Chad Wilson
December 16, 2025
When you’re playing defensive back in an off-man or zone situation, there will be times when your cushion is eaten up by the wide receiver. When this occurs, you must react quickly to prevent disaster. Quickly, in this situation, means being able to make an explosive turn that allows you to accelerate, match the wide receiver’s speed, and stay in phase. In this brief article, I will tell you how to do that.
The Key: Planting the Opposite Foot
The power in your turns and changes of direction comes from how well you can drive your foot into the ground under or near your center of gravity.
When making a turn or opening your hips as a defensive back, planting your opposite foot with force is key. For instance, if you are opening to the right, planting hard on the ball of your left foot—preferably under your hips —will swing your hips open quickly and put you in a better position to accelerate after the turn.
As such, when executing a turn out of your backpedal, you can increase the speed and explosiveness of the turn by dropping the foot opposite of the turn into the ground. Driving the opposite foot into the ground allows your hips to turn away from that foot with force.
The Mistake to Avoid
Many defensive backs will drop the near foot into the ground prior to their turn, and this locks their hips momentarily. Once this is done, the defensive back has committed himself to an extra step to complete the turn. After you plant your near foot, it will be necessary for you to plant the opposite foot to unlock the hips and complete the turn.
That extra step into the ground may be just enough for a wide receiver to get behind you and separate once the ball is thrown. Cut down on the number of steps by driving the opposite foot into the ground. This will allow you to stay on top of the route by the wide receiver or, at the very least, be even with him as he tries to accelerate past you.
In your next training session, try executing your turns with this technique and notice how much faster you are able to spin yourself in the opposite direction. This will work wonders for you as you find yourself in situations versus very fast wide receivers.
Did you like this tip? I have 100 more of them just like this in my book 101 DB Tips. It is the ultimate defensive back reference guide used by many to reach the peak of their game. Click here to get more information on your copy of the top-selling defensive back book out there.
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.
