Looking for [tag]linebacker speed drills[/tag]?   You’ve come to the right place!   Try out this idea below sent to me by one of my readers and let me know how it goes for you.

From Richard
I know this [tag]football[/tag] [tag]drill[/tag] is probably as old as the hills but has worked especially well in helping my young [tag]linebackers[/tag] learn to read and follow the progress of the ball and then fill the proper gap quickly.
To run this drill you need to place six cones in a straight line to represent your [tag]line of scrimmage[/tag] and your running lanes (5 lanes with the first gap being #1).
Your linebackers will start facing the line of scrimmage at one end of the line of cones 4 yards away from the line. You will also have a [tag]running back[/tag] on the opposite side of the line of cones around 4 yards out from the line. The running back will go into motion running parallel to the line of scrimmage and he will cut and hit a pre-assigned lane. The linebacker will keep his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and will move with the running back staying parallel with the line of scrimmage. He will have to read which lane the [tag]runner[/tag] will engage and will have to react in time to fill this lane before the runner passes through this lane.

We typically run this drill at 3/4 speed to analyze the linebackers footwork as well as his ability to square up on the runner, wrap up and drive through. We find this helpful to judge our LB’s reaction time along with their tendency to change their fundamentals as we increase the speed of this drill. In some cases we might have our [tag]defensive linemen[/tag] participate to help them to understand their line of pursuit and improve their footwork.