4-3 Zone Recruiting Guide (CFB 27): Who to Recruit and Why

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Plays the short-side zone with his eyes on the quarterback. Deep third or squat flat by call, he reads route distribution instead of chasing one man. Cloud calls make him the force player on boundary runs, and screens to his side are his tackles to make. Tackling counts here as much as coverage. Field thirds stretch vertically and field flats stretch horizontally, so he needs range in both planes and patience against layered routes.

Physical 5'11 to 6'2, 185 to 200. Ball reaction outranks man twitch.

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

Plays the short-side zone with his eyes on the quarterback. Deep third or squat flat by call, he reads route distribution instead of chasing one man. Cloud calls make him the force player on boundary runs, and screens to his side are his tackles to make. Tackling counts here as much as coverage. Field thirds stretch vertically and field flats stretch horizontally, so he needs range in both planes and patience against layered routes.

Physical 5'11 to 6'2, 185 to 200. Ball reaction outranks man twitch.

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

Works the curl-flat and hook areas from the slot. He passes routes off and jumps the ones thrown in front of him, and run support falls to him as the closest extra defender. Vision beats man twitch at this spot in these books.

Physical 5'9 to 6'0, 185 to 200. Trigger outranks recovery speed.

first slot body; CB_slot rows cover CB3 and CB4

Works the curl-flat and hook areas from the slot. He passes routes off and jumps the ones thrown in front of him, and run support falls to him as the closest extra defender. Vision beats man twitch at this spot in these books.

Physical 5'9 to 6'0, 185 to 200. Trigger outranks recovery speed.

second slot body, on the field in dime sets

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. 17% 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 6'2 to 6'5, 285 to 310. First-step quickness outranks bulk.

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. 18% 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.

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.

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.

Reads the quarterback from the deep middle or a deep half. Zone structure lets him break on the ball instead of trailing a man, which makes ball skills the separator at this spot. Interception production lives in this row.

Physical 6'0 to 6'2, 190 to 205. Instincts outrank timed speed.

Rotates between deep halves and underneath robber zones. He reads the release of #2 to find work, and against run he fits from depth with momentum. Missed tackles from that alignment turn into touchdowns, so tackling has a hard floor.

Physical 6'0 to 6'2, 195 to 210. Downhill control outranks top speed.

Applies when the third safety is on the field. He is the seam-flat defender in three-safety zone shells: he buzzes under #2 and squeezes the seam, and run force from width belongs to him. About 17 percent of zone-book snaps field this body.

Physical 5'11 to 6'2, 195 to 215. Two-plane movement outranks size.

third safety; on the field in 4-2-5 Even, 4-2-5 Over G

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. Coverage demand is hook and curl drops with vision on the quarterback, walling #3 as routes distribute. 26% 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.

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. Coverage demand is hook and curl drops with vision on the quarterback, walling #3 as routes distribute. 26% 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.

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. 4-4 Split puts two MIKE tokens on the field at once, so depth behind the starter matters in books that use it. Base backers drop to landmarks and break on throws.

Physical 6'0 to 6'3, 230 to 250. Instincts outrank straight-line speed.

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 drop to landmarks and break on throws.

Physical 6'0 to 6'2, 225 to 240. Closing speed outranks size.

Plays the strong side over tight ends. He sets the edge against the run when the play comes at him and walls the tight end in coverage when it does not. Most of his snaps in this cluster come from the 4-3 family, so he lives near the line and in traffic. Base backers drop to landmarks and break on throws.

Physical 6'2 to 6'4, 235 to 255. Play strength at the point outranks range.