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Developing Your
Tight Ends

by Paul Winters
Tight End Coach
University of Wisconsin

GRIDIRON Coach
Archived Articles 1.2.3 The Archived Articles © 1991 Gridiron Publications www.GridironPublications.com
The Tight End
No other position on the gridiron has undergone a
bigger metamorphosis over the years than that of
the tight end. In the 1950’s and 60’s, the tight end
was used predominantly as a third tackle. His
primary mission in life was to block for off-tackle
plays and power sweeps. If he could run well
enough and catch, then he was used on short
passes over the middle. If he had the ability to run
after the catch, then he was really valuable.
In the 1970’s, the game of football became more
wide open and greater demands were placed on the
tight end position. Tight ends became more of a
deep passing threat and were utilized as pressure
valves to take the pressure off of wide receivers. In
the 80’s, the tight end position, on the professional
level, became home to some of the game’s most
gifted athletes and it became an integral part of
offensive strategy.
Now as we enter the 1990’s some offensive schemes,
such as the run and shoot, are eliminating the tight
end position altogether. But the teams that continue
to utilize their tight ends in the trenches and as the
“go to” receiver in third down situations will remain
successful and find ways to put points on the board.
Finding the Right Man for The Job
There are three basic ingredients that are important
in a tight end – strength, mobility and good hands.
Strength is a must. The tight end position must be
able to move defenders off the line of scrimmage. He
also needs hand strength to allow himself to fight
pressure and release into his pattern without getting
held up on the line of scrimmage.
Mobility is equally important. Does the player
move off of the line of scrimmage quickly at the
snap of the ball? Does he demonstrate good
agility, body balance and control when fighting
through traffic? Does he have good coordination?
How well does he run after making the catch, and
finally how well does he stay on the block when
the defender is trying to escape?
An effective tight end must obviously have sure
hands. Can he catch the ball away from his body?
Can he adjust to the ball in flight? It may sound
like we are searching for superman and in a way
we are. A great tight end can give your offense a
formidable weapon – an athlete who can contrib-
ute significantly on every play from scrimmage.
Development Drills
Now that you’ve found a likely candidate for the job,
the next step is to develop him. In some ways, a tight
end is an offensive lineman, so we must teach him
how to be an effective drive blocker. An excellent
drill that we use to develop this skill is the Hit and
Drive with the chutes and boards. The purpose is to
teach power producing angles, delivering a blow,
base and body position – essentially we put all of
these teaching aspects of the drive block into one
drill.
Hit And Drive Drill
Procedure
1. Align the offensive blocker under the chute in
a 3-point stance, a foot away from the de-
fender, toes at the end of the board.
2. To start, the defender will be in a 2-point stance.
As the drill progresses, he will move to a 3-point
stance without boards.
3. The offensive blocker will explode out of his
stance and drive the defender down the board.
Be sure to emphasize good base and acceleration
of feet.
4. The defender will make a good collision—then
allow the blocker to drive him down the board—
giving ground slowly.
5. As the drill progresses, vary the distance between
the blocker and the defender to adjust to block-
ing defenders that may vary the distance of their
alignments.
6. This should be a two whistle drill. Use the first
whistle to stop the blocker in place so that you
can check his body position. Use the second
whistle to release the players from the drill.
Punch Drill
To hone the proper use of the tight end’s hands and
arms when blocking and delivering the initial blow,
we use the Punch Drill. The emphasis of this drill is
on keeping the elbows in while punching. The only
equipment needed for this drill is a five man sled.
The procedure for the punch drill is:
1. Instruct your tight ends to kneel on both knees
approximately two feet from each pad. On your
signal, each man delivers a punch to the pad.
2. After delivering the initial jolt ripping the arms
up with the elbows in, the tight end will roll the
hips into the block.
3. The finish of the block should show the tight
end on both knees in a parallel position with the
head up, the arms extended, and the back
arched.
4. Emphasize to the tight end the importance of
keeping the punch on the inside breast plate of
the defender and the elbows in.
5. With quick commands, instructions and correc-
tions, this drill allows you to increase the num-
ber of repetitions in a limited amount of time.
Developing Your Tight ends as Receivers
In addition to being an integral part of the offense’s
blocking scheme, the tight end must also develop
into an effective receiver. He must become proficient
at releasing off the line of scrimmage, catching the
ball and running with the ball after the catch is
made.
Successful receivers use a variety of releases off
of the line of scrimmage. The goal is to make as
little contact as possible. Since defensive ends are
usually instructed to force an inside release, we
emphasize to our tight ends that they must come
off the ball quickly with aggressiveness. We use
head fakes as the primary move, although we are
always aware of the defender’s alignment, so that
we can take advantage of the easiest possible
release.
Three basic releases which I have found to be
effective and relatively easy to teach are the head
fake, the arc release and the slam.
Head Fake
Step with the opposite foot from your intended
direction of release. Make a definite, quick head
and shoulder move to the opposite direction of
release. Then drive off that first step and use the
hands and body to cause separation from the de-
fender. The head fake should cause the defender to
step opposite your intended direction.
Arc Release
Use the arc release to allow tight end to cross the
face of an outside defender and achieve upfield-
outside release. The tight end steps with the
outside foot first, a six inch lateral open step. The
second step is a crossover step that is placed
upfield on a slight angle away from the line of
scrimmage. The third step will bring the tight end
to balance and put him in a position to clear the
defender and continue into the pattern. Emphasize
keeping the shoulders parallel to the line of scrim-
mage with the arms pumping fighting off the
defender.
Slam
We will collision the midline target of the defender
with tripod punch of face and hands, quickly to
chest. Then we use hands to create separation, we
want to rip the outside arm low and through the
inside arm of the defender, continuing on into the
pattern.
Catching the Ball
Because we use the tight end as a possession receiver
on so many third down situations, it’s important
that he has the ability to catch the ball. We employ a
number of different drills to improve the fundamen-
tals of receiving, including the ability to turn effec-
tively.
The Turn Drill
This drill teaches the tight end to snap his head
around when coming out of pass routes. Procedure
follows:
1. Line your players up across the sideline. Make
sure that you have some sort of backstop so that
you don’t spend half the time chasing loose
balls.
2. Passer stands 10-12 yards from receiver. As
passer yells “ball”, the receiver turns completely
around to face the passer and pick up flight of
ball.
3. Teach the receiver to get head and eyes around
to the ball as he turns. Many of the catches may
come with the receiver’s back turned slightly to
the passer, making it all the more important for
the tight end to get his head around quickly.
continued on next page
4. This drill will teach the tight end to snap his
head around to the QB when coming out of
pass routes.
5. Change the drill up by throwing over the right
and then the left shoulder.
6. Vary the drill by throwing the ball high and
low. Try painting the tips of the balls with dif-
ferent colors, then mixing up which one you
throw. Instruct your tight end to snap his head
around, look the ball into his hands and yell
out the color on the tip. This will greatly en-
hance his concentration. (See Diagram A)
Running With the Ball
The emphasis for tight ends can change everyday,
but the most important skill for this position is
learning how to hold onto the ball after the catch
has been made. There is nothing that hurts an
offense more than a fumble after a key reception.
Emphasize three points to the tight end. First, make
the catch; second, tuck the ball away, and then
become an aggressive runner downfield. Many
times, the big yardage is made after the catch.
5. After the receiver breaks through the blaster/
gauntlet, he will run over the three agile 1 pads
and then cut left or right off of a man holding a
hand shield, hustling to the back of the line.
6. The coach can change sides so that the receiver
makes catches running to his right and his left.
(See Diagram B)
Summary
By choosing the proper athlete and using some of
the drills and principles in this article, you can make
your tight end a multiple threat and a versatile part
of your offense—a blocker, a receiver, and a runner
after the catch. Like most successes on the grid-
iron, it comes down to hard work, repetitions and
intelligence.
Diagram A
TE TE TE TE TE

Blaster Drill
To maximize the success of your tight ends run-
QB
ning opportunities, try using the Blaster Drill. The
purpose of this drill is to teach your tight ends to
become effective runners after the catch is made and
to protect the ball. Equipment needed for this drill
include three or four footballs, three agile 1 dummies
and a blaster machine. If you don’t have a blaster
machine, use a gauntlet (six players with hand Diagram B
dummies works fine).

1. Align the receivers in a single file line facing

the blaster/gauntlet 15 yards away.
TE TE TE TE TE
2. The coach gives the cadence, starting the receiver
towards the blaster. The coach should stand 10
to 12 yards from the receiver.
3. The receiver looks the ball into his hands and QB
covers it up with both arms.
4. Emphasize covering the ball when expecting
pressure and to run through the blaster/gauntlet
with the shoulders low and twisting and head
up.