat defender sits in the throwing lane).
Notes: We like to throw the slant ver-
sus a two-deep safety defense and we
will sometimes have the back fake a run
play before he protects to hold the out-
side linebackers.
Fade/Bow
Diagram 5
Wide Receivers: Outside receivers (X
& Z) run a fade route (must outside
release); inside receivers run a four-step
speed out. (We call this a bow route) The X
& Z must fight to stay at least three yards in
bounds.
Tailbacks: Block protection or play
fake.
Offensive Line: Man or gap aggression
protection.
Quarterback: Pre-snap read the cover-
age; post-snap read the flat defender or
find the best match-up versus man cover-
age. Catch and throw as quickly as possi-
ble. Versus hard corner two-deep stick the
ball in the hole to X or Z. When throwing the
fade DON'T throw the ball out-of-bounds-
Drop it in the bucket about three yards from
the sideline.
Notes: We put an orange line on our
practice fields three yards from the sidelines
so our wide receivers and quarterbacks will
know their landmarks on the fade route.
Skinny
Wide Receivers: Outside receivers (X
& Z) run a five-step skinny post. Attack the
outside shoulder of the defender and give
him a good "stick" move on your fifth step
and then break in at about a 60 angle. You
should not cross the hash mark. Inside
receivers (Y & H) will shuffle for width on
the snap and slightly turn your numbers to
the quarterback for easier target.
Diagram 6
Tailbacks: Block protection on play fake.
O-Line: Man or gap aggression protection.
Quarterback: Pre-snap read the cover-
age; post-snap read the flat defender.
Versus a single safety look be prepared to
throw away from middle safety if he cheats
to one side (see him with your peripheral
vision as you get the laces).
Notes: It is obviously a better route
verses a single safety defense and we
will sometimes check out of the package
if we know they are playing two-deep.
The quarterback may squeeze the trig-
ger, like a slant route, if the flat defender
is playing in between the skinny and
shuffle routes.
Conclusion
As previously mentioned, we feel that
the efficient execution of our shotgun quick
game is one of the most important compo-
nents of our offense. We devote a lot of
practice time to each area of the quick
game and feel we can put a lot of stress on
the defense by using the route package out
of many formations.

AFCA Districts
District 1 District 5
Division I-A: Sun Belt Conference Division I-A: Big Ten Conference, Notre Dame
Division I-AA: Atlantic 10 Conference, Ivy League, Division I-AA: Pioneer Football League, Gateway
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Hofstra Conference
Division II, Division III: New York, Vermont, New Division II, Division III: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island Michigan
and Connecticut.
District 6
District 2 Division I-A: Big Twelve Conference
Division I-A: Big East Conference, Navy. Division I-AA: None
Division I-AA: Patriot League, Northeast Division II, Division III: Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Conference North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska
Division II, Division III: Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Delaware and West Virginia District 7
Division I-A: Conference USA, Mid-American
District 3 Conference
Division I-A: Atlantic Coast Conference Division I-AA: Southland Conference
Division I-AA: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Division II, Division III: Arkansas, Texas,
Southern Conference, Charleston Southern, Liberty, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri
Wofford, Elon
Division II, Division III: Maryland, Virginia, North District 8
Carolina, South Carolina, and District of Columbia Division I-A: Western Athletic Conference
Division I-AA: Big Sky Conference, Southern Utah
District 4 Division II, Division III: Colorado, New Mexico,
Division I-A: Southeastern Conference, Central Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho and
Florida, South Florida Montana
Division I-AA: Ohio Valley Conference, Southwestern
Athletic Conference, Samford, Western Kentucky District 9
Division II, Division III: Kentucky, Tennessee, Division I-A: Pacific 10 Conference
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia Louisiana and Florida Division I-AA: Cal Poly-SLO, St. Mary’s
Division II, Division III: Washington, Oregon,
California, Hawaii, Alaska

• Proceedings • 78th AFCA Convention • 2001 •