Playing both ways

SixManNewb

Six-man fan
Right off the bat, obviously some schools have to play their best players both ways bc they don't have enough players. Are there any six man schools that don't play their best players both ways? Every team we've played the last two seasons has their best athletes on the field on offense and defense.
 
Right off the bat, obviously some schools have to play their best players both ways bc they don't have enough players. Are there any six man schools that don't play their best players both ways? Every team we've played the last two seasons has their best athletes on the field on offense and defense.
I think you'll find most teams at this level have the same mostly the same players playing both ways.
 
In Division II, you don't have much choice. With enrollment in the 30's it's tuff to have a practice squad some years.
My hats off to teams that schedule Division I teams for non district competition.
 
Westbrook has three that for the most part only play defense and the same way on offense.

Are those three the top 3? or are they kids 4-9? It's been my experience that every team has kids at the top who have clearly separated themselves from the pack, and then there's a second tier of player where the differences are much smaller.

Full disclosure....our coach and I don't see eye to eye on this issue. We technically have enough players to go 6 & 6, but the 2nd six aren't in the same class as our first six. We've got two elite players and then maybe maybe 6-7 who are all in the same class. For two years we've only used our elite players sparingly on defense, and used tier 3 kids to fill in the gaps. We get away with it most of the time bc we have one of the easiest schedules in the state. Then we get to tough games and we get our butts kicked. His defense of his decision is to ask "how many NFL, NCAA or HS 6A players go both ways?" Good analogy....since we're playing 6A football right? We can't stop the other team, but at least our stars are fresh for offense!! It drives me crazy.

We played Covenant Classical last year (TAPPS D3 state champs). They played their best both ways, including their QB.
 
I guess what I'm asking is would they be one of your best players on the other side of the ball if they played both ways?
I would answer this way. In public D1 it is more common to have maybe a total of eight starters total, with two being mostly defensive specialists. They can also be key contributors on offense. Last year for example, Strawn, a D2 team had ten seniors. They started a freshman at tailback on offense and also he played defense. But they used 11 players constantly subbing at least two and sometimes 3 each play on offense and sometimes the same on defense depending on the situation. That is almost unheard of in D2 and is rare even in D1. Classes that large are rare. Westbrook I know is blessed with large numbers and also subs liberally, but I'm not as familiar with their substitution packages. What I've noticed in the past is that regardless of division most really good teams do sub a lot with 8-9 players. it is rare for more than that to get equal playing time.
 
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