Pass Rush Spotlight: Iowa’s Top QB Hunters Part IV

The art of the pass rush is one of the most sought after commodities in the modern game and requires a tremendous amount of skill. Take a look below to see how the mechanics and fundamentals of Iowa’s best lead to pressures, hits, and sacks. These quarterback hunters know how to execute and cause nightmare scenarios for an opposing offense. [player_tooltip player_id="101038" first="Andrew" last="Harris"], Southeast Polk, <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EiFF4">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/andrew_harris90">Twitter</a> DE/DT, 6’3, 235 Harris shows a lot of proficiency and a very high ceiling rushing the edge, but he is most impressive right now getting after the quarterback through inside gaps. The ability to generate consistent pressure from the interior is no easy task and the fact that Harris is able to accomplish that speaks volumes. Harris reacts to the snap of the ball instantaneously, which catches his opponents off guard and influences how they set; his get off and first step is rapid. This creates an immediate threat in the mind of the offensive lineman he is rushing against and gives him the upper hand. While it is fun to overpower opponents, and Harris is totally capable of doing so, pass rushing is about efficiency. Harris shows that he understands that pressure is the priority and beating the offensive lineman isn’t the ultimate goal. As Harris creates an immediate threat out of his stance, making his opponent uncomfortable and forcing a reaction, he often jab steps. This freezes the offensive lineman or gets them to overset. Either way, Harris is forcing his opponent to make mistakes that he can take advantage of. If Harris freezes his opponent he pins the arm with a club or swipe as he works upfield through his gap. He has also shown the ability to counter-spin to the opposite lane if he forces his opponent to set wide. [player_tooltip player_id="23961" first="Dominic" last="Wiseman"], Davenport North, <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EWd3Z">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/dominicwiseman1">Twitter</a> DT, 6’2, 271 Wiseman is a certified beast who has second to none functional strength that shows up regularly in his pass rush as he throws his opponents around and makes it look easy. Wiseman overwhelms his opponents with extremely violent hands. The explosiveness and velocity that Wiseman moves out of his stance with, at his size, is second to none. He pairs that with some very impressive mechanics and technique to destroy the pocket and send quarterbacks running their lives. Wiseman has the ability to send an offensive lineman flying when he places hands, clearing his opponent out of the lane, and keeps his feet moving all the while to get through clean. Wiseman also has a couple of well-developed moves he can pull out of the toolbox to win his battle. One is an arm over where he will strike, change the momentum of a blocker, and then remove the inside hand to bring over the top of his outside arm as he pulls himself through. Wiseman has also shown off a jab step upfield that gets his opponent out of their set. They anticipate a violent strike; Wiseman baits them with hands, drops his shoulder, and rips across the hip of his opponent. Off of his moves Wiseman shows elite bend as he shifts weight and reduces surface area to maintain speed in his rush lane through changes of direction. [player_tooltip player_id="100042" first="Tate" last="Sykora"]-Matthess, Washington, <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11465461/Tate-Sykora/highlights">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Tate_S_M">Twitter</a> DT, 6’3, 285 Creating pressure as the nose guard in an odd front is no easy task, but Sykora excels and gets the job done. This is a big deal and a massive asset as it enables flexibility in play calling and a bigger utilization of stunts and blitzes within his defense’s scheme. Sykora single-handedly collapses the pocket and makes everyone around him better. Sykora achieves this with a very technical bull rush that is perfectly suited to his frame and natural abilities. The key to Sykora’s successful bull rush is hand placement and leverage. Sykora beats his opponent out of their stance to the punch and places his hands with violence under the pads. This is complimented by the excellent angle he takes as he launches himself through his opponent and has leverage from the get go. There aren’t many young pass rushers that can get to this point in a bull rush and even fewer can execute the rest. Sykora keeps his feet moving through the pressure of his opponent as he separates his arms keeping his eyes below hand level. This removes all posture and balance from an offensive lineman’s set and puts them on skates. Sykora either puts his opponent on their back or runs them right into the quarterback. Regardless, he shows that he gets eyes on the quarterback as he finishes his move in order to get home. Adam Allen, North Scott, <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Eu6bD">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/adamallen55">Twitter</a> DE, 6’2, 230 Allen shows an impressive capacity for knowing the situation and differentiating his stance accordingly; he also shows a strong depth of understanding when it comes to identifying blocking schemes and reacting with the technique to beat it. The mechanics of a pass rush stance are vastly different from an every down stance. A pass rush stance enables you to cover ground up field and accelerate as fast as possible. Allen changes up his stance on passing downs to fit the new job description and attacks speed first. His first step replaces his hand and covers ground; he shoots out of his stance at a low angle with a lot of knee drive. This gets him to the hip of a setting offensive lineman, on the edge or an inside lane, right away and makes them uncomfortable. At this point Allen reads his opponent’s set. Allen brings an impressive speed swipe if he is hip to hip. If he doesn’t win with speed and is face to face with his opponent at the point of attack he transitions into a speed bull and runs through the outside shoulder of the blocker. He has strong hands that jolt his opponent when he goes power and can maintain the bull rush or go bull pull when the time is right. Allen also appears to understand different big on big versus zone protections, their purposes, and how to beat each. Devin Whipple, Lenox, <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EmiAb">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/devinwhipple9">Twitter</a> DT, 6’2, 270 Whipple has a textbook stance; he loads his lower body, builds posture and stability, and can support a lot of weight and forward momentum on his hands. He explodes out of his stance with impressive body control and velocity, especially for his size, and overpowers his opponents at the point of attack. Whipple understands his pass rush lanes and aiming points when getting after the quarterback; he breaks the pocket and keeps the quarterback caged so he can’t step up and escape. Whipple sets up with a bull rush to overwhelm his opponent, which takes away their center of gravity, removes their posture, and weakens their base. He will often maintain the bull rush as he works his feet to the quarterback, but is very good at feeling pressure and reacting to it in a way that helps him get home as quickly as possible. Sometimes bull rushing through is the answer, but if it isn’t he separates, fights hands, and bends really well to get the job done. Whipple can steer and manipulate the shoulders of his opponent to open up a window to step through without getting too lateral or wide. From here, he can release hands and bend as the momentum of his bull rush continues to send his opponent away from him. If his opponent attempts to recover Whipple does a nice job of fighting hands away as he passes.