Craig Roh: Ten Tweets From Defensive Line Guru

The pass rush is all about angles. And few defensive players have seen it from as many angles as former NFL and current CFL player Craig Roh.

An Arizona native who was a two-time First Team All-State choice and named the Gatorade Player of the Year in his senior season at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Roh has been a dominant defensive lineman at every level. He committed to Michigan in 2009 as the No. 48 ranked player in his class and recorded 148 total tackles (26.5 tackles for loss) while being named an All Big Ten Team selection in his junior and senior seasons.

Roh, who's playing in his 8th professional season with the CFL's Toronto Argonaut, has been actively sharing his secrets to playing on the Defensive Line on Twitter since June of 2020. In fact, he hasn't just written the book on pass rushing, he's currently writing the bible on the subject.

Just collected a fresh batch of testimonials for The Pass Rush Bible (https://t.co/5YaFN2uFwe) and I'm blown away by the responses.

It's so gratifying to see something you put so much hard work into help others achieve their goals.

Here's a few from coaches that stood out... pic.twitter.com/8iujt30b0H
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 13, 2021

Of the thousands of tweets and chapters Roh has written to help young defensive linemen learn the art of pressuring the quarterback, we've picked a few of our favorites.

Here is our list of the best tips from an essential follow for football prospects on Twitter, @craigroh:

Pay Attention To Where Your Thumbs Are

When the offensive lineman is below your waist, press them into the ground. Turn your hands with thumbs pointed down to push a lineman or tight-end into the ground when they attempt a cut block.

🔥If the blocker’s below the waist, pronate the hands with thumbs down so you can press him into the ground.

Here’s a drill to practice keying the cut block, pressing with thumbs down, and popping the eyes pic.twitter.com/NI65nR1uUL
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 19, 2021

Alternatively, when a linemen is upright and you are trying to gain leverage, rotate your hands and punch upwards with your thumbs aimed up to connect with their torso.

🔥To win the leverage battle against your opponent, your hands need to be off the ground and on the blocker with 0 wasted movement.

Heres a drill to practice starting with the thumbs down, punching with 0 wasted movement and striking with thumbs up pic.twitter.com/NpxmyQgzTA
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 20, 2021

Fire With Your Hands And Hips First

When

🔥When in an attack and react mindset, explode from the hips and hands first and then follow with the feet.

Below is a drill from .@fivestarlinemen to practice firing the hips, getting full extension and following with the feet. pic.twitter.com/q9mLDc3egB
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 18, 2021

Replace Front Foot With Back Foot When Flipping Your Hips

🔥When flipping you hips, stay tight to the fight so the blocker can’t reset his hands and stop your rush.

Here’s a drill to practice staying tight, replacing the front foot and accelerating to the QB. pic.twitter.com/klIFAZs4Xl
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 17, 2021

Redirect Your Rush When The Running Back Makes His Cut

🔥When the running back makes his cut, redirect and run through his ear lobe.

Here’s a drill to practice getting off, keying the back and redirecting. pic.twitter.com/qleui6a2Li
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 16, 2021

Develop Fluid Hips And Quick Feet In The Offseason

🔥To develop great D-Linemen you got to develop fluid hips and quick feet.

Here’s a great conditioning drill to use in off-season workouts that focusses on foot quickness and flipping the hips. pic.twitter.com/ezhdNnoIwj
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 15, 2021

Be Violent With Your Swim Moves And Shrugs

🔥You should only use a rip release if the ball is outside the tackle box. Otherwise, use a swim or shrug.

Here’s a drill to practice locking out and using a violent shrug or swim. pic.twitter.com/4ev640ydP6
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 12, 2021

🔥When slanting, transfer your eyes from the primary blocker to the adjacent blocker so you can “fight face” if blocker bases or “chase the tail” if blocker down blocks

Here’s a drill to practice taking an angled step, keying the adjacent blocker and redirecting. pic.twitter.com/EoyQVsdy7Z
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 11, 2021

🔥When defending against zone read make sure to keep your hips square when reading the mesh point so you can tackle the dive or the QB.

Here’s a drill to practice shuffling to the hip, staying square and reading the mesh point. pic.twitter.com/9T6dHGzBnp
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 9, 2021

🔥When stunting, tighten your base slightly and put your mental weight on the push foot. This will make it easier to reach the adjacent gap with your first step.

Here’s a drill to practice taking an angled step, dipping the shoulder and pointing knee and toe upfield. pic.twitter.com/V6Dt1Ec5FL
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 8, 2021

🔥When playing 2-gap, use a balanced stance so you can take a 6-inch read step either direction.

Here’s a drill to practice reading the blocker, taking a 6-inch step and striking the pits from a 2 point stance. pic.twitter.com/VpvIJh372C
— Craig Roh (@craigroh) March 6, 2021