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Vols X's and O's: Cover 3 Rip/Liz

Explaining a key coverage in Jeremy Pruitt's playbook as he prepares for his first season as Tennessee's head coach.

Jeremy Pruitt will coach his first game as a Vol in less than three months - September 1st in Charlotte against West Virginia.

In the video above, WBIR 10Sports Anchor Patrick Murray explains an important coverage in Pruitt's defensive playbook. It's a hybrid man/zone pattern match coverage called Cover 3 Rip/Liz.

It is a variation of Cover 3 that attempts to account for the weaknesses of that zone coverage by adjusting the defensive backs assignments on the fly based on what the receivers do. It allows the defense to protect itself against the main Cover 3 beater - Four Verticals.

Pruitt's former boss, Nick Saban, came up with the coverage during his tenure on Bill Belichick's staff with the Cleveland Browns.

VIDEO: Why Nick Saban created Cover 3 Rip/Liz

Saban has told the story at coaching clinics. In 1994, the Browns led the NFL in scoring defense, allowing only 12.8 points per game. Cleveland went 12-6 including the playoffs with three of those losses coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cleveland couldn't play two-deep safety coverages because Pittsburgh would run all over them. If they moved a safety into the box and played Cover 3, the Steelers would beat them with Four Verticals. Saban and Belichick had to find a solution and Rip/Liz was born.

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