THE “READ KEY”

Now that we know how to line our players up to run the read option play…

We need to be able to determine which defender we will be reading.

READ OPTION BASICSThe Read Option is a play in which the Quarterback READS ONE OF THE OPPOSING DEFENDERS, and then makes a decision on whether to keep the ball or hand it off.

We will learn how the quarterback makes this decision later in the course, but first who are we reading?

When a Read Option play is Called (Read Option Right/Left):The Quarterback will be reading the Last Defender on the LOS (Line of Scrimmage), opposite the play call.

After our offense gets set in our formation (here it is Trio Left) the defensive players will line up in a formation of their own.

------------------------------Once we have seen how they will be lining up, we can determine how we will run our play.

(DEFENSE)

Here the offense is running READ OPTION LEFT------------------------------

That tells us that when the play begins, the quarterback will be reading the last defender on the RIGHT side of the LOS.

The READ KEY is highlighted in green above.

READ OPTION LEFT

Here the offense is running READ OPTION RIGHT------------------------------

That tells us that when the play begins, the quarterback will be reading the last defender on the LEFT side of the LOS.

WHICH DEFENDER IS THE READ KEY?

READ OPTION RIGHT

The READ KEY is highlighted in green above.

READ OPTION RIGHT