Montana State Pressures Part 1

One High Pressure Variations

Montana State’s one high pressure world is built on two pillars: creating overloads without sacrificing run fits, and forcing the quarterback to make fast, imperfect decisions. They do not live in one look. You will see them bluff drop eight one snap and bring six the next, all out of the same pre snap shell. The beauty is in how they marry movement with coverage. The front mechanics stress the protection, and the back end closes the air space. Whether it is a five man Firezone or an all out blitz, there is a calculated plan for where the free hitter is coming from and how the secondary will protect the post.

Magic Swap

In Magic Swap, the core idea stays the same but the assignments flip. The boundary 3 tech is now the point man, crashing hard to occupy the guard and center. This frees the nose to loop and wrap with the opposite 3 tech, creating a fast inside lane that develops before the protection can adjust. The movement forces the interior to sort a stunt they rarely see, which often leads to a free runner or at least a muddied pocket. Montana State tags this with one high coverage, so while the front is twisting the post safety is capping the vertical shots and the corners are squeezing space outside. On the rep, it ended exactly how you would draw it up with the looper delivering a clean shot to the quarterback and an incompletition. It is a blend of controlled chaos that punishes both protection rules and quarterbacks who think they have time.

Open Sting Variation

In the Open Sting Variation, the nickel fires off the edge from the passing strength, using speed to beat any late-set tackle or back in protection. The defensive line slants into a reduced front, closing inside gaps and forcing the ball to spill into the blitz. On the back end they lock into Cover 0 with a true post player. It is a straightforward call that leans on athlete over scheme. In this clip the nickel timed it perfectly, adjusting to the boot, forcing the quarterback to fade away from his throw, and producing another incompletion. When you can bring pressure with one of your most explosive players and still have the post protected, you are in a good place defensively.

Here’s an example of exchanging the Sting pressure to the interior linebacker against a Trips open set.