Equipment Needed

This drill just needs a football and a QB, but a basic coaching-aid kit keeps the rest of practice running smoothly.

Shop Football Coaching Gear on Amazon As an Amazon Associate, FreeCoachingDrills.com earns from qualifying purchases.

Setup

Set up a quarterback, a running back, and a receiver running a route off the fake.
No live defense needed to start; focus on the fake and route timing.

The quarterback opens and carries out a full run-fake with the running back, selling it with eyes and body.
The running back sells the fake too, taking the same path and pace as a real running play before peeling off to block or release.
The quarterback resets after the fake and delivers a pass to the receiver's route.
Repeat with fakes to both sides of the formation.

Coaching Points

A half-hearted fake fools no one — the quarterback's eyes and the running back's path both have to sell it fully.
The quarterback's feet need to reset quickly after the fake to be ready to throw with proper mechanics.
Timing between the fake and the route depth matters; a route that's already broken before the fake is finished wastes the whole point of the play.
Once the fake and footwork are clean, add a rushing linebacker to test whether the fake actually holds them.

Add a linebacker reading the fake to test if it actually freezes them, or run it as a full 7-on-7 rep with a complete route concept.