Man-to-man Press Drill
Setup
A receiver and a defensive back face off at the line of scrimmage. Place cones to contain the drill to a width of six yards, and extend them five yards up field.
Purpose
Often times a defense will want to slow down the release of the receivers at the line of scrimmage. To do this, they will place their defensive backs in press coverage where they will meet the offense at the line of scrimmage.
The dual purposes of the Man-to-man Press drill are to teach the defensive back how to successfully execute a press coverage on a receiver, and to teach the wide receiver how to quickly fend off the coverage when being pressed by a defensive back.
Drill Description
The defensive back will stand as close as possible to the line of scrimmage with his feet even and shoulder width apart. His eyes are locked in on the hips and torso of the receiver, because his target will be to maintain his position on top of the receiver and prevent him from gaining a quick release off of the line of scrimmage.
Upon starting the drill, the receiver will release off the line of scrimmage at the same time that the defensive back will fire his hands in the chest of the receiver. The receiver needs to use his arms and dip his shoulders to deflect the press coverage as he attempts to step around the defender and push upfield.
Meanwhile, the defender needs to move his feet to mirror the movement of the receiver and stay in front of him for as long as possible.
