--- title: "Flag Football Rushing Drill: 7-Yard Line & Angles" description: "A flag football rushing drill trains your rusher to start legally from 7 yards, take a sharp angle and get hands up. Setup, steps and coaching points inside." url: "https://www.coachboard.app/library/flag-football/rushing-drill" sport: "Flag Football" category: "Drill" level: "beginner" dateModified: "2026-09-24" --- # Flag Football Rushing Drill — Flag Football Drill Rushing in flag football means one or more defenders starting at least 7 yards back (NFL FLAG rule; leagues vary) and sprinting at the quarterback after the snap to hurry the throw or pull the flag behind the line. The rusher is the only defender who touches the quarterback's clock. There is no offensive line to beat, so the rush is a footrace from the rush line to the quarterback, and a good rusher turns a comfortable seven seconds into two. Even when the rusher never gets the flag, a quarterback who throws early and off balance is a gift to the coverage behind. Most young rushers do one of two things: jump early and draw a penalty, or run straight at the quarterback, who simply steps around them. This drill fixes both. It trains the legal start behind the rush line, a controlled angle that keeps the quarterback contained, and high hands that make the throw harder without any contact. ## Objective Teach rushers to start legally from the rush line, attack the quarterback on an angle that contains the play, and pressure the throw with hands up and no contact. ## Setup - **Area:** 15 x 15 yards behind a line of scrimmage, with a cone line 7 yards from it (adjust to your league's rush distance) - **Players:** 3–8 players: a center, a quarterback, and a line of rushers - **Equipment:** Flag belts, 2–3 balls, 6 cones (rush line plus a 2-yard-wide target gate behind the QB) - **Duration:** 8–10 minutes - **Level:** beginner (U8+) ## How it works 1. **Learn the rush line** — Under NFL FLAG rules a rusher must be at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped; many leagues use a similar distance but check yours. Mark it with cones. The rusher raises a hand before the snap so the officials (and the offense) know who is coming, and any number of defenders may rush. 2. **Explode on the snap** — The rusher starts in a staggered stance with eyes on the ball, not the quarterback. On the snap, the first two steps are low and fast. Any rusher who crosses the rush line before the snap goes to the back of the line; that habit is worth more than any angle. 3. **Take the angle** — Aim for a point about 1 yard in front of the quarterback's throwing shoulder rather than straight at the body. The curved path forces the QB to step up or roll away from the throwing arm, and if the quarterback runs sideways the rusher mirrors the hips and pushes them toward the sideline. 4. **Hands up in the last 2 yards** — As the rusher closes, both arms go high to take away the passing lane and the quarterback's view. Contact with the quarterback, including the arm or the ball in the passer's hand, is a penalty in most leagues; a pass knocked down in the air after release is legal. 5. **Run it live against the clock** — The quarterback takes the snap, drops 3–5 yards and must throw into the target gate. The rusher scores a point for a flag pulled before the throw or a pass that misses the gate. Rotate after each rep so every player rushes 5–6 times. ## Coaching points - Start from the rush line with feet already moving on the snap; a rusher who pauses to read has already lost the race. - Contain before you attack: keep the quarterback inside your angle so they cannot escape to the open side. - Rush the throwing shoulder, because it forces a right-handed QB to throw across their body when they move left. - Stay under control in the last yard so you can react if the QB fakes, steps up or hands the ball off. - Once the ball is handed off behind the line, the rush-line restriction ends for the whole defense in NFL FLAG, so every defender should flow to the new ball carrier. ## Variations - **Handoff read** — Add a running back behind the quarterback. On half the reps the QB hands off, and the rusher must redirect from the quarterback to the runner and pull the flag before the runner reaches the line of scrimmage. - **Two-rusher pressure** — Send two rushers from different spots on the rush line, one taking the throwing shoulder and one taking the opposite side to cut off the scramble. Use it only in practice until your coverage players can handle one fewer defender behind the rush. ## Build it in Coach Board On a flag football board in Coach Board, place the quarterback, center and rusher, draw the 7-yard rush line, then draw the curved rush angle to the throwing shoulder. Animate a straight rush on one board and the angled rush on a duplicate, and play them back side by side so young rushers see why the straight path lets the quarterback slip away. [Flag Football coaching app](https://www.coachboard.app/sports/flag-football) · [Start 14-day free trial, no card](https://my.coachboard.app) ## FAQ ### How far back does the rusher have to be in flag football? In NFL FLAG the rusher must be at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped, and officials usually mark the spot. Other leagues and age groups use different distances, and some don't allow rushing at all for the youngest players, so confirm the number with your league before practice. ### Can the rusher touch the quarterback in flag football? No, the rusher cannot make contact with the quarterback's body, arm or the ball in the quarterback's hand; it is called roughing the passer or illegal contact in most leagues. The rusher can pull the quarterback's flag, and can knock down or intercept the pass once it is thrown. ## Related - https://www.coachboard.app/library/flag-football/zone-defense.md - https://www.coachboard.app/library/flag-football/flag-pulling-drill.md - https://www.coachboard.app/library/flag-football/practice-plan.md --- [Flag Football coaching app](https://www.coachboard.app/sports/flag-football) · Animate and share this drill with your team: https://my.coachboard.app