DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Texas is one of two states — Massachusetts is the other — that plays by NCAA rules when it comes to high school football. But one of the most significant elements of those rules, the cut block, is dying.
The cut block is defined as a block below the waist. Proposals have been made to the UIL to eliminate the cut block. For now, alterations are being made to how cut blocks are employed. The latest rule change is that now cut blocks are confined to a 6-7-yard box between the tackles on the offensive line. Cut blocks are no longer permissible past the line of scrimmage.
As training camps start Monday morning with the 2016 high school football season on the horizon, the latest change in the rule is another step toward the eventual dismissal of the cut block for safety reasons.
“Personally speaking, there are a lot of teams that rely so heavily on the cut block, especially running teams,” Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said. “Even us, when we used to run the wing-T, it was a big part of the scheme, to cut at the line of scrimmage. But this is all meant for the protection of our players, and as players and coaches we just have to get used to it.
“I would anticipate a big impact,” Adame added. “The game is played on your feet. When you cut somebody, you’re taking away their base and their ability to move. It will force a lot of teams to alter their blocking schemes.”
The Rio Grande Valley primarily features teams that run the ball, whether under the center or in a shotgun look. Of the 30 teams in the Upper and Mid-Valley, only six had passing yards account for more than 52.2 percent of their total yards.
But Valley coaches that favor heavy ground-and-pound offenses do not use the cut block as often as one might think. Roma coach Max Habecker Jr., who leads a team that had running yards account for 84.3 percent of its total yards last season, does not teach or use the cut block expect for minimal situations. He prefers emphasizing the hands in the Gladiators’ blocking schemes.
“The teams that do (cut block) a lot, it’s a great advantage to them,” Habecker Jr. said. “The cut block is something that is pretty popular in football in general, not just Valley teams. A lot of people use it in a lot of different manners. But I do see people making adjustments now if we think it’s only a matter of time before it becomes illegal.”
Weslaco High’s Tony Villarreal feels that the UIL is more focused on the “high-low” block, which he said takes place often in spread offenses. A defensive tackle will engage the opposing offensive guard around chest height and then the center will chop block, a cut block at the knees, the defensive tackle.
Villarreal does not see cut blocking as much of a major issue in comparison to the chop block.
“I’m going to do whatever the UIL wants,” Villarreal said. “I don’t care; we’ll modify as necessary because we care about safety. The high-low (block) is the only thing I care about because it causes severe injury. Our aiming point is the thigh pad, and circumstances may dictate that we end up hitting lower, but that’s a one-on-one situation. It’s not a high-low where another guy comes in to hit. Our aiming point is hit you in the mouth or the thigh pad.”
McAllen High coach Kevin Brewer was taught to use the cut block in certain situations, depending on the defender’s reaction, when he played the offensive line for TCU from 1991-1995. But he does not condone the cut block, and in 21 years he said he has not coached his kids to cut block from any position.
“We were taught to cut in college,” Brewer said. “I didn’t think that much about it at the time, because that was my job, but when I started coaching, I didn’t want to teach my kids to jump around and flop around on the ground. We’re going to stay up and block with our feet and hands and move our hips. I’ve never in my career taught cut blocking. I think it’s lazy. I think it’s cheap. I think it’s dirty.”
In his fourth year at the helm of the Bulldogs, Brewer said he is seeing the cut block utilized less and less by teams in the Valley.
“There are teams that use it here and there,” he said. “Ten or 15 years ago, you’d play a team that ran the veer or wishbone and they were cutting every single play. You don’t see it as much anymore. There’s some slot (formation) teams that do some cutting on sweep plays and stuff like that, or I-(formation) teams on the toss sweep …but there’s not a lot. With more spread offenses, you don’t see it as much.
“But it’s part of the game right now. I think it will move to the point where they’re going to outlaw it altogether, and that’ll be a happy day for me. Then it will be a fair playing field.”
The recent rule change was the hot topic of conversation at the Texas High School Coaches Association convention earlier this month. Many coaches agree with the prospect of eliminating the cut block in order to assure the student-athlete’s safety. But many also have concerns about how it will be officiated.
“It will take some games of experience, but those guys (officials) are trained for all the new rule changes,” Adame said. “The better ones will do their research, studying and interpreting the rules. I’m sure at the beginning of the season, it will really be looked at, but who knows what course it may take as the season goes on.”