The first step to being a D1 WR is making all of your routes look the exact same. AKA everything is a fade until it is not. DBs can play a guessing game all they want with you but if you get into every route with the same body language, speed/stride and eyes... they cannot prepare for what route you are going to run. Have NO indicators of what you are going to do. Don’t shorten your stride and don’t raise your pad level up. Keep everything the same and trust yourself at the top of the route.
The second step to being a D1 WR is having a high football IQ so you can be on the same page as your QB. What I mean by that is don’t waste time off the line of scrimmage. You need to know what the entire play concept is. If you are running a double slant concept that’s a different read for you rather than a high low scissors concept with a slant underneath as a 3rd read. For the scissors concept you can be more patient with your release but when it is a quick game situation you need to get off the line fast.
The 3rd step is that you need to train like a D1 WR. You don’t need to be doing these pointless ladder drills and cone drills that are not going to translate for you into a game situation. If you have a trainer who is setting up obstacle courses for you so he can film the flashy video and upload it to Instagram, get a new coach. You need to be putting yourself in game situations in practice and in training. This is how you can better prepare yourself for the next level. If you want a 4 week long WR on field training schedule checkout the link below! This is the exact schedule I use with my athletes who have played at the D1/Collegiate level. ⬇️⬇️
The 4th step to being a D1 WR is you need to understand hand combat technique off the line. D1 guys don’t sit there and waste time hand fighting with a DB. They make a move and know to take an outside release you need to beat a DBs outside hand. To take an inside release you need to beat a DBs inside arm. Keep it simple off the line of scrimmage. You need to play fast and having EFFICIENT hand technique is a great way to do that.
The last step to being a D1 WR that we will talk about today is catching every ball. Drops will kill your entire game. This is a pretty simple tip but those ELITE level receivers do not drop balls. Every time a ball is thrown to you, that’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to showcase what you can do. A lot of guys struggle with their hands because of the mental side of things. Make sure you have a trigger phrase in practice to work on catching. My favorite is “your eyes are a camera and take a picture of the ball”. If you guys struggle finding a QB to help your hands improve checkout the link below for catching workouts that do not require a QB!
