Leverage

Leverage is the advantage you get from being lower, on a better angle, or with better hand placement than the man across from you. It's why a technically sound 260-pounder can move a sloppy 300-pounder: pads under his pads, hands inside his frame, hips under his hips. Coach Jay builds it from three things — pad level (Drag the Gator Tail), angle (stay square, get your hat and hands on the right surface), and hand placement (independent hands inside the frame). “Low man wins” is the shorthand every lineman learns first.

Defined by Coach Jay Freeman — 32 years coaching the offensive and defensive line.

Related trench terms

Pad levelBoth sides

How low your shoulders are at the moment of contact. Lower pads win leverage.

Low man winsBoth sides

The phrase that summarizes leverage as the universal lineman language.

Drag the Gator TailBoth sides

Keep your butt down and your hips low all through the rep — like you've got an alligator tail off your tailbone dragging in the grass. Low pad level + a stable base you can move from.

AnchorO-Line

To stop a bull rush by sinking the hips and widening the base.

Sink the hipsBoth sides

To drop the hips before contact to gain leverage and a stable base.

Go deeper

• Coach Jay’s lineman training library — the technique behind the term →
• Back to the full Trench Dictionary →
• Get the free 6-week trench training program →