The speed at which a tempo offense can get set for the next play immediately after the previous play ends is a trait that separates good tempo offenses from great ones.
That’s why today we’re going to talk about a drill that Coach Jeff Mullen, creator of the “Big O System”, used every single day to make sure his team was crisp and efficient in getting back to the line as soon as the ball was spotted!
Get all of Coach Mullen’s secrets to building the best version of the tempo offense in our 6-part series: The Big “O” System – The Complete Series
The Spot the Ball Drill
The spot the ball drill is how Coach Mullen began every practice period with the exception of Mondays, which were used more as a teaching and recovery day for the players.
The number one things that you’re teaching in this drill are tempo and sideline communication. Additionally, this drill also provides the opportunity to work on new install and play execution.
The 4 Key Components of the Spot the Ball Drill
- Sideline Communication
- Tempo
- Ball Security
- Fundamentals (Non-Game Plan Specific)
All plays that are called in this drill are RPOs. This is because the coaching staff does not care if the QB gives, keeps, or throws the ball during each rep.
The drill begins as soon as the coach who is serving as the official spots the ball on the LOS.
As soon as the ball is spotted, the WRs find their WR coach to look for the tag that they’re being given for that particular play.
The Slot always leans to the field as he looks to the WR coach because it’s most likely that this is where he will be aligned. This is one way the offense can “cheat” a little bit to keep the tempo moving.
While the WRs are getting their tags, the linemen find the ball and get into position while looking to the OL coach for their signal.
As all of this is going on, the QB and TB stay close behind and make sure everything else is aligned properly.
The key to this drill is that every player needs to use their eyes to communicate with the sideline and their respective position coach. Coach Mullen likes to blare music during this drill to make it nearly impossible for the players to audibly understand the communication that they’re receiving from the sideline.
This forces the players to learn and master the visual cues and hand signals from the sideline which will prepare them for a game environment.
Once the offense is set, the QB snaps the ball, runs the play, and the player with the ball gets it to the nearest official as quickly as possible. From here the drill repeats.
Coach Mullen typically likes to script 8 plays to run during this drill in a 5 minute period. This allows him to run the script through with the starters in its entirety, and then he rotates in the 2s to get some reps as well.
Get all of the tricks and secrets to the tempo offense with The Big “O” System: The Complete Series
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