Pass Rush Spotlight: Iowa's Top QB Hunters Part 1

The art of the pass rush is one of the most sought after commodities in the modern game and requires a tremendous amount of skill. Take a look below to see how the different techniques and fundamentals of Iowa's best lead to pressures, hits, and sacks. These quarterback hunters know how to execute and cause nightmare scenarios for an opposing offense. Zavion McMurran, Estherville Lincoln, <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12641183/Zavion-McMurran/highlights">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/mcmurran9">Twitter</a> DE, 6'3, 215 McMurran is a highly skilled pass rusher and an elite member of Iowa's C/O 2023. He possesses top tier speed for someone with such a large frame and uses bursts of acceleration out of his stance on passing downs to set up his rush. McMurran's primary move is a bull rush and he executes this with leverage that allows him to recruit power from his whole body as he keeps his feet active through the half of a man he is working on. McMurran often puts offensive linemen in the ground with his bull rush, but also does a really fine job of feeling when he has a blocker on their heels to know when to disengage and get to the quarterback. Any good pass rusher is going to have a secondary move and a counter. Here, McMurran relies on a violent club-arm over move where he will attack the hip of the setting offensive lineman with speed and pin their near arm with his outside arm as he flips his hip around. He then brings his inside arm over the top as the momentum of the setting lineman is sent in the opposite direction. Whenever McMurran gets an offensive linemen to overset, he counters underneath with the same move staying tight to his rush lane. McMurran finishes his rush with big, pinpoint collisions on the quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id="100847" first="Dallas" last="Kluender"], Woodbury Central, <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11452890/5fa1905419a59d0354d6647d">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasKluender">Twitter</a> DE, 6'2, 180 Kluender is a premier speed rusher and often wins with an explosive first step that gets him to the hip of a setting tackle right away. An offensive linemen wants to stay square, get a rusher's midline, and maintain their center of gravity as they kick or drive. Kluender doesn't let that happen and forces offensive linemen into compromised positions that give him the upper hand. Kluender's most consistent move is to freeze a setting tackle with a quick strike as he keeps his feet moving by their near foot and hip. By the time the offensive lineman is able to regain their posture and try to recover, Kluender is bending behind them and getting his eyes on the quarterback. Kluender has done an excellent job of building his pass rush toolbox around his natural strengths: speed and length. Whenever his primary move doesn't work Kluender does a great job of staying relentless with active hands and feet; he continuously fights to apply pressure. Kluender is far from one dimensional, though, as he shows the ability to transition from speed to power with a terrific bull rush, especially against backs and tight ends. Kluender consistently finishes by reaching towards the quarterback and bringing his outside hand down on the ball. Casey Trudo, Van Meter, <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11270724/5fc2825c90f03a0820204da3">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CaseyTrudo">Twitter</a> DE, 6'2, 195 Trudo is impressive to watch in his pass rush as he goes to his bull rush early, can work a couple of different moves off the bull impressively, and then use it as bait as the game goes on. His bull rush is very technical and he uses the initial strike of his bull to set up a quick release. Upon shocking the offensive linemen with a strike and creating momentum that he can take advantage of, Trudo does a couple of different things consistently. The first is a bull-pull; Trudo snaps a setting blocker down as quickly as he gets them on their heels. The second is a bull-bend; Trudo keeps his feet moving through the rush creating more and more separation and then drives his inside half down to the turf reducing surface area as he passes. Trudo can also win with a speed rush or a counter, especially after he's established his bull rush and can use it as bait. If the setting tackle anticipates the bull and shoots his hands, Trudo does an excellent job of using his outside arm to pin the blockers hands as he keeps his feet moving into a bend. He will also attack the setting lineman by showing a bull rush, jabbing to fake the bull, and countering across as soon as the lineman reacts. Trudo is a seasoned pass rusher that can win a few different ways. [player_tooltip player_id="100842" first="Nick" last="Miller"], Lewis Central, <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11234605/5f74a0be8cd542115c4aa361">hudl</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/n1ck_m1ll3r">Twitter</a> DE, 6'3, 206 Another speed first rusher, Miller does a second to none job of setting up his attack around a long arm/stab, which allows for a lot of flexibility off of a routine set up that can make an offensive lineman's job very difficult. Miller covers a lot of ground in his first few steps and aims his inside hand towards the outside shoulder of the setting offensive lineman; by this point he is usually even with the hip and foot of the blocker in their set. Here is where things get really fun. If Miller wins with speed and his hips are even, he is leavin'. Miller will utilize a ghost move, showing that long arm/stab, but drive that arm down and dip beneath the hands of the blocker as soon as he shoots them to run right by. If Miller doesn't win with speed he does a good job of recognizing where he is in proximity to the offensive lineman's set and transition to power. From here he can win a couple of different ways. One is a stab/chop where he will place the inside hand and then chop the blocker's arms down with his outside hand as he flips his hips. The other is simply placing the long arm/stab and running right through it to influence the leverage of the block with separation and active feet. Miller has also shown he can mix it up and use an impressive swipe move or a bull rush to keep a blocker guessing. Evan Forker, Assumption, , <a href="https://twitter.com/evan_forker">Twitter</a> DE, 6'3, 180 Forker is such a perfect example of a less is more approach in his pass rush; having a couple of moves in the arsenal that you can perfect is almost always better than having a big variety of moves that are mediocre at best. Forker works a speed and power move that look very similar to the untrained eye. He uses speed to strike and separate and a bull-pull when the situation calls for power; Forker does a noticeably great job of reading the set of the blocker in front of him to determine in the moment which is needed. Forker uses a subtle strike in his speed rush to stay clean in beating the blocker to the edge. This allows him to change direction into the bend without slowing his feet. He separates quickly and uses the momentum to slingshot himself towards the quarterback. His power move, a bull-pull, looks a lot like his speed rush, but is used when he doesn't win the edge and has to go through his opponent to win. Forker engages with a bull rush and throws the blockers right on their face as he drives his inside leg past the hip of the lineman to prevent recovery; forker is an efficient model of consistency.