Quarterback Scan Drill

Football: Quarterback Scan Drill for Better Field Vision

Pat Aitken

Good quarterbacks not only need a good arm; they must also have the ability to quickly scan the field for open receivers.

Fortunately, good field vision can be practiced. Here's a drill that will sharpen your quarterbacks' eagle-eyes.

Setup
This drill involves a quarterback, three receivers and a center. Line up your quarterback behind the center in the middle of the field. Place a receiver ten yards downfield on each hash mark and a third receiver ten yards downfield of the center.

On each repetition of the drill, the coach, lined up five yards behind the quarterback, tells the players the drop and snap count.

Execution
When the ball is snapped, the quarterback performs the correct drop while scanning for the open receiver. The coach, positioned behind the quarterback, points to a receiver, who puts his hands in front of his body—he's the designated receiver. The other two receivers fold their arms in front of their body.

The quarterback reads these signals and passes to the designated receiver.

Variation
Once your quarterback has mastered this drill, you can make it more difficult by having the receivers run actual passing routes instead of remaining stationary for the quarterback's “read.”

References:
1. Jim Dougherty & Brandon Castel, Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football, Human Kinetics, 2010.
2. Doug Mallory, Spalding Football Drill Book, Masters Press, 1993.

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