Welcome to the second article of the NDSU series! This article is a part 2 to a clinic done by long-time assistant coach Randy Hedberg, on the topic of NDSU QB play.
Last article focused on the technique aspect of what NDSU coaches to their QBs. This article focuses on HOW they exactly do that, going through drills (with screenshots attached).
Warm-Up Drills:
During pre-practice, NDSU QBs go through their warm-up drills. This includes practicing snapping for 15-minutes from both Under Center and Gun. During this time, the QBs also try to throw from different drops and platforms, making sure that their throwing motions are loose and ready for period 1 of practice. This can be accomplished by simply having the QBs partner up and throwing the ball back and forth.
In addition, they also work a speed ladder drill, focusing on incorporating different footworks during the speed ladder, and trying to throw both on and off-platform. An important point here is to try to throw with urgency, by emphasizing the transfer of movement from the ground up. This drill is a 5-minute segment usually.
Indy Drills:
Rhythm Drop:
In this drill, QBs are put into the loaded position (ball on the back pec, ready to start the throwing motion). Afterwards, the QBs will then go through the 2nd and 3rd step of their 3-step drop (cross-over and the last depth step), throwing to receivers on the move. The focus of this drill is to emphasize weight transfer at the top of the drop, focus on "firm" footwork (no-hitch throwing), and force the hips and feet to get into balance.
Shuffle Stablizie:
In this drill, QBs will work on their shuffle and maintaining a base as they will shuffle back and forth, in all directions, sometimes even having to flip the hips depending on the variation - below you can see Lance doing a variation called Shuffle Kickback in which he will first shuffle backward or forward before kicking back and flipping his hips. They will then complete a pass as soon as they are given a "ball call" (told to throw the ball), which will force them to have urgency in their throwing motion. The main focus of this drill is to maintain a base and not let the feet to come together.
Shuffle Triangle:
Shuffle triangle is another drill that focuses on maintaing a proper base while shuffling and flipping the hips on throws, albeit, done more occasionally than the shuffle stabilize drill. In this drill, QBs will shuffle back at an angle, flip their hips, and shuffle forward again, doing this multiple times in a fashion that creates a triangle. Ball calls can be incorporated in this drill to focus on urgency on throws as well. In addition, another important focus in this drill is to also not hop during the shuffle but instead to step-replace.
Single-Lane Drill:
This is the last of the drills that focuses on the QBs maintaining a base and shuffling. In this drill, a QB is placed next to a line of cones, shuffling backwards, forwards, and over the cones, trying to avoid them in his movement, in order to focus on maintaining a proper base with proper spacing between the feet. The drill is completed with a throw to a moving receiver. This drill is done less often than most other drills.
Flat-Escape Drill:
As NDSU is an under-center team who likes to throw nakeds off of their Inside Zone or Outside Zone fakes, in addition to QBs having to move due to pressure, they place a strong emphasis on throwing on the run and off-platform. A drill they do to focus on this is the flat-escape drill. This drill can be done with visual cues (someone rushing the QB), or verbal cues (telling QB when to move). In this drill, the QB will complete a 3, 5, or 7-step drop, before having to flip his hips urgently, and get on the move laterally. The QB will then get his front number to his target (an important cue for maintaing accuracy when throwing on the move), and then complete the throw on the run, which you can see below. This is one of the drills done most often by NDSU as it simulates true in-game situations.
A variation of this drill is the shuffle-escape, in which the QB is shuffling instead of dropping back, which focuses more on maintaining a base rather than the QB drop itself.
3-Cone Drill:
Another drill done for practicing off-platform throws, this drill starts in a similar manner as the previous drill as the QB completes a 3, 5, or 7-step drop. He will then start moving forward towards one of three cones (placed to the right, in-front, or left of him), completing a throw on the move to a WR who is either stationary or moving (can move across the body of the QB to practice throws across the body). Once again, the focus for the QB on the throw is to get his front number facing towards their target to help with their accuracy.
QB going to the 1st cone:
QB going to the 2nd cone:
QB going to the 3rd cone:
Read Progression:
The last drill that was covered in the clinic and in this article is a drill that focuses on progressing through reads. In this drill, the QB first completes a 5-step drop to the middle of a circle of receivers. He will then keep his base in the pocket as he takes his feet, hips, and eyes to each target in order, throwing the ball on a ball call. This drill can also be done off of a shuffle instead of a drop as well.
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