Throw It To Your Best Football Player
You hear it from football coaches all the time. “Players make plays.” It ain’t about the X’s & O’s. It’s about the Jimmies & Joes.” Then you watch their offense and they do a really poor job of getting their best football player the football.
Football coaches all understand that we need good players. We also understand that without good coaching, the best players will not consistently save you if you do not create ways to make them successful. Sometimes that means handing it to your best receiver and at other times it means throwing it to your best running back.
This is why H Option is one of the best plays out there. Particularly in high school football you are getting the ball to who is probably your best player. You are not depending on your offensive line to open any holes to make this a positive play.
Full disclosure, getting your back out into the route concept is always risky if you free release them. Any good defensive coordinator is going to certainly check you out once he knows this is what you are doing. He knows you have to have hots and sights built in or you are flirting with disaster.
The Jimmies & Joes Won’t Save You Unless You Get Them The Ball
However; this is one of the reasons we like this H Option passing game concept so much. You will notice that it is still a seven man protection scheme. Both tight ends are involved in protection. The F tight end is going to protect you vs a corner fire and the Y is involved in full time protection.
This allows the offensive line to slide to the two receiver side and pick up any pressure other than an all out pressure. If the defense brings that you have a beautiful hot with the Z streaking right into the QB’s vision.
Related: FirstDown PlayBook Coverage Beaters Cover 1
Against any other defense this is a powerful scheme that clears a lot of defenders out as the quarterback reads the X/H high low. What cannot be dismissed here is that your young high school quarterback does not have to complete a post or comeback 15 yards down the field.
You just got the ball to one of, if not your best players in space with a seven yard pass. Yes, you just allowed a “player to make a play”. Check out the coaching points below.
FORMATION: FLANK (GUN) (PISTOL)
PLAY: 48 F CORNER H OPTION
DROP: 7 STEP DROP TIMING
SUGGESTED READ:
X-H
X: BURST 4
-HARD STEM OUTSIDE AND THEN SET A VERTICAL STEM.
-PUSH TO 16 YARDS. SELL VERTICAL THREAT.
-BREAK INSIDE AT 16 YARDS AND STAY ON THE MOVE.
-THROTTLE IN ANY PASSING LANE TO THE QB.
Y: PASS PROTECTION
Z: CLEAR POST
-BEST RELEASE WITH SPEED AFTER Y AND BEFORE F.
-RUN DIRECTLY THROUGH THE NEAR OR MIDDLE SAFETY.
F: CORNER ROUTE
-PROTECTION FIRST AND THEN RELEASE.
-BEST RELEASE AND SELL VERTICAL EARLY.
-BREAK OUTSIDE ON 4TH INSIDE STEP.
-FLATTEN THE ROUTE TO THE SIDELINE VS MOF CLOSED.
-KEEP THE ROUTE HIGH VS MOF OPEN.
H: OPTION ROUTE
-BEST FREE RELEASE AND GET VERTICAL WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY.
-GET TO 6-8 YARDS DEPTH.
-TURN AWAY FROM NEAREST DEFENDER’S LEVERAGE VS ZONE.
-RUN OUT OF YOUR BREAK AWAY FROM THE DEFENDER’S LEVERAGE VS MAN.
