QB Drills: Footwork, Throwing and Reads

The Three Kinds of Quarterback Drill

Footwork drills train your drop, the hitch, sliding in the pocket and resetting your feet to a new target. Bad throws start with bad feet more often than a bad arm.

Throwing drills train the release: grip, base, hip and shoulder rotation, follow-through, and accuracy at every distance and on the move.

Decision-making drills train your eyes: recognize the coverage, find the defender to read, choose the throw in time. These mental reps work on the field, in film, with flash cards or in a simulator.

More Drill Pages

• Youth quarterback drills: simple drills for beginners and the parents running them.
• Quarterback drills at home: footwork, target work and mental reps you can do alone.
• Flag football quarterback drills: the pass clock, a rusher, and reading zone and man in 5v5 and 7v7.

Footwork: Drop and Hitch

1. Setup

   A line on the ground (a yard line, tape or a rope) and a target 10 yards away. Start from the shotgun.

2. Rep

   Take your drop (a one- or three-step from the gun), hitch one step forward and throw. Ten reps, then switch the drop.

3. Coaching Points

   Stay on the balls of your feet and let the last step of the drop stop your momentum. The hitch is a short step forward, not a hop. Ball high at the chest the whole way.

Footwork: Pocket Slide

1. Setup

   A coach or partner in front of you with a bag or hand pad, and a receiver or target net 10 to 12 yards downfield.

2. Rep

   Take the drop. The coach points left, right or up, and you slide two or three short steps that way, eyes downfield. On a second signal, reset your feet and throw.

3. Coaching Points

   Short, quick steps without crossing your feet. Ball high in two hands. Give the coach's hand a glance, nothing more.

Throwing: One-Knee and Two-Knee

1. Setup

   Two QBs, or a QB and a partner, 10 yards apart.

2. Rep

   Two knees: both knees down, shoulders square, upper body only. One knee: throwing-side knee down, front foot pointed at your partner, add the shoulder turn. Ten throws each.

3. Coaching Points

   High elbow, the ball leaves the index finger last, and the thumb finishes pointing down. With your legs out of it, a wobble comes from the release.

Throwing: Target Ladder

1. Setup

   A chest-high target (a net, a hanging tire or a partner's hands) and cones at 5, 10, 15 and 20 yards.

2. Rep

   Five throws from each cone, moving back after a set number of hits, then work forward again.

3. Coaching Points

   Aim small at one spot. Keep the same release at every distance and add distance with your legs and hips instead of a windup.

Decision-Making: Low-High Read on a Defender

1. Setup

   Two receivers on one side: one runs to the flat at about 2 yards, one runs a curl at about 12. A coach or player stands between them as the Curl/Flat defender.

2. Rep

   Drop with your eyes on the defender, who sinks under the curl or jumps the flat. Throw to the receiver the defender left.

3. Coaching Points

   Eyes on the defender, off the receivers. Decide at the top of the drop, off the defender's first steps.

Decision-Making: Name the Shell

1. Setup

   Coverage diagrams, photos or film clips paused at the snap, and a partner to show them.

2. Rep

   Show each one for two or three seconds. Call one high or two high, and man or zone if you can tell. Twenty in a row, then review the misses.

3. Coaching Points

   Speed matters as much as accuracy. Once it is easy, add the coverage name and where the ball goes against it.

Building a Session

For 45 to 60 minutes: warm up, then footwork and throwing while you are fresh, then decision drills, where mistakes are cheap. Finish with a few game-speed throws. Note what you missed as well as how many reps you took.

Off the field, game film, our Football IQ test, Guess the Coverage and simulator reps all count. Crucible, an iPhone and Android app with no headset, lets you take a snap against a real coverage, throw it and see the read you missed, with no receivers or coach.