Quarterback Fundamentals and Drills
USA Football
Brent Schwanekamp
Assistant Football Coach
Plainfield High School (IN)
[email protected]
Qualities of a Great Quarterback
Many football teams ask their quarterbacks to have varying roles in their offense.
Regardless of what the quarterback is asked to do, here are some key attributes that
can lead to quarterback success.
Hard worker: The fundamentals of this position are the most challenging in football.
Quarterbacks are asked to master the overhead throwing motion which is considered the
hardest skill in all of sports. In order to have success, the quarterback must be willing
to put work in outside of practice time to perfect this skill as well as develop as an
athlete. The most undervalued area that a quarterback must work at is understanding
the game by studying film, meeting with coaches, and understanding the playbook.
Competitor: A quarterback cannot back away from competition. If he is to be great, he
must understand how to face competition and be cool under pressure. He must be level
headed and be able to handle the highs and lows of a football game.
Good / Great Athlete: As more teams ask their quarterback to control the tempo and
direction of their offense, it is critical that the quarterback is not a liability as an athlete.
A quarterback must work on refining his athletic skills to maximize his ability to make
plays in the offense. The quarterback position is not one to hide a marginal athlete.
Stance and QB Center Exchange
Stance: The quarterback stance must be balanced and allow the quarterback to move in
any direction. The quarterback’s feet are shoulder-width apart and slightly pigeon toed.
There should be a comfortable bend in the knee, and the quarterback should keep a flat
back with the head and eyes up.
Snap: The hands and arms are critical to receiving the snap. The hands are slightly
offset to allow thumbs to interlock, and the arms are extended with elbows away from
the body. The key to successfully taking a snap is pressuring with the bottom hand to
keep the hands in one piece and slightly bending knees deeper at the snap to ride with
the movement of the center.
Shotgun: Receiving a shotgun snap does not require much change to the athletic
quarterback stance. The quarterback must still have a bend in his knees and be able to
receive a poor snap in any direction. It is critical that the quarterback holds in until the
ball is caught before executing his ball handling and drop. A quarterback that leans
away from the snap is unable to handle a poor snap with much success.
Ball Handling
As most youth and middle school, not to mention high school, offenses rely on running
the ball for a majority of their plays, it is critical to spend time teaching, coaching, and
correcting the ball handling of the quarterback. It is vital to marry the ball handling of
runs with play actions and hold the quarterback accountable for making these look the
same. It would behoove many coaches to go and watch their high school team practice
and play to better understand what makes their offense run smoothly. While every
offense has different nuances to its ball handling, but some fundamentals are universal.
Handoffs: When handing the ball off to a running back, it is important to deliver the ball
as deep as possible. The ball should be delivered on one vertical plane by extending the
ball and seating it into the running back’s stomach with both the quarterback's hands
and eyes.
Tossing the Ball: When running the outside toss play, there are several key skills. The
reverse pivot toss allows the quarterback to use his momentum to deliver a firm ball.
The first step must be a 135 degree pivot which allows the quarterback to open his hips.
The ball should be seated in his stomach and then tossed to the running back by
extending the arms at the end of the pivot. The coaching point is to “pitch your pinkies”
to the target. This allows the ball to be on target and easily caught by the runner.
Option pitches: As more teams utilize the option from under center and in the
shotgun, it is critical to teach the option pitch. The quarterback must be able to come
under control prior to the pitch. The ball must be carried in a position ready to pitch
throughout the play. The quarterback attacks the up-field shoulder of the option key
and must pitch the ball from his heart to his running back’s heart. The ball can be
pitched in two manners: thumb down and pinkie up through wrist pronation or with a
push as if shooting a basketball with the flick of the wrist.
Throwing Motion
There is no perfect throwing motion. As a coach, it is important to triage mistakes in a
young quarterback’s throwing motion and work on correcting them one at a time. If a
coach tries to correct all the observed mistakes in one workout, then it will do more
harm than good as the quarterback will suffer “paralysis by analysis.” A coach must
work to establish a delivery that is quick, repeatable, and accurate. Here are some
areas to aid in this process. They are written from the perspective of a right-hander.
Pre Pass: The quarterback stands tall with his feet shoulder width apart and balanced
with the instep of his right foot pointed at his target. His chin should be on his left
shoulder with his eyes downfield. The ball is held slightly away from the back shoulder
with the point of the ball pointing out away from the body. It can be helpful to teach
quarterbacks to hold the ball where they would traditionally hold a baseball bat. A
strong “C” in the right wrist with a high right elbow will facilitate improved ball flight and
accuracy.
Grip: There are as many grips as there are quarterbacks. The middle finger and thumb
of the throwing hand should be opposite each other on the football creating space
between the passer’s palm and the football. This can be checked by holding the ball up
in the air and looking for the light between the two. The quarterback’s fingers should be
just across the laces to allow him to create maximum spin on the football.
Feet: During the throwing motion it is critical that the quarterback steps with his left
foot off an imaginary line that connects his right instep with his target. This step should
be short and must be on the ball of the foot. A failure to do either of these keys will
often result in a pass that sails over the target or other inaccuracies. A short step also
allows the passer to drive over his front leg to generate power.
Push-Pull: The off arm initiates the throwing motion by pushing the ball away so that
the point of the ball is away from target. The left arm then changes the direction of
motion by pulling violently through the left hip pocket. The off arm has the biggest
impact on torque in the throwing motion and therefore impacts the velocity on the
football. It is not uncommon to see a quarterback’s left arm not “participating” in the
throw. Some quarterbacks even use this off hand to block part of their view by sweeping
across their eyes. It is imperative that the quarterback pulls through with his arm by
focusing on finishing behind their hip.
Follow Through: There are several ways to coach the follow through, and these have
evolved over the years. Shoulders are the start of the follow through. The left shoulder
points at the target during the pre pass position and must be replaced by the right
shoulder at the end of the throw as a result of the pull of the left arm. During the
shoulder turn, the quarterback must focus on extending the football down an imaginary
18 inch hallway between the quarterback and receiver. This image of a hallway allows
the quarterback to have his last meaningful touch on the football in the direction of the
target. The right hand creates additional spin and torque on the football through the
pronation of the thumb down and pinkie up. This pronation can be a problem for some
quarterbacks as they go from throwing baseballs in the spring to footballs in the fall. The
final part of the follow through is the replacement of the hips. To allow the quarterback’s
hips to fully rotate, he must release the weight on his back foot. A common of way to
facilitate this is by “kick standing” the right foot off to the side of the left foot as part of
the follow through. This allows the right hip to clear through and finish the throw
powerfully.
Head and Eyes: This might be the easiest portion of the throwing motion. The head
should remain fixed at its starting point in the pre pass position, chin fixed on left
shoulder. While the eyes can be used to influence and move defenders during a passing
play, it is important the eyes stay on the target during the actual throwing motion.
Some quarterbacks might have the tendency to watch the flight of the ball, but this
action can have a negative effect on accuracy.
Drops
3 Step: When taking a three step drop, tempo and timing are incredibly important. Most
reads on these routes are pre-snap and allow the quarterback to know which side he is
working before the play begins. The throws on a 3 step drop will be out of his hands as
fast as possible, his drop needs to be quick but effective in creating space between the
quarterback and the line of scrimmage.
The depth of the drop is achieved in the first step which drives the quarterback straight
back down an imaginary line from the center. This drive away begins with the stance.
The quarterback needs to “dig” his left big toe into the ground so that he can create
more explosion. As he drives back, the ball will work back into the pre pass position.
The second and third step work together to accomplish three very important tasks:
complete the timing and the tempo of the three step drop, critically change the balance
and momentum of the quarterback to ensure the proper shoulder angle to deliver an
accurate pass, and establish the feet of the quarterback in an advantageous position to
deliver the football.
A coach can help a young quarterback or one with a lesser arm by teaching a roll or kick
step in the three step drop. This technique shortens the throw and creates additional
momentum to the target. The third step of the drop is taken at a forty-five degree angle
instead of directly behind the center. It is critical that this step also aligns the right
instep at the target. A common flaw with this type of step is that the quarterback will
want to “swing” out into his throw rather than driving out to his target from his third
step. This technique is only valid when used to complete passes to the outside. When
throwing in-breaking routes, the quarterback must set his right foot to his target without
the roll or kick step.
Throwing quick passes from the shotgun does not require the quarterback to gain any
depth. The emphasis is on finding the laces and establishing the right instep at the
target. While it seems like throwing from the shotgun is simpler than under center, it is
a different skill set and must be practiced to create the same timing and feel.
Sprint Out and Throwing on the Run: One of the best ways to have success in the
passing game is with the sprint out pass. It has several upsides including: significantly
shortening the length of the throw, minimizing the number of reads, and allowing the
quarterback to run the ball easily. In this drop, the quarterback needs to open up and
gain depth to break the contain of the defense. The coaching point is to teach the
quarterback to work up and down the hill. After gaining depth and width from the
center, the quarterback must load the ball by pushing with his left hand to force his left
shoulder around to his target. It is also advantageous to have him chop his feet down
as he begins to attack downhill on a line to his target.
The actual mechanics of throwing on the run are not significantly different from a
stationary throw. The push of the left arm around to force the left shoulder on target
actually creates the exact pre pass as the traditional throw. Again, it is imperative that
quarterback is taking short steps on the balls of his feet and uses the “push-pull” to
initiate and complete the throw. The follow through should find the quarterback running
on a line directly at his target with his throwing shoulder pointed there as well.
“Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a result of something … hours
and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.”
-Roger Staubach
“The heartbeat of a football team is the quarterback position and I think
everyone who has any intelligence about the game understands you must have
consistency at that position to be a championship team.”
-Ron Jaworski