Oklahoma drill

English

Alternative forms

• Oklahoma Drill

Etymology

Named after the Oklahoma Sooners football team by coach Bud Wilkinson, creator of the technique.

Noun

Oklahoma drill (plural Oklahoma drills)

1. (American football) In gridiron football, a practice technique wherein two players run at each other within a narrow corridor with the aim of either tackling the opponent, driving them out of bounds, or scoring a touchdown.
   • 1972 July 25, “Colts' Bubba holds firm in contact squabble”, in The Baltimore Sun, page 26:

     Offensively, Dan Sullivan and Bob Vogel were strong blockers in the Oklahoma Drill and Mike Curtis and Ted Hendricks savage as defensive operators.

   • 1992, Jim O'Brien, Whatever It Takes: The Continuing Saga of the Pittsburgh Steelers II, James O'Brien-Publishing, →ISBN, page 32:

     The 'Oklahoma Drill' used to be one of the highlights of the Steelers' training camp.

   • 2015 August 19, David Fleming, “Is the Oklahoma drill a rite of passage or everything to fear about football?”, in ESPN‎^[1]:

     To make it work, Wilkinson needed three interior down linemen who could do the work of four (or more) by exploding off the snap, reading the ball carrier and then, in tight quarters, shedding blocks to make tackles. In other words, he needed players who would excel at the Oklahoma drill.