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The 3-Technique: The Defensive Tackle Driving Modern Defense

On3 imageby: Ian Boyd06/07/25Ian_A_Boyd
Alex January
Alex January (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The 3-technique defensive tackle is one of the most disruptive forces in modern football. Lined up in the B-gap, this lineman wrecks run plays and creates interior pressure that can dictate the flow of a game. Ian Boyd and LC explain the details of the critical position.

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The 3-technique is a defensive tackle that anchors the middle of most defenses. The reason it is called 3-technique is because it lines up on the outside shoulder of the opposing offensive guard. 3-techniques have to manage battles with opposing guards and tackles.

Warren Sapp is a player associated with the previous paradigm of the position, a comparatively smaller defensive lineman who makes use of his speed more so than power when going against similarly sized humans. There has been a shift in the type of bodies used in modern defense, as seen at Texas. The Longhorns often deployed behemoth defensive linemen like Keondre Coburn and T’Vondre Sweat at those positions.

At Texas, the 3-technique also often is put on the strong side of the field, or the part of the field where the opposing offense has their tight end set.

Ian mentions that 3-technique is much less glorious because of its strongside alignment. He’s described as the “first obstacle wall that you’re trying to build so that the team can’t run to the strongside. He’s much more of an anchor that needs to be physical.”

The video shows examples from the Ohio State game where Alex January and Vernon Broughton

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