Wofford’s 3-4 Defense

by Nate Woody - Defensive Coordinator : Wofford College

With high tech information now available to us we've seen offenses evolve like never before. You no longer have to travel to another school and visit for weeks like Bear Bryant did when he installed the wishbone formation that Texas was using in the late 60's and early 70's. I see old wing-T misdirection and sweeps, variations of the power I schemes, triple option concepts, and west coast passing traits all coming out of a no huddle spread formation. The NCAA Championship game between Auburn and Oregon combined two explosive offenses that averaged over 40 points a game for the year. I've always believed running the football is essential in winning championships. On the year, Auburn averaged 284 yds. and Oregon 286 yds. on the ground. Those are good numbers. Each offense was diverse enough to overcome large deficits against quality opponents on their way to the championship game. Oregon threw for 244 yds. a game and Auburn averaged 214 yds. on the year. The misdirections and ball fakes that keep defenses on their heels combined with option plays and quick throws to speedy receivers create a dilemma for defenses. If you bring extra defenders into the box in order to attack this style offense, QB's have an easier time throwing from the shotgun to receivers that have out leveraged their defenders. Wider splits from these receivers usually allow QB's to see which defender will give up the most leverage before the ball is ever snapped. This lends toward shorter high percentage throws that easily raise completion percentages. So how do you stop these types of diverse, balanced offenses?

At Wofford, we determined that we were better at defending wing-T plays and option schemes from a 50 alignment. Using 3-4 personnel allowed us to put faster defenders on the field. For example, our defensive ends align over the offensive tackles. They rarely get double teamed so the higher priority for us is their quickness. Quick hands and feet make better pass rushers. Many of the offensive linemen we play against today are three hundred pounds or more. This past season our defensive ends weighed two hundred and thirty pounds. Their speed and quickness allowed us to not only rush the passer better but to gain leverage vs. cutoff or reach blocks. We get off those blocks quicker than if we played with heavier, slower footed defensive linemen. Our pursuit against scrambling QB's and receiver screens is better with athletic type ends that can run and almost always their stamina into the fourth quarter is better than a bigger lineman. I don't believe a bigger defensive end that weighs an additional thirty or forty pounds will put fear into an opposing lineman. An offensive lineman fears the guy that is too quick and athletic to block. No doubt the bigger and stronger you can get an athletic, quick end the better, but everyone is looking for that type of guy. If you settle for a smaller frame then you need to help him vs. the combination or double team blocks. We do this by not asking him to play down in the gap between the guard and tackle where he may be double teamed and knocked off the line into a scraping linebacker. We align him in a head up position on the tackle where double teams are less likely to happen. Our ends can be linebacker type bodies that play with their hand down. In the last eleven years we've had an All-Conference end eight times.

Our nose aligns over the center. This is the one defensive lineman that size matters to us. We still want good feet and lateral quickness but he will be doubled by the center and guard on the majority of plays. He must maintain his gap integrity without being knocked off the line of scrimmage. He must be quick enough to penetrate into our opponent's backfield if he gets a reach block from the center or scoop block from the guard. Our nose may be the most critical position in our defense. Finding a bigger guy that can still move quickly and with good balance is the hardest player for us to recruit. In an even front you need two of those guys. In an odd front you just need one of those guys on the field. Eight of the last eleven years we've had an All-Conference nose with several of those gaining All-American honors. Jack Teachey coaches our Defensive Line and has coached sixteen All-Conference defensive linemen in the last eleven years with six All-Americans.

Another reason we play a 3-4 front is that offenses don't easily distinguish which gap our nose or ends are playing. There is a distinct advantage to playing a front with a built in disguise. Our three defensive linemen have been very successful beating blocks and creating pressure out of this front. To complement our disguise up front we use two outside linebackers that stem in and out of the tackle box. Offenses have to account for either or both outside backers rushing from a protection standpoint and the QB must take into consideration the drop of either or both outside backers. Going back to the original concept of getting the quicker more athletic guys on the field, we recruit body types more similar to safeties than backers. There are a lot of guys out there that fit that mold. We are a school of about 1400 students with academic requirements that fall somewhere between the service academies and Ivey League schools. Finding the right fit for Wofford is essential to our success. We expand our recruiting pool by playing with four linebackers. In the recruiting process we can choose between fullbacks, running backs, safeties, or fast linebackers. When many defenses are turning to nickel and dime packages, we are able to leave our base personnel in the game vs. three or four wide-outs. Practice opportunities are maximized by playing with the same personnel. Blitz packages are easier to execute with the extra stand up player and pursuit turns up a notch with the faster players on the field. Nate Fuqua coaches our outside linebackers. He is a former Wofford All-American and four times All-Conference player. He is in the Wofford Athletics Hall of Fame.

Our inside backers generally are a little bigger than our outside backers. They take on blocks from linemen and backs just as our outside backers do, but usually in tighter space. We've been fortunate over the years to be able to move an inside backer to outside and vice versa. If you want to get your best eleven on the field, having the ability to interchange an inside or outside backer helps with depth as injuries occur. With the type of player we recruit at outside backer we've been fortunate to move some of them to safety when needed and some of our safeties to outside backer. Whether the flexibility for these position changes is a necessity or a luxury, it's an advantage either way.

Our secondary is coached by Shiel Wood. Over the past thirteen seasons our secondary has produced an All-Conference selection thirteen times. We play with a boundary corner and field corner to best utilize our time in teaching the routes that we will see each week. We feel offenses run certain routes to the short side of the field and other routes to the wide side. We put our free safeties to the short side of the field and our strong safety to the wide side of the field. We use what we call half line routes during practice with the boundary corner, free safety and linebackers working against boundary routes. Our field corner, strong safety and linebackers work together vs. the field side routes. Our secondary is going to show a four across or two deep shell pre-snap. The safeties coordinate their stem with the outside backers so as to best disguise our coverage.

I'd like to emphasize again our philosophy in defending some of these diverse offenses that we face. Not only is the 3-4 the best for us to defend the many different run schemes we see, but it helps us against the pass as well. We feel the sooner in the play the QB identifies the coverage, the easier it is to target the defender he should read. Footwork and accuracy are more consistent when the QB is not hurried in his delivery. Disrupting the timing between the QB and receiver starts with the disguise of that defender. The balance between holding the disguise and the defender playing with proper leverage is crucial in defending the pass. As important as identifying the coverage may be, the great passing teams will start with their protection. Knowing which way to slide the protection or pick up a backer that is rushing affects the time the QB has to get rid of the ball. The more time the QB is hurried the higher the percentage of incompletions and turnovers. When the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl they played a zone defense and rushed four defenders approximately 66% of the time. When Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl they did the same thing. Pittsburgh and Green Bay did a nice job with their 3-4 defense in getting to the Super Bowl although they did it with a much higher blitz percentage than Tampa Bay or Baltimore used. For us to rush four and get pressure on the QB it's better to change up which defender is the fourth rusher. The 3-4 defense is the best way for us to accomplish this.

About the Author...

Nate Woody is in his 21st year on the coaching staff at Wofford and eleventh as defensive coordinator. His recruiting responsibilities include parts of South Carolina.

Woody was promoted to defensive coordinator in April 2000. He began his collegiate coaching career in 1988 when he returned to Wofford with Coach Mike Ayers. He was a Wofford student-athlete from 1979-83.

Last year the team won a share of the Southern Conference title as the Terrier defense was first in the league and seventh nationally in total defense. The team was also seventh in the nation in pass defense and 14th in scoring defense.

During the 2008 season, the defense led the conference in sacks and was tenth in the nation with 34 total. The rushing defense was second in the Southern Conference, allowing only 134.4 yards per game. The red-zone defense also was first in the league.

In 2007, the Wofford defense led the Southern Conference in scoring defense, allowing only 24.8 points per game. In addition, the rushing defense was second in the conference, allowing only 145.1 yards on the ground and the twenty rushing touchdowns were the fewest allowed in the league. Wofford won the 2007 Southern Conference Championship as the team also led the conference with twenty interceptions.

The 2003 Terrier defense led the nation in turnover margin (+23) and turnovers gained (41) while topping the SoCon in scoring defense for league games (11.4 ppg). Wofford placed third nationally in scoring defense for overall contests (14.8 ppg). In 2006, the Terriers again led the nation in turnover margin with 31 takeaways.

In 2004, the Terriers led the SoCon in turnover margin while ranking eighth nationally. Wofford was also second in the league in rush defense (130.1 ypg) while surrendering a league-low 3.3 yards per rush attempt. In 2005, Wofford's defense was second in the league in interceptions (15) and fumble recoveries (11) in recording 26 takeaways.

Wofford topped the SoCon in 2002 and ranked among the national leaders in run defense (125.9 ypg), pass defense (144.5 ypg) and total defense (270.4 ypg). The Terriers were also 12th in the nation in scoring defense (16.4 ypg).

At inside linebacker, Woody has coached All-SoCon selections in Ben Dae (1999), Timmy Thrift (2003), Justin Franklin (2006), and Seth Goldwire (2007 and 2008).

Woody played defensive back for T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, S.C., where he played football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. As a senior, he started in the 1979 Shrine Bowl.

A 1984 graduate of Wofford with a B.A. in business economics, Woody was a four-year starter on defense. He was a defensive back two seasons before moving to outside linebacker, where he earned honorable-mention All-America honors. Woody was named team captain and Most Valuable Player his senior season and was twice selected to the all-district team.

Born Nathan Warren Woody on December 30, 1960 in Burlington, N.C., he and his wife, Rebecca, have two sons, Nicolas and Jacob.