Pocket Presence Drill
Setup
Grab a few blocking pads or other equipment that you can safely toss at your quarterback. Select coaches and/or players to be positioned around the front of the pocket and prepared to toss their pad at the quarterback.
Purpose
Build the quarterback’s awareness, comfort level, and mobility in the pocket. There is a learning curve for quarterbacks when it comes to building the confidence to stand tall in the pocket and being aware of their surroundings all while keeping their eyes downfield. This drill will give your Quarterbacks the opportunity to learn how to swiftly maneuver in the pocket.
Drill Description
A quarterback starts the drill by implementing either a three-step, five-step, or seven-step drop in order to place himself within the middle of the pocket. While the quarterback keeps his feet moving, blocking pads or other soft/safe items are tossed in his direction in order to force him to move from side to side, as well as, forward and backward. As each item is tossed, the Quarterback swiftly keeps his feet under him in an athletic stance while keeping his eyes downfield.
This drill develops the Quarterback’s sense of space in the pocket while ingraining the habit of keeping his eyes downfield so that he can make the proper reads in the defensive secondary and move in such a way that provides him enough space in the pocket for when it comes time to throw the ball downfield.
