The traditional pro-style fullback was supposed to have disappeared from college football, just don’t tell North Dakota State. The North Dakota State football program has risen to prominence over the past decade, using heavy personnel sets to establish a wildly effective ground game. In an era where the college game has trended toward a heavy reliance on spread offense, the Bison have continued to feature the tight end football position and the fullback as an integral part of their offensive identity.
Many young backs and tight ends tend to focus on developing their skills as pass-catchers, ignoring the value they could add to their team in the blocking department. North Dakota State offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl details the coaching points given to his teams tight ends and fullbacks to best achieve success as blockers in the Bison’s traditional run schemes.
How the Bison coach their Tight ends and Fullbacks to block
The Bison have continued to deploy heavy personnel sets, bucking the current trends and allowing them to use tight ends and fullbacks as assets in the run game. NDSU coaches up their tight ends and fullbacks to dominate kick out blocks, which is why they have had such success running their staple run concept, the Power O.
The kick out block is crucial in opening up sizable holes in the run game, but that doesn’t make it simple or easy. Tight ends and fullbacks are often asked to execute blocks on the move, coming across the formation as lead blockers and hitting a moving target. In their power scheme, the player executing the kick out block will come across the formation post snap and dig out the first defender they see appear in the C-gap.
On the C-gap kickout block, Coach Roehl teaches his players to attack the B-gap in order to win the C-gap. This gives them the space to take three to four steps from the snap to the contact point, ensuring that they maintain proper inside leverage on their assignment. At the point of contact, the blocker is taught to square the defender up near foot to near shoulder, attacking with a lower pad level than their assignment and running their feet to drive the defender from the gap upon contact.
Benefits of using Tight Ends and Fullbacks on power runs
Most modern college offenses don’t really use the traditional fullback position. As a result, they’re usually more limited to zone running schemes, which typically don’t require kick out blocks nearly as often as gap schemes. This is what makes North Dakota State so different. This Bison offense makes a habit of featuring big tight ends and fullbacks in 21 and 22 personnel sets. This philosophy gives them the ability to use those big guys for kick out blocks, opening up explosive runs off of their gap schemes, including power.
In practice, Coach Roehl puts the tight end and fullback through drills teaching the execution of both one step and three step kick out block assignments, which can be run out of various personnel packages. In drilling the three step kick out block, the North Dakota State staff teaches the nuances of blocking traditional standup defenders, as well as defenders operating in mesh charge and hard spill assignments.
Particularly against linebackers operating out of heavy spill assignments, the Bison teach their players to use their inside hand to prevent the defender from crossing their face, and maintaining proper leverage on their kick out assignment. Above all else, Coach Roehl stresses that his fullbacks and tight ends hit on the rise, maintaining a low base before raising two inches upon contact to generate maximum power, running their feet upon contact and finishing through the whistle to impose their will on defenders and open gaps for their runners.
Conclusion
North Dakota State’s decision to continue heavily featuring fullbacks and tight ends into their pro style offensive scheme has undeniably allowed them to unlock gap schemes with success rates that few teams at the collegiate level can match. On their staple power concepts in particular, the player executing the kick out block is the key to the entire operation, creating creases for their backs to cut inside for explosive runs more consistently than any other program at the FCS level.
Fullbacks and tight ends at all levels could learn from watching the Bison program, as while downfield receptions will always carry flash, in the words of Coach Roehl “if you can’t kick out the power, you can’t play.”
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