Is there a certain core to recruit for press defense or do the players get a good iq in that formation thru practice. Most my players iq is better in man to man but I wantto run press so should I recruit for it or will it develope? Thanks!!

Recruits come in with a base IQ from HS but it is not a huge advantage so I wouldn't really let it be the driving force in recruiting.

Players will learn the defense via practice, but you have to put minutes into it. Someone else with more experience doing it will chime in on the best way to change defenses I'm sure.

All that said, there are attributes that are more important in the press defense than others. Most people will tell you to focus on ATH, SPD and STA. Also DEF does not seem to matter as much as you might think.

When you are recruiting, you can see how good a guy is at offense and defense by calling his coach. Usually he will tell you one or the other. A second call to the coach usually gives you the other.

The results are generic, but they are generally you will know if he is above or below average in the sets that his high school ran. From what I have seen, Above Average is in the C range ... average is C- to D and below average is D to D-.

Also, your Scouting Trip will most of the time tell you how he did in Offense and Defense.

But most coaches I have asked about this think that if you can find a guy who meets all your other requirements and he runs your offense or defense, then that is just icing on the cake and they only use it to help choose a recruit as a tie breaker if 2 guys are really close.

Usually, if the guy's High School did not run a set, he is a D or F in that set.

Thanks guys!