Oklahoma drill

Last updated

The Oklahoma drill [1] is an American football practice technique used to test players in confined full contact situations. The technique was developed by Oklahoma Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson. [2]

Contents

Description

The drill has several variations. The most common involves two players lined up three yards opposite one another. A corridor is set up typically using three blocking bags on each side of the players lined up top to bottom to create a wall, and the walls are spaced about one yard apart. This creates an area of about three feet by nine feet. The two players, at the sound of the whistle, then run at one another and the drill is over when one of the players is on the ground, or if a ball carrier is involved when he is tackled, or if the ball carrier runs out of bounds. If a player is able to drive the other player out of the corridor, that also ends the drill. In a variation, the ball carrier must keep running until they score a touchdown.

Prevalence

Many high school and college teams use the Oklahoma drill as a way to kick off the first day of full contact practice. [1] While often criticized as excessive, some argue that it can be a critical tool used by coaches to evaluate players that might have looked good in non-contact drills, but have yet to face full contact. Other times the drill is used simply to get players in the proper mind-set for full contact practices, especially in high school and college, where many times players have gone up to eight months doing only non-contact drills.

The Oklahoma drill, along with other full-contact drills, was officially banned from NFL team practices in May 2019 following years of declining use and increasing concerns for player safety. [3] Veterans and high-profile NFL players rarely participate in pit drills owing to the higher risk of injury. Prior to the ban many team owners and coaches already refused to permit the drill. Notable exceptions had included the Chargers, and the Bengals [4] who used the drill as a kind of celebration of the first day of full-contact practices. On October 7, 2015, Dan Campbell reportedly used the Oklahoma drill to begin his first practice as interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins. [5] On July 29, 2018, the Detroit Lions used a reportedly safer variant of the Oklahoma drill during practice under first year head coach Matt Patricia. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl VII</span> 1973 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1972 season. The Dolphins conquered the Redskins by the score of 14–7, and became the first and still the only team in modern NFL history to complete a perfect undefeated season. They also remain the only Super Bowl champion to win despite having been shut out in the second half of the game. The game was played on January 14, 1973 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. At kickoff, the temperature was 84 °F (29 °C), making the game the warmest Super Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fumble</span> Live loose ball in gridiron football

A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful handing that results in loss of ball possession by a player.

Joe Don Looney was an American football fullback and halfback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and the New Orleans Saints.

Daniel Raymon Wilkinson is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. Nicknamed "Big Daddy", he played college football at Ohio State, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1994 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins.

The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots 46–10 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Bears became the second team in NFL history to win 15 games in the regular season and 18 including the playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 NFL season</span> 1980 National Football League season

The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 NFL season</span> 1979 National Football League season

The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers repeated as champions by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31–19 at the Rose Bowl. The Steelers became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 NFL season</span> 1978 National Football League season

The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16 games, which it remained in place until 2021 when it was increased to 17 games. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference. The wild card teams played each other, with the winner advancing to the playoff round of eight teams.

The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins not only led the NFL in points scored, while their defense led the league in fewest points allowed, the roster also featured two running backs who gained 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.

In American football, the fumblerooski is a trick play in which the football is intentionally and stealthily placed on the ground (fumbled) by an offensive player, usually the quarterback. The offensive team then attempts to distract and confuse the defense by pretending that a ball carrier is running in one direction while another offensive player retrieves the ball from the turf and runs in a different direction, hoping to gain significant yardage before the defense realizes which player is actually carrying the football.

The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Campbell</span> American football player and coach (born 1976)

Daniel Allen Campbell, nicknamed "Motor City Dan Campbell", or "MCDC" for short, is an American football coach and a former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020 and also served as an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins from 2010 to 2015, most recently as the interim head coach and tight ends coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Payton</span> American football coach and former player (born 1963)

Sean Patrick Payton is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) and a former quarterback. Previously, he served as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021, leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University and played professionally in 1987 with the Chicago Bears and 1988 overseas in Britain for the Leicester Panthers.

The split-T is an offensive formation in American football that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Developed by Missouri Tigers head coach Don Faurot as a variation on the T formation, the split-T was first used in the 1941 season and allowed the Tigers to win all but their season-opening match against the Ohio State Buckeyes and the 1942 Sugar Bowl versus Fordham. Jim Tatum and Bud Wilkinson, who coached under Faurot with the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks during World War II, brought the split-T to the Oklahoma Sooners in 1946. After Tatum left for Maryland in 1947, Wilkinson became the head coach and went on to win a record-setting 47 straight games and two national titles between 1953 and 1957.

LeRoy Erwin "Ace" Gutowsky was a Russian-American professional American football fullback. He played professional football for eight years from 1932 to 1939 and set the NFL career rushing record in October 1939. He held the Detroit Lions' career and single-season rushing records until the 1960s.

The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see Glossary of Canadian football.

The 1954 Orange Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game between the first-ranked Maryland Terrapins and the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. It was the twentieth edition of the Orange Bowl and took place at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida on January 1, 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5–2 defense</span> American football defensive formation

In American football, the 5–2 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of five down linemen and two linebackers.

The Harding Bisons football program represents Harding University in college football as a Division II member of the Great American Conference. Harding is located in Searcy, Arkansas. The Bisons are led by head coach Paul Simmons, a former Harding linebacker, with a record of 50-13. Simmons has coached the Bisons to four playoff appearances in a row, not counting the cancelled 2020 season.

References

  1. 1 2 "Today's players don't know the drill". The Boston Globe. July 29, 2006.
  2. "OU football and Bud Wilkinson's gift to football: The Oklahoma Drill". newsok.com. August 21, 2010.
  3. Florio, Mike (May 22, 2019). "NFL bans certain old-school training-camp drills". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  4. "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Jackson, Zac (7 October 2015). "Interim Dolphins coach busts out Oklahoma drill". ProFootballTalk. NBCSports. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  6. Meinke, Kyle (29 July 2018). "Lions training camp observations, Day 3: Frank Ragnow shines in first padded practice". MLIVE. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 29 July 2018.