Josh Fletcher, Spec Teams Coord/RB Coach, Villanova
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KICKOFF RETURN DRILLS AND TECHNIQUES SUMMARY
K TAG DRILL
A dynamic kickoff team practice drill used especially on bad weather or windy days. Multiple kickers (4+) kick simultaneously while the entire kickoff team lines up, forcing players who don’t normally return kicks to practice catching them. This includes linebackers, wide receivers, and tight ends. The drill emphasizes communication between players, particularly on hard squibs up the middle, and prepares teams for situations where dynamic returners force coverage teams to kick away from primary returners.
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
The program builds kickoff return drills from the end point backward, starting with the hardest part first. The focus is on “strike and steer” or “leverage steer” technique and maintaining proper ball-me-man leverage. Success doesn’t require 10 kill shots, just 10 players covering their assignments and creating vertical and horizontal displacement to open seams for the returner.
TWO-WAY GO DRILL
A foundational day-one drill where returners sprint 5-10 yards to a pop-up, flip, and attack the kickoff player based on leverage. Key coaching points include tight hands and tight elbows, attacking rather than catching blocks, keeping feet hot (never stopping), and using hands to steer defenders horizontally away from the return lane. Players must be aggressive initiators of contact rather than passive blockers.
LEVERAGE STEER DRILL
A two-whistle progression drill. First whistle: return player sprints to pop-up and flips with hot feet. Second whistle: kickoff player attacks around cones. The critical technique is short shuffling to maintain ball-me-man leverage rather than running laterally with the defender. Defenders naturally flow to the ball, so returners should stay patient, keep feet moving, and attack when close enough to steer the defender out of the return lane.
FRONT LINE SCHEME DRILL
Works the complete sequence: clean cleats, sprint back after the kick, find the returner to determine drop location (landmark is the 30-yard line, but actual position adjusts based on where the returner is), flip with urgency at the landmark, and short shuffle while staying square. Common mistakes include dropping straight back without adjusting to the returner, losing ground during the shuffle (compressing the returner), and lacking urgency at the flip point.