3-3-5 Man Pressure Recruiting Guide (CFB 27): Who to Recruit and Why

57% of snaps ask for the even_4down RRE_RLE job, 43% ask for the odd_tite RRE_RLE job. Designated pass rushers in the sub-package fronts. The pair aligns outside in Nickel and Dime spacing and wins with get-off, because a four-man rush has to create pressure while everyone else covers. Contain duty against scrambling quarterbacks comes with the job. Rushes from width in the three-down sub fronts. Dime 3-2 and Nickel 3-3 Mint supply most of these snaps, so he attacks long edges with only one or two interior bodies beside him and has to win without much help. Twist games off his rush are part of the deal.

Physical 6'2 to 6'5, 245 to 270. Get-off outranks everything else.

72% of snaps ask for the even_4down RRE_RLE job, 28% ask for the odd_tite RRE_RLE job. Designated pass rushers in the sub-package fronts. The pair aligns outside in Nickel and Dime spacing and wins with get-off, because a four-man rush has to create pressure while everyone else covers. Contain duty against scrambling quarterbacks comes with the job. Rushes from width in the three-down sub fronts. Dime 3-2 and Nickel 3-3 Mint supply most of these snaps, so he attacks long edges with only one or two interior bodies beside him and has to win without much help. Twist games off his rush are part of the deal.

Physical 6'2 to 6'5, 245 to 270. Get-off outranks everything else.

67% of snaps ask for the even_4down REDGE_LEDGE job, 33% ask for the bear_heavy REDGE_LEDGE job. First job is winning the edge as a rusher. Aligned wide in 4-down spacing, he attacks upfield at the snap and turns speed into pressure. He sets the edge on the way to the quarterback, not instead of it. Sets a hard edge in heavy fronts. Goal line and bear spacing ask him to close down blockers and force runs back into the pile. Rush matters only after the run is dead.

Physical 6'3 to 6'5, 240 to 265. First step over mass.

67% of snaps ask for the even_4down REDGE_LEDGE job, 33% ask for the bear_heavy REDGE_LEDGE job. First job is winning the edge as a rusher. Aligned wide in 4-down spacing, he attacks upfield at the snap and turns speed into pressure. He sets the edge on the way to the quarterback, not instead of it. Sets a hard edge in heavy fronts. Goal line and bear spacing ask him to close down blockers and force runs back into the pile. Rush matters only after the run is dead.

Physical 6'3 to 6'5, 240 to 265. First step over mass.

Lives on an island in press with a blitz behind him. He wins at the line with his hands and stays in phase without safety help, because the help went to the rush. Field alignment stretches his help even thinner than the boundary's, so cushion control and recovery speed decide downs.

Physical Length and recovery speed. 6'0 plus preferred with press tools.

CB1/CB2 are the outside pair; boundary vs field is alignment, the depth chart does not split them

Lives on an island in press with a blitz behind him. He wins at the line with his hands and stays in phase without safety help, because the help went to the rush. Field alignment stretches his help even thinner than the boundary's, so cushion control and recovery speed decide downs.

Physical Length and recovery speed. 6'0 plus preferred with press tools.

CB1/CB2 are the outside pair; boundary vs field is alignment, the depth chart does not split them

Covers the slot on blitz downs, often to the pressure side. Hot throws come out fast and inside, so he plays tight leverage and tackles the catch immediately. No help exists behind him once the safety rotates toward the rush.

Physical 5'9 to 6'0, 180 to 195. Quickness outranks length.

first slot body; CB_slot rows cover CB3 and CB4

Covers the slot on blitz downs, often to the pressure side. Hot throws come out fast and inside, so he plays tight leverage and tackles the catch immediately. No help exists behind him once the safety rotates toward the rush.

Physical 5'9 to 6'0, 180 to 195. Quickness outranks length.

second slot body, on the field in dime sets

47% of snaps ask for the odd_tite DT job, 46% ask for the even_4down DT job. Plays the long end spots of the odd fronts, from a 4i on the tackle's inside shoulder in tite spacing to a head-up or outside 5-technique in base 3-4 looks. He two-gaps with length and keeps the B-gap closed so runs spill to the edge players. Rush production comes from push and hands rather than speed. Penetrates as the 3-technique. He lines up on the guard's outside shoulder and wins the B-gap with his first step, turning run downs into losses behind the line. On passing downs he supplies the interior rush that keeps quarterbacks off their spot. 21% of his snaps come from mugged formations. Protections point extra attention at the mugged threats, which leaves the nose and tackle in more one-on-one blocks they are expected to win.

Physical 6'3 to 6'6, 285 to 315. Arm length outranks burst.

53% of snaps ask for the even_4down NT job, 39% ask for the odd_tite NT job. Anchors the front as the shade nose. He controls the A-gap against interior runs and holds his ground against double teams so the MIKE can flow. Pocket push on late downs is a bonus on top of the run-down anchor. Two-gaps the center in tite spacing. He absorbs double teams without giving ground and closes both A-gaps so the linebackers can run. There is no help coming, so mass and leverage are the job. 24% of his snaps come from mugged formations. Protections point extra attention at the mugged threats, which leaves the nose and tackle in more one-on-one blocks they are expected to win.

Physical 6'1 to 6'4, 300 to 330. Anchor strength outranks height.

Plays the long end spots of the odd fronts, from a 4i on the tackle's inside shoulder in tite spacing to a head-up or outside 5-technique in base 3-4 looks. He two-gaps with length and keeps the B-gap closed so runs spill to the edge players. Rush production comes from push and hands rather than speed.

Physical 6'3 to 6'6, 285 to 315. Arm length outranks burst.

Covers the guards in bear looks and multiplies in goal line fronts, where DT3 and RDT tokens add extra interior bodies. Every rep is a single block in a phone booth, so he has to win fast with power because there is no space to recover.

Physical 6'2 to 6'5, 300 to 330. Short-area power outranks any testing number.

Plays the deep middle behind five and six man pressures. He is often the only deep defender, so alignment disguise before the snap and range after it carry the call. When the pressure wins fast he cleans up scrambles.

Physical 6'0 to 6'2, 190 to 205. Range outranks hitting.

Blitzes or replaces the blitzer. These books send him off the edge and through interior gaps, and when he stays back he inherits a tight end with no help behind him. Downhill juice plus man chops is a rare pair, which is why this body is hard to sign.

Physical 6'0 to 6'3, 200 to 215. Trigger outranks coverage polish.

No blitz attribute exists on the DB scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Tackle here.

Applies when the third safety is on the field. A fifth of man-pressure snaps carry the third safety, and he is the disguise piece: he shows blitz from the overhang and either comes or takes the slot man late. The show has to look identical both ways. 14% of his snaps come from three_high formations, where the deep-third variant applies. In these alignments SS2 plays a true deep third, so the ask shifts from overhang force to top-down coverage: stay over #2 and #3 verticals and arrive late against the run.

Physical 5'11 to 6'2, 195 to 215. Doing two jobs at one speed is the trait.

third safety; on the field in 3-3-5 3 High, 3-3-5 Odd Ghost, 3-3-5 Over Flex, 3-3-5 Split, 3-3-5 Stack

No blitz attribute exists on the DB scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Tackle here.

57% of snaps ask for the even_4down SUBLB job, 43% ask for the odd_tite SUBLB job. Holds the second level of the sub packages that carry most snaps. The job is coverage first, matching backs and tight ends underneath, with a late rush added when the assignment stays in to block. Sub fronts field both SUBLB tokens together, so this is a sign-two position. Covers from the middle of light boxes. Dime 3-2 alone supplies over half of these snaps, so he protects the middle hole and carries verticals from #3 with little help around him. Space tackling is the floor requirement. Blitz demand leads here. 36% of his snaps come from mugged formations. Walked into an A-gap before the snap, he either arrives with the rush or bails into coverage after showing it, and the bail is the hard part. Short-area burst plus coverage recovery is the trait pair that survives the assignment.

Physical 6'0 to 6'3, 220 to 240. Coverage movement outranks bulk.

No blitz attribute exists on the scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Hit Power here.

57% of snaps ask for the even_4down SUBLB job, 43% ask for the odd_tite SUBLB job. Holds the second level of the sub packages that carry most snaps. The job is coverage first, matching backs and tight ends underneath, with a late rush added when the assignment stays in to block. Sub fronts field both SUBLB tokens together, so this is a sign-two position. Covers from the middle of light boxes. Dime 3-2 alone supplies over half of these snaps, so he protects the middle hole and carries verticals from #3 with little help around him. Space tackling is the floor requirement. Blitz demand leads here. 36% of his snaps come from mugged formations. Walked into an A-gap before the snap, he either arrives with the rush or bails into coverage after showing it, and the bail is the hard part. Short-area burst plus coverage recovery is the trait pair that survives the assignment.

Physical 6'0 to 6'3, 220 to 240. Coverage movement outranks bulk.

No blitz attribute exists on the scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Hit Power here.

52% of snaps ask for the odd_tite MIKE job, 32% ask for the even_4down MIKE job. Runs free behind the trio. The front's job is to keep him unblocked, and his job is to make that matter, flowing tackle to tackle and finishing in the open field. On pass downs he owns the middle hook and carries #3 up the seam when the call asks. Runs the middle of the base defense. He triggers downhill between the tackles against the run and drops to the hook zones on pass downs. Base backers rush or match man with the pressure behind them.

Physical 6'0 to 6'3, 235 to 255. Diagnose-and-go outranks size.

No blitz attribute exists on the scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Hit Power here.

52% of snaps ask for the odd_tite WILL job, 32% ask for the even_4down WILL job. Scrapes behind a front built to keep him clean. He presses the line when the trio holds and falls back over the top when it slants, and his tackles come at full speed in pursuit. Flat and hook drops fill the pass downs. Chases from the weak side. Protected from most direct blocks, he flows fast to the ball and cleans up what the front spills. In coverage he carries backs to the flat and closes on checkdowns. Base backers rush or match man with the pressure behind them.

Physical 6'0 to 6'2, 225 to 245. Closing speed outranks size.

No blitz attribute exists on the scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Hit Power here.

Plays overhang in the stack fronts. Aligned off the edge in 3-3-5 looks, he splits the difference between box and slot, and he forces runs from width while handling flat coverage or edge blitz duty by call. Base backers rush or match man with the pressure behind them.

Physical 6'1 to 6'3, 225 to 245. Space tackling outranks bulk.

No blitz attribute exists on the scouting panel. Blitz maps to Acceleration and Hit Power here.