The basic fundamentals of what you would say happens on every single football play goes into that drill.” It teaches a running back to finish a run, to run through contact. Teaches you to get off a block and make a tackle. “It’s a drill that teaches offensively to finish a block, to get your hands inside, to play with pad level, to do all the basic fundamentals you do on every single snap in a football game” he told The State “Defensively, same thing. Whilst acknowledging the need for safety in football, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach, Will Muschamp, believes the drill is still greatly relevant in the game. However, one coach in particular takes a very different view point. “I don’t know how it makes you a better football player” was the opinion of Tennessee Volunteers head coach, Jeremy Pruitt.Īgain, particularly apt when you consider that all the time spent practicing is intended to make you better at the game. His comments were particularly apt when you consider that football is considered a brotherhood, like family. Georgia head coach, Kirby Smart, led the way when he said “I don’t see it culturally bonding to put two men 10 yards apart and ram them.” There were many different opinions on the matter, and they seemed to show a split between more modern coaching thinking and some of the “old school” coaches. A number of coaches were asked for comment on the drill, in light of the NFL banning it. It came to light in the recent Southeastern Conference (SEC) coaches meeting. This is where the subject is so divisive. It is, however, still prevalent in college football. Other than that, it has only been used fleetingly since the early 2010’s. As the new Detroit Lions head coach, Matt Patricia used it during his opening practices as a way to lay down a marker of what he wanted to see from his players. In all fairness, it hasn’t been common practice at the top level of the sport for a number of years. This is the reason the NFL has moved to ban the drill. Fans of the sport want to see the best players on the field, not sidelined by injury. It’s an appreciation of the skill set of these athletes while maintaining a tough edge. The game is no longer about sheer brutality. Concussions suffered in these collisions are ruining the futures of young men. They understand that eliminating head to head contact in the sport is a major component of this. The NFL, the NFLPA, and the NCAA are all trying to find ways to make the game safer for players. We know now, what the devastating impact of these head to head collisions can be. In a game that signified the ultimate in physical toughness, the drill was designed to discover if young men were tough enough to compete. Alternatively, “winning” could be achieved by driving your opponent out of the corridor. The “winner” of this contest would be the player who knocked his opponent to the ground first. At around a distance of 3 yards apart, facing each other, they would initiate contact on the sound of a whistle. Two players would be placed in the channel. The bags would be set out in a way that gave a 3 foot wide, 9 foot long channel. It basically consisted of a corridor being formed using blocking bags. Why, then is it so divisive? Let’s start with what the drill is, and what makes it so dangerous.īack in 1947, new Oklahoma head coach Bud Wilkinson invented the drill. Despite being as out of touch with the athletes they represent as any other organisation in the world, even the NCAA are in discussion to ban the drill from college football. The most powerful force in the game of football, the NFL, banned the Oklahoma Drill from the league back in May. With all that we know about the inherent risks attached to the drill, it is still as divisive as it is dangerous. However, some still hold the opinion that it is an important rite of passage in the game of football. Like many things created that long ago, people will argue that it is no longer relevant. It’s been 70 years since Bud Wilkinson invented the Oklahoma Drill.
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