The Art of Press

The Art of Press by Chad Wilson

There are two types of cornerbacks: those who can play press, and those who cannot.

Press man coverage is the most challenging, most rewarded, and most respected skill a defensive back can own. Win at the line of scrimmage and you control the route. Lose there, and you spend the rest of the play chasing a receiver who already knows where he's going.

In The Art of Press, Chad Wilson lays out the technique, philosophy, and mindset behind the craft. A former All-Big East cornerback at the University of Miami and Seattle Seahawks defensive back, Wilson has spent more than 25 years coaching and developing DBs at every level of football, including NFL players and draft picks.

The book moves between two tracks. One is instruction: the eyes, feet, hands, alignment, and leverage that make press work, broken down in the order they actually matter. The other is his own journey, from learning the technique in South Florida to studying Deion Sanders on tape, to coaching a high school secondary that produced three elite press corners in the same room.

Inside you'll learn:

• Why the eyes come first, where to set them before the snap, and the eye discipline that separates good press corners from great ones
• How to build quick, efficient feet using smaller steps, and how kick slide, inch, and motor mirror each apply
• When and how to use your hands, from the two hand jam to the off hand strike to attacking the football at the catch point
• The techniques behind hard press, Fresno, quick jam, buzz, and slide, including where each one came from and who it works against
• The five types of receivers you will face off the line, and the strategy for beating each one
• When to press and when not to, by coverage, field position, down and distance, and matchup
• How to study yourself, your opponent, and the quarterback so you can anticipate instead of guess
• The mentality the position demands, because press is a confidence game before it is anything else
• Which defensive backs to study, from the Raiders of the '70s to the technicians playing today

Whether you're a player working to become a lockdown corner or a coach looking to develop one, The Art of Press gives you the framework to build the skill from the ground up in 103 pages.

Master the technique. Master the mindset. Master the art.