Jim Leonhard Wisconsin 3rd Down Defense Study
One of my favorite defensive coordinators to study is Jim Leonhard. He led Wisconsin’s defense from 2017-2022 before being let go as Wisconsin hired Luke Fickel.
He is from the Dave Aranda(Baylor) and Chris Wilcox(California) train of thought as they will often send 4 with various pressures, but be sound on the back end. He is a little different on 3rd down as he plays some of the same concepts and relies on coverage and being sound on the back end. You will very rarely see Jim send more than 5 on a pressure, and doesn’t send 6 and play cover 0. I haven’t seen it in the 4 games I evaluated him in.
Why Simulated pressures:
It allows you to give the perception you are sending more but really sending 4.
Because you are sending someone from depth, you often force the running back to stay in, which gives you advantage in coverage, 7 over 4. Curious to calculate the RB reception rate vs Leonhard and Aranda and Sim type systems.
He also doesn’t get too exotic with mug looks on 3rd down but that doesn’t mean he hasnt gotten great results.
3rd down study
In 2019, they were #1 in the country, holding teams to 27% efficiency.
In 2020, they were #5 in the country holding teams to 28.74% efficiency.
In 2021, his defense was #4 in the country on 3rd down. They held teams to a very low and efficient 29.34 completion percentage.
They were top 5 for a number of years and even this year, was 15th in the nation.
For the purpose of this study, I broke down 3 games from the 2021 season.
Penn State 3/13 efficiency on 3rd down
Michigan 6/19 efficiency on 3rd down
Notre Dame 5/16 efficiency on 3rd down
These 3 teams were a combined 14/48 on third downs vs Wisconsin in 3 games which equated to 29%.
As discussed, many of the Wisconsin pressure package is based on simulated pressures. That is no different on 3rd down as they run a ton of simulated pressures and bring 4 rushers the majority of the time. Here is the pass rush excluding short yardage and red zone 10 and in
4 man rush. 27/33= 82%
5 man rush 4/33= 12%
3 man rush 2/33= 6%
Lets look at certain down and distance and coverages he played in those situations
They really loved man free and cover 3 on 3rd down(coverages excluding red zone. The chart below this shows the breakdown by down and distance. You can see that Coach Leonhard loves man free and cover 3 (81% combined on 3rd down) They only played cover 4 on 10% 3rd and 10 or more and special vs 3x1.
So statistically if you are 2x2 and in 3rd and 4-9 you will get man free or a cover 3 variation 100% of the time..
man free 15/38=39%
3 weak. 13/38=34%
3 strong 3/38 =8%
Special 4/38=10%. (Only vs 3x1)
Cover 4 4/38=10% (Only 3rd & 10 or more)
The Chart shows all the coverages. by down and distance over the 3 game span!
Also, here is the coverage breakdown in detail vs those 3 teams!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D5j_CZenzbHYSLMFB1hXOBcsp3uzTdttC8YESF9zhnw/edit?usp=sharing
Simulated Pressures
Now lets look at some of the simulated pressures. Usually the way the concept works is the DE will drop opposite the pressure from the side of the LB/SS that blitzes. If they blitz 2 LB in the middle, both DE will drop.
3rd down
You will see a ton of man free and cover 3 with simulated pressures on this down.
4 man sim pressure bringing both inside LB. They show with what most would consider a bear look.
3rd and 8
Front: Bear w LB
Coverage: 3 weak
Blitz: Axe double A gap
Variation: FS/SS are middle hook/curl defender (down and distance)
This time they put the LB over the center send the 4 and play cover 3
Nice job playing cover 3 . running back has to stay in for protection.
Excellent blitz and again a relatively safe coverage call.
Good coverage an not high risk as they play 3 weak with a 4 man axe pressure with 7 defenders playing cover 3.
#2
They run a sim pressure and lock the backside with the CB pressed, They play cover 3 and send 5. If the back releases the LB would pick him up. He blocks so he adds in.Cb to the single wr side has man on #1. They play zone to the field Cover 3 with the weak safety rolling down.
nice job with the coverage 3 with a solo call backside.
They bring 4 on the pressure as the mike comes strong which means the end away from the blitz drops.
Man Free Simulated Pressure
4 man sim pressure with man free coverage
Vs Penn State, you see some man free concepts with the DE and LB acting as rat(underneath zone defenders)They ran the same scheme 2x and got sacks both times. The DE disrupted the throw on both occasions by getting in the throwing lane.
De gets in the throwing lane on the sim pressure.
2nd time they ran the concept, they got the same result.This was a key 4th down in the 1st quarter.Again man/free, mike pressure DE drops to the boundary. This is the great thing about simulated pressures and the concept that makes it effective. You send 4 and get 2 defenders underneath and often keep a running back in as a blocker.
Field pressure with 3 to a side.
DE gets in the slant window. RB plays the hook.
Rat defender does a great job
These are some of the concepts that make Jim Leonhard and his defense successful over the years.
He’s had great success on 3rd down over the years and these are some of the reasons why.
There will be a YouTube/video coming out soon getting more into these topics!