Beating the Buckeyes: Virginia Tech Corner Brandon Facyson and Inside Leverage on "The Island"

Much of the immediate discussion after the Hokies upset win over eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes last season focused on how Bud Foster's Bear defense completely shut down the Ohio State running game. Virginia Tech held a running game that averaged 264.5 yards per game in 2014 to 108 yards. Pundits discussed how the Bear look was supported by the Hokies playing press man coverage on the outside, but very little energy was devoted by analysts during or after the game to identify why Ohio State was not able to capitalize on down field opportunities.

Some of post-game narrative from the Ohio State perspective focused on wide receivers not making plays, and Tom Herman's failure to incorporate wide receiver route concepts like double slants that break down man coverage. National sports coverage and analysts like myself focused on the Bear front and how the pressure generated from the look threw off timing with the Buckeye receivers. Neither conclusion tells the full story.

Talking heads love highlighting how the Virginia Tech corners play "zero" or "man coverage". Often the Hokie corners play on an island, but rarely are they responsible for tracking a wide receiver no matter where they go. Instead, the Virginia Tech defensive backs are taught to play either inside or outside leverage. Playing leverage is a coverage technique in which a defender overplays half of a wide receiver's pass route options. By taking away routes through alignment and technique, the quarterback is forced to throw lower percentage passes and the defensive support (often a safety) can easily identify where a pass is likely to be thrown.

Against Ohio State, the Hokie corners used inside leverage to squash many of the route options discussed by Ohio State analysts before they even happened. When playing inside leverage, the defender aligns inside his man, angling towards the sidelines, and while it looks like man-to-man, his real assignment is to prevent any receiver from running an inside breaking pass route (cross, slant or post). A route like a slant is almost impossible because the corner is interposed in between the receiver and the delivery point for the football. Instead, the alignment invites the receiver to release to the outside on out routes, out and go's and outside release go routes.

Outside leverage is essentially the opposite. The defender aligns outside the receiver and angles back into the quarterback. This alignment takes away any outside breaking routes (corner, out, curl, post-corner, and outside release go route). It makes a free release on slants and crossing routes look easy, however Foster and Torrian Gray mitigate that risk by having safeties coming up on the slant, linebackers dropping underneath routes when the corners have an outside leverage call, and most significantly, the corners are looking in at the quarterback.

The great Hokie defensive backs, especially Jayron Hosley, made a living off giving the slant route and then anticipating the throw to make the interception.

Inside leverage was a huge difference maker against Ohio State. Easier throws like slants and crossing routes were essentially taken away when the Hokies played inside leverage. Meanwhile, the Hokie corners ability to turn and run kept the Buckeyes from making big plays down field on outside releases. Since I started writing at TKP, the one technique question that I get more than any other is "Why do the Virginia Tech defensive backs not turn around and find the football?" I posed the question to Virginia Tech defensive backs coach Torrian Gray at the recent Northern Virginia Hokie Club Chalk Talk, and Gray indicated that he felt looking back for the ball caused the cover man to lose a step. Losing a step created separation that allowed the receiver to make the play.

Attack the Hands

After watching the film against Ohio State closely, I think there is a bit more to the technique than Coach Gray cared to share in that forum. On every example that I could find when the Hokie corners played inside leverage against a deep throw from J.T. Barrett, the corners never looked back for the football. Instead, they ran stride for stride with the receiver, looking at the receiver. When the receiver started to raise his hands, the Hokie corner immediately thrust his hands up in between the receiver's hands and the football.

It takes talented corners that will play their technique to take away the inside route and then turn and run with speedy receivers. Brandon Facyson demonstrates the technique perfectly on this play. Buckeye receiver Evan Spencer fakes an out route and then runs deep. Let's walk through how Facyson covers the route.

At the snap, Facyson is aligned slightly inside of Spencer. When Spencer pushes into Facyson's space, Facyson backpedals but turns his hips so he faces the sideline when Spencer breaks outside. Facyson plants and pushes off to attack the out route, while still being in position to easily turn and run deep if he doesn't see the receiver come back for the football. Note, he is looking at the receiver and reacting to the receiver's movement. He isn't looking for the football.

Spencer goes to the sideline, but doesn't plant and push back for the football. When Spencer turns up field, Facyson has almost two yards of head start on him. Remember, Facyson was still not 100% healthy after stress reaction in his left leg and follow-up, post-spring bone graft procedure. Technique is making up for a potential lack of foot speed. Despite the head start, Spencer gets a step on Facyson deep. Facyson runs with him, and (this is critical) has his chin up looking at Spencer the whole way.

If you look closely, Facyson is running with his right arm cocked. When Spencer starts to raise his hands to catch the pass, Facyson punches his right arm right into the area between Spencer's hands. He never looks for the ball yet he knocks the ball perfectly out of Spencer's grasp.

Here is another look. Again, note how Facyson is completely focused on Spencer's eyes and hands.

This is a terrific angle. By attacking Spencer's hands, Facyson breaks up Spencer's line of vision, and the ball ends up harmlessly bouncing off of his elbow. This is beautiful technique, especially now with the hindsight that Facyson was playing hurt.

Just in case you think this is an accident, Kendall Fuller used the same technique several times on deep throws.

On this play, Buckeye receiver Corey Smith fakes a slant. Fuller stands his ground to the inside and then turns and runs when the receiver breaks deep. Fuller never looks back for the football, and at the moment Smith raises his hands, Fuller punches up through the middle of them.

It is also easy to see the risk involved with this coverage strategy. Because the Hokies don't know where the ball is, any underthrown pass could result in the defender running into the receiver and a cheap pass interference call. The Virginia Tech defensive backs minimize that risk by focusing on the receiver and not closing immediately when they break deep. By keeping some distance, this allows Fuller to adjust and not run into Smith going full speed.

Ohio State only found success against inside leverage quarters coverage when they faced it from nickelback Chuck Clark. Clark, who came to Virginia Tech as more of a safety than a corner, faced two big disadvantages. First, as a nickel, there is more space to the outside where the receiver can gain separation. Second, Clark was a victim of bad luck.

Clark plays a vertical route almost as well as you can. However, the ball is under-thrown, and Clark tries to slow down to avoid the pass interference penalty. Instead of his arm coming up in front of Dontre Wilson's hands, his arm flails out to the side, which allows Wilson to make a spectacular play. Clark also was beaten on a handful of other plays down the slot, and I would expect Meyer to try and take more advantage of that matchup on Labor Day.

Brandon Facyson's Health is the Key

Perhaps most fascinating about the review of the Ohio State game was the observation of how little Urban Meyer challenged the Virginia Tech safeties in the passing game. Standout tight end Jeff Heuerman didn't have a catch and was rarely targeted. This allowed Bud Foster to stack the box with safeties Kyshoen Jarrett and Detrick Bonner early in the game. Then when Ohio State was forced to become more reliant on the pass, Jarrett picked off two passes from almost a punt return alignment by reading Barrett and jumping poorly disguised vertical routes. Clark's occasional struggles from the slot aside, the three Virginia Tech corners allowed Foster to outman Ohio State in the box and win with those numbers. Without a healthy Brandon Facyson, Foster was forced to utilize Donovan Riley (now a safety) at corner and while Riley was game, it took away the ability to lock down across the field and free up both safeties in run support. By the end of the season, Bonner was essentially playing nickel corner against spread looks. It wasn't ideal given how Foster structured his scheme up front to stop the run, and that unit struggled against power rushing teams like Pitt and Miami.

Stopping the run against Ohio State is again a catalyst for success. I am not convinced that Foster will run a Bear front (more on that later in the summer), however you can be assured that Foster will outnumber the Buckeyes in the box regardless of alignment. In order to succeed, Foster needs three special corners outside that can allow C.J. Reavis and the eventual free safety (expected to be Chuck Clark, although against Ohio State I have some doubt) to support the run. Without Facyson, Foster will find himself either turning to a true freshman or perhaps reinstalling a bulked up Donovan Riley back at corner. That isn't ideal in such a big matchup, especially with Ohio State returning explosive deep threats like 6-3, 210 wide receiver Michael Thomas.

The Hokies were incredibly secretive prior to last season's Ohio State game, so I don't think the coaching staff will reveal strategy or personnel prior to the game. If I was a betting man, I would expect that Chuck Clark will stay at the corner position if Brandon Facyson is healthy. Clark would be the nickel just like last season on running downs. On on third-and-long situations, I think Clark will move out to boundary corner and Kendall Fuller will move inside to the nickel. Fuller is the quickest, most talented corner, and the style of routes that the Buckeyes prefer, especially outside release fade routes, are the most difficult for a slot corner to cover.

This scheme completely hinges on Facyson's full recovery and ability to play inside leverage to the field. Without a healthy Facyson, Clark will likely have to play field corner with either Greg Stroman or Mook Reynolds forced into the nickel role and question marks at free safety. With all due respect to Reynolds and Stroman's ability, going from a lineup with three lockdown corners who excel against the routes Ohio State prefers to slot corners unaccustomed to supporting the run would be problematic against the Buckeyes. A healthy Facyson gives Foster the ability to be much more aggressive in the box without being burned deep. If Facyson can't replicate his effort against the Buckeyes in 2014, Foster will have to use a less aggressive approach.

Facyson is the straw that stirs the drink.