Quarterback Drills

I was talking with a Major college football recruiter and I asked him what they look for in a High School Quarterback. He stated 4 things! The first thing they look for in a quarterback is mental and physical toughness.

Roll Your Quarterback Out and Win More Games

Discover why utilizing the various roll-out options will help your football program have success passing the ball from high school down to the youth football leagues.

The 7 Laws of Football Quarterbacking

In all of my research, over a period of several years, the finest information I have ever read on quarterback leadership came from my friend Frank Carideo. The purpose of this information was to outline the process by which a quarterback was trained at Notre Dame, under coach Knute Rockne. This course of quarterbacking was as exacting in many respects as any collegiate course. Coach Rockne had seven cardinal principles of quarterbacking that were preached over and over again.

The 7 Pillars of Choosing a Football Team's Quarterback

The Quarterback is undoubtedly the most important man on the team. He is the playing coach who directs the offense. Therefore, his selection becomes one of the most important decisions the head coach must make. In selecting a quarterback, these considerations are ranked in order of their importance. Perhaps this ranking may cause wonderment to many.

Quarterback (QB, originally called blocking back) is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line. Quarterbacks are the leaders of the offensive team, responsible for calling the play in the huddle.

Every play starts with a "snap", an action where the offense's center gives the ball to the quarterback, or as a trick play to another offensive player. After receiving the ball, the quarterback either throws a pass or hands it to another offensive player; in some cases, the quarterback will keep the ball in an attempt to run or "scramble" past the defense.

At most levels, but especially at the college and professional level, the quarterback role is one of the most visible and important roles on the team. The quarterback touches the ball on nearly every offensive play and has a great deal of responsibility both in calling plays and making decisions during the play. While there is liberal substitution at most positions in football based on the play call and to minimize player fatigue, most quarterbacks are on the field for every offensive play leaving only for injury or when the game's outcome is no longer in doubt. Quarterbacks are frequently chosen early in the NFL Draft and often receive much more lucrative contracts than other positions. As of 2010, players in this position have won more Super Bowl MVP awards (23 of 44) than players at all other positions combined.

As the term "quarterback" gained acceptance in the 1930s, it originally referred to the player's position relative to other members of the offensive backfield. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the offensive backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball, and most teams used four offensive backs on every play: a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback. The quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Now that most offensive formations have only one or two running backs, the original designations do not mean as much, as the fullback is now usually a lead blocker (technically a halfback), while the halfback or tailback (called such because he stands at the "tail" of the I) lines up behind the fullback.

Traditionally, quarterbacks have been responsible for calling the team's offensive plays based on the defense's formation, or game situation. In order to choose the proper play, quarterbacks will often spend time rehearsing and studying prearranged plays during their team's practice sessions.

In recent years, the rise of offensive coordinators has led partiality toward a scripted game plan. The offensive coordinators and coaches will usually give the quarterback information via a built-in headphone in the helmet as to what to do before the play. Quarterbacks are allowed to hear, but not talk to, their coaches until there are fifteen seconds left on the play clock. The quarterback will then relay the information to teammates and execute the plays. When the players are set in a formation, the quarterback will start the play by calling out a code word, a number or a combination of the two.
Michael Vick uses his mobility to elude Dwight Freeney, a member of the AFC team at the NFL's 2006 Pro Bowl.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry was an early advocate of taking play calling out of the quarterback's hands. Although this remained a common practice in the NFL through the 1970s, fewer QBs were doing it by the 1980s and even Hall-of-Famers like Joe Montana did not call their own plays. Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly was one of the last to regularly call plays. Among current NFL QBs, only Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts calls all, or nearly all, of his team's plays using his no-huddle offense, although he mostly just makes adjustments to the plays given to him from the offensive coordinator.