Coaching Modern Linebackers: Drills, Reads, and Block Destruction

Modern linebacker play lives in the tweener space: guys who can fit the run, play in space, and rush off the edge without being a true safety or a true edge. In this episode, Kyle and Matt sit down with Coach Nick Vagnone, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne University, to break down how he develops modern linebackers inside a 3-3-5.
Coach Vagnone gets granular on the Sam, Mike, and Rush roles, the read step versus pop in place debate, how he teaches block destruction and tackling, and the exact Indy drills he uses to build it all. If you coach defense at the high school, youth, or small college level, there is a lot here worth stealing.

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome and tonight's guest, Coach Nick Vagnone
06:00 Why Lenoir-Rhyne moved from a 3-4 hybrid to a 3-3-5
09:41 Building a player-led defensive identity
14:21 Defining the modern linebacker: Sam, Mike, and Rush
23:40 Read step versus pop in place
30:53 The five movements and five core skills of a linebacker
36:54 Stance and start: the first drill every linebacker runs
42:04 Coaching pass drops, angle pedal, and head on a swivel
51:10 Change of direction and linebacker ball skills
1:00:10 Walking run fits with the scout line
1:03:09 Block destruction: taking on half a man
1:10:33 Living on the sled and the dip and rip
1:14:38 Tackling with the donuts
1:18:58 Circle chase: forced fumbles and ball security
1:26:35 The closing question: 828 Day at Lenoir-Rhyne