Did You Know the Modern-Day Zone-Blitz in Football Originated at Penn State?

Former PSU Linebacker, Shane Conlan

I actually didn't know this, but the origins of one defensive style that has become famous and popular in the NFL -- the zone-blitz -- traces its origins to Penn State. Before it first became popular, the blitz was nothing more than what at the time was considered a gimmicky or trick play. It was something different to throw at an offense when least expected, in an effort to catch it off guard. This particular play was called "Magic."

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports decided to trace back to find the origins of the zone blitz.

This all took place approximately 30 years ago. Do you know who the head coach of Penn State was 30 years ago? You guessed it, Joe Paterno.

So what reaction to this "new-fangled" scheme do you think Joe Pa offered?

"He didn't say much. He didn't like it very much."

--Former Penn State Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky

 Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky along with former defensive secondary coach John Rosenberg came up with the nouveau scheme, which dropped the nose tackle into coverage (the secondary), while bringing a blitz from the edges and playing zone behind it.

As history has slowly evolved into the present, the true origins of the zone-blitz have become faded, almost to obscurity -- almost to give undue credit. Usually, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is credited as the father of the zone-blitz, as he made use of it in the late 1980's while he was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rosenberg was quoted as saying, "I can't take ownership. We used a few new thoughts, but people have taken them and put some new and creative ways to use them. That's what you see today."

In the end, it seems as though in the early 1980's, the defensive coaching staff at Penn State perhaps took some ideas of what it had seen from football programs in previous years, and perhaps added their own nuances to the scheme. At any rate, it really took off and has become an art-form of its own in the NFL, as its been revolutionized by defensive coordinators such as the late Philadelphia Eagles' coordinator Jim Johnson, Dick LeBeau of the Steelers, and Dom Capers of the Green Bay Packers.

Being that this former crew of defensive coaches from Penn State seem to be the ones behind the surge and popularity of the zone-blitz defensive style, the cool thing about it all, is this style of defense will be on full display on Super Bowl Sunday, as both the Steelers and Packers utilize this style of defense in their respective 3-4 schemes in Super Bowl XLV.

You may see this style of defense in use in the following video clips from the channel of Barry Paterno on YouTube. Unfortunately, the video quality isn't the greatest, but it will give you an idea of this attack style of defense.