How John Teerlinck uses the use the 3 on 1 drill to develop recognition

n May 11 John Teerlinck, one of the greatest D-Line coaches of all time, passed away. Coach Teerlinck coached greats like Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney, Chris Doleman, John Randle, Kevin Greene, Bubba Baker and Neil Smith who all had at least 100 sacks in their careers. He innovated D-Line play by making D-Line play more aggressive and less reactive. One of the drills that he used to do this is called the 3 on 1 drill

Why do the 3 on 1 drill?

One of the key fundamentals of Coach Teerlincks system is to get off vertically vs the run and the pass. With this mentality, D-Linemen need to understand how they should fit and react in both run and the pass situations with this aggressive technique. Coach Teerlinck himself said that he runs this drill every single day.

Tight 5 set up

You need 3 blockers to simulate the tight end, tackle and backside guard

Tight 5 Reads

Double team: The 5-tech wants to get their hat in the crack and split the double team

High hat: The 5-tech should never be surprised by pass. The get off should put the lineman in perfect position to pass rush

Down block w/ pull: When the 5-tech reads down block and sees the pulling guard he needs spill

Loose 5 set up

You need 3 blockers to simulate the backside guard, tackle and fullback

Loose 5 reads

Reach: Get upfield and penetrate vertically

High hat: The Loose 5 needs to be aggressive and win off the edge if he shows high hat

Down block w/ pull: When the D-Lineman reads down block and sees the pulling guard he needs to spill

3 tech set up

You need 3 blockers to simulate the center, guard and tackle

3 tech reads

Scoop: Get hat in the crack and sprint down the line to make the play

High Hat: Pass rush without taking any pauses. Remember the 3-tech's steps should be the same on run and pass.

Trap: When the 3-tech reads down block and sees the pulling center he needs spill

Cocked nose set up

You need 3 blockers to simulate the center, guard and tackle

Cocked nose reads

Scoop: Get hat in the crack and sprint down the line to make the play.

High Hat: Everything happens faster in the interior so the nose needs to work his move immediately with high hat

Reach: Vertically penetration creates disruption in the backfield. Vs the reach get vertical!

That’s it for this week. Craig over and out!

And whenever you are ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Learn how to develop top tier pass rushers and a lethal pass rush attack here (1,000+ students)
2. Learn how to turn your D-Line into a block destruction machine here (1,100+ students)

-Craig