How to Beat the UNDER Front in High School Football (Use BASE Runs!)

[@JohnnyMidey]

Under front is on of my favorite defenses for defending zone plays in general and for zone read to the side of the 3t you can do a lot of be able to steal gaps back with rope a dope, fill and fold, scratch and sniff, and just regular old surf tech. Vs any 21p its a huge killer since if you want to run weak you run right into the reduction and if you want to run strong you have to deal with a 3 for 3 surface on the LOS and both sides can be played with a 9t to turn any wide zone runs back inside. It makes those runs that are good vs 3 down structures harder because of that 5t. Hardest look for Zap is that under G since if you block it like a 6/7 hole zone with a single on the 2i the 5t can cut the play off and force the cut up and if you try to double the 5t the center has a nearly impossible block. Wade Phillips was the master with this front and it in my opinion is the most underutilized defense front vs the wide zone. The big run fit structures are the rope a dope fits where the DL can play attack react and create vertical penetration while having the LBers make them right even if they get reached which is a killer in WZ. Also under front you are forgetting one of the best beaters with the crunch play. Messes up the LBers badly while fitting with in the WZ structure

[@Coach_DDavidson]

Yeah, Crunch works, but I don’t like the idea of plays that need specific looks at the high school level. Funny you mention liking the under front defensively because I like seeing it offensively. Out of 21P, I essentially get the same surface to both sides (2 exterior gaps filled), and it’s hard to find a balanced way to create an 8 man box against it without leaving a gaping hole somewhere else. I know I’m not going to get the edge, but even on OZ, being able to fan out the 2 exterior gaps, lead through on the play-side linebacker with the FB, and have an angle on the 1 to be able to “chip” to the back-side LB and seal in the back-side is one of my favorite play vs look combos in football.

[@JohnnyMidey]

@Coach_DDavidson out of the base fronts from a WZ perspective, over fronts is the easiest (weakside bubble is ideal) the odd front and tite front has soft C gaps. The under front takes away the weakside bubble and gives you that hard C gap defender to defend plays like zorro and zap. Plus those fan blocks give me those favorable 1v1s. It carries all of the vertical elements of playing an even front with the DL while giving you a balanced 5 man front. It also lines up to deuce and solo well because running away from the 3 man side is running into an over front where the reduction can mess with the read. Main issue with under front is 11p sets but under is imo should mostly be used vs a base personnel offensively. If I had to play a WZ team tomorrow this would be my main front

[@BrentPerez-gn4nz]

@@JohnnyMidey I also like condensing the set or using short motion and working pin and pull scheme with down blocks on 5/9 (great angles) or even weak side truck toss with Tackle wrapping and FB lead? Just curious, what your answer for pin and pull both strong and weak?

[@ericjohnson4877]

This conversation has enough good content in it to fuel an entire series on defense. How to pair fronts and coverages, how that affects run fits, and how to steal back gaps when you're outgapped based on the coverage call. I've heard of rope a dope and fill and fold, but I don't really know what they are, I've never heard of scratch and sniff or surf tech, but if those are all ways to play a true 2 gap technique then they should definitely be tools any D Lineman would want to have in his arsenal