How to Run Block (and Finish)

Most young linemen try to push the defender. That's backwards. You don't push a 300-pound man; you get low, close the space, get your hands on his handles, and move his force — then you finish. Coach Jay's run game is built on closing space and leverage, not strength.

The cues are vivid on purpose — they're how you remember them at full speed. Drag the Gator Tail to stay low. Close the space with little steps and bring your hips. Don't push the defender — lift and flip him, roll him. Use his handles. And the most important word in the lineman vocabulary: Finish.

Coach Jay’s cues

• Close the spaceSmall steps, bring your hips, stay low and condensed with Gator Legs, upper body long and strong. Don't reach — close the distance and then strike.
• Don't push — lift and flipDon't try to push the defender. LIFT and FLIP him; ROLL the D-lineman. Get one hand to an inside-under that lifts his cleats off the ground.
• Use his handlesA defender's handles are under the chest plate, the armpits, and the ribs under the back pads. Grab him there and you move his force plus his body weight.
• Turn the turret, not the tankStay square — keep your hips (the tank) pointed up the field; turn your shoulders (the turret) up to 180° but only turn the hips on a trap pull or arc step.
• FinishTorque him, tear him, throw him — and play through the whistle. The rep is not over until it is over.

How to do it

1. Fire off lowTight first step, Gator Legs, pads under his pads — leverage before contact.
2. Close the spaceLittle steps, bring your hips, stay condensed; close the distance instead of lunging.
3. Get his handlesStrike with independent hands to the chest plate / armpits / ribs and get an inside-under that lifts him.
4. Move his forceDon't push — lift and flip, roll him, and drag him out of his gap with your lats.
5. Finish to the whistleRun your feet, stay square (turret not tank), and put him in the dirt — a pancake is a finish.

Drills to train it

• Close-the-space fitStart a step off a bag/partner; close the space with little steps and strike on the rise — no lunging.
• Handles board drillFit your hands to the chest plate/armpits/ribs and drive a partner laterally out of a gap.
• Finish circuitDrive a sled/partner and run your feet through the whistle every rep — habit, not highlight.

Common mistakes

• Trying to push the defender instead of lifting and moving his force.
• Lunging/reaching instead of closing the space with little steps.
• Grabbing cloth anywhere instead of finding his handles (chest plate, armpits, ribs).
• Turning the hips (the tank) early and losing square / vision.
• Stopping the block before the whistle.

This is Coach Jay Freeman's own run-game install (2018) in his own words; the 'inside knee to the linebacker' aiming point in this family of cues he credits to Joe Moore (Notre Dame).

Questions linemen ask

How do you run block as an offensive lineman?

Coach Jay teaches that you don't push the defender — you close the space with little steps, get low (Drag the Gator Tail), strike his handles (chest plate, armpits, ribs) with independent hands, and lift and flip him to move his force rather than shoving him. Stay square (turn the turret, not the tank) and finish the block through the whistle.

What does "use his handles" mean?

A defender's handles are the places you can actually move him from: under his chest plate, his armpits, and his ribs under the back pads. If you grab him there with independent hands, you move his force plus his body weight. Grab him anywhere else and you're just moving his force.

What is the most important thing in run blocking?

Finishing. Coach Jay calls Finish the most important word in the lineman vocabulary — you play violently through the whistle every rep. A block isn't over when you control the man; it's over at the whistle, and the best finishes are pancakes.

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