Complete Linebacking (Paperback)

Learn from a legend. Lou Tepper, coach to more than 20 NFL linebackers, including 3 Butkus Award winners, has created the most in-depth book ever written on football’s most important defensive position.

In Complete Linebacking, players and coaches receive a clinic on fundamentals, presnap keys, and techniques used by inside and outside linebackers in specific defenses, including the 32, 31, 52, 51, and 33. Coverage includes 4 key linebacker diagnostic tests, 44 drills to improve linebacking skills, presnap communication, relaying defense signals from the sideline, and special practice and game grading systems to evaluate and maximize performance.

The authoritative guide on playing the position, Complete Linebacking is a must-have for any linebacker, head coach, or defensive coach in today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving game.

Lou Tepper brings more than 45 years of experience as a college football coach to Complete Linebacking. Since 2012, Tepper has served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Buffalo. As head coach, Tepper has won over 100 games, with stints at the University of Illinois (1991-96), Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (2000-05), and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2006-10).

He took the Illini to three bowl games, including a win in the 1994 Liberty Bowl. At Edinboro, Tepper led his teams to three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) titles and two NCAA Division II playoff appearances. He was twice named PSAC West Coach of the Year. At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he led the Crimson Hawks to an NCAA playoff appearance and was named PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time.

In compiling an impressive 101-75-2 overall record as head coach, Tepper is well known for his genius on the defensive side of the ball. Tepper held the positions of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Louisiana State University (1997-99); defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Illinois (1988-91); linebackers coach, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach at the University of Colorado (1983-87); and linebackers coach at Virginia Tech (1978-82).

As linebackers coach, Tepper mentored three Butkus Award winners—Colorado’s Alfred Williams and Illinois’ Dana Howard and Kevin Hardy—and developed more than 20 NFL linebackers, including Simeon Rice and John Holecek. In recognition of his accomplishments and decade of service to the school, the University of Illinois endowed the Lou Tepper Football Scholarship to benefit linebackers in 2006.