35 Under 35 Presents | Christian Smith, Northwestern | Pass Rush Scheme

Christian Smith has served as the Defensive Line coach at Northwestern University for the past two seasons. Before joining the staff at Northwestern, Coach Smith served as the Defensive Line coach at South Dakota State. During his tenure at SDSU, Coach Smith helped the Jackrabbits to two FCS National Championship appearances, winning the championship in 2022. Coach Smith helped the Jackrabbits to produce one of the nation’s best defenses at the FCS level. Coach Smith was recently selected as a member of the 2025 AFCA 35 Under 35 Class.  

Coach Smith begins this presentation by discussing the main objectives for his defensive linemen as they rush the passer. Coach Smith also provides some instruction on how he teaches the specific rush lanes and his plan for attacking the sets off the offensive lineman.  Pass Rush Objectives:  

• Restrict QB’s vision (hands and bodies) 

• Using the bodies of the OL to squeeze the pocket 

• Using your hands to impede the QB’s ability to throw 

• Contain 

• Need all 4 DL working together on a string and understanding their role 

• Sacks 

• Get after the QB 

• Force Fumbles  

• Fumbles can be game changers 

• Create Interceptions 

• Impeding the QB’s vision and throwing motion can lead to interceptions 

• Force the QB to throw on time with only 1 read 

• Teams cannot beat you when they are operating on 1 read  

Rush Lanes:  

• Understanding rush lanes is highly important 

• Understanding rush lanes = affecting QB 

• Rush Lane for Defensive Tackles 

• Inside Eye of the QB 

• Rush Lane for Defensive Ends 

• The upfield shoulder of the QB 

Plan of Attack vs OL Sets: 

• Make OL stop speed 

• Beat OL to spot at the top of the set 

• OL oversets = counter move 

• After beating OL to the spot, he may adjust and overset 

• If overset, counter, and get back into the rush lane 

• Floaters = speed to power 

• Utilizing a long arm or bull rush when the OL is floating in sets 

Next, Coach Smith discusses the B-A and A-B Pass Rush Scheme by first defining the Zone and Man sides of a slide protection from the OL and the basic mechanics of the scheme for both the B-A rush and the A-B rush. 

B-A and A-B Pass Rush Scheme: 

• Executed by the DTs to balance up interior pass rush lanes 

• Wins vs. OL slide pass protection 

• Zone Side vs Man Side 

• Zone Side: always the side that the Center slides to. 

• Center is responsible for the A gap, Guard is responsible for the B gap, and Tackle is responsible for the C gap 

• Man Side: Guard and Tackle on the backside of the slide are man-on-man  

• The guard is responsible for the Nose, andthe  Tackle is responsible for the End 

• Tailback will likely insert on this side 

• Mechanics:  

• B-A Rush 

• Executed by the DT playing the 3-technique  

• Sell speed, counter to the A gap 

• If Center slides to DT (Zone), DT becomes a middle push 

• Transition to a power rush to condense the pocket 

• If Center slides away (Man), DT is in a One-On-One situation with the Guard 

• A-B Rush 

• Executed by the Nose playing a 2i-technique 

• Nose will read the pass set of the Center and Guard 

• Rush vertically and shoot to the B gap 

• DT will then work back to the A gap when OL hips turn 

• If Guard goes away, Nose becomes middle push on Center, working to collapse the pocket 

In the video below, Coach Smith discusses his B-A and A-B Drills, which he describes as reactionary drills that work to take advantage of the slide of the protection. Coach Smith then provides a few clips showing the B-A and A-B Scheme in game situations.