By: Chad Wilson – All Eyes DB Camp
IG: @alleyesdbcamp
Everybody wants to make plays but not everybody knows how. Everybody wants to make plays but not everybody wants to put in the work to be a playmaker.
In our heavy training and “Do It For the Gram” society, everyone thinks the sole key to being a great football player is working out. Working out is only part of the plan to becoming a great player. If you don’t want to put in the time to study the game, the most you’ll ever become is a guy who “looks like” he could be a good player.
If you are really serious about being a playmaker at defensive back you have to be able to anticipate what the opponent is going to do and the only way to be able to do that is to study film. Many young players shy away from this part of the game. In my experience only a small handful of defensive backs truly enjoy and get into studying their opponent. Most prefer to spend their time taking out opponents on Call of Duty or Fortnite.
One of my big sayings is that “success is not an accident”. Many people will look at Deion Sanders and say he ran a 4.2 forty and that’s why he was so great. You’d be dead wrong. Despite all of his physical gifts, Deion Sanders was big into studying his opponent. He was one of the first DBs to use portable DVD players to study opponents while on the bus and planes to games. If Deion Sanders had to study film to be great then you better believe you have to also.
We can get into exactly what you need to study at some point later on but for now, put the film on and start taking a look at your opponent. It’s impossible to watch too much film. Sometimes, just watching film over and over, you just pick up things that you will be able to see once game time comes. Football is a game of inches, you can gain a whole foot by knowing where your opponent is going before they go there. Study up!
Chad Wilson is the owner of All Eyes DB Camp and author of "101 DB Tips". He played college football at the University of Miami and briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. Over his 15 year high school football coaching career, he tutored over a dozen Division I defensive backs and as a trainer has worked with NFL All Pros, first round draft picks, college football All Americans and Top 10 ranked high school football prospects.
