I owe our readers an apology. We talk about counter a lot at The Board Drill, but there is a reason we keep coming back to it: teams are running it, and they are finding more ways to dress it up every season. Counter is no longer just a gap scheme built around a pulling guard and a wrapping H-back. It is a foundation for an entire family of run concepts, misdirection plays, and complementary throws.
Wake Forest put that versatility on display against Stanford on October 3, 2026. The Demon Deacons rolled to a 57-3 victory, piling up 519 yards of total offense, including 197 on the ground.
One of the most interesting parts of the Stanford game is how Wake Forest builds so many answers around the same basic counter principles. In that game alone, 31% of the offensive snaps featured a counter variation. Rather than asking the offensive line to learn a completely new scheme for every situation, Wake uses different formations, ball carriers, and backfield actions to create new problems for the defense.
When I talk about G/H Counter, I am referring to the gap scheme in which the guard pulls to kick out the defensive end while the H-back (or tight end) wraps inside to block the playside linebacker. Those are the building blocks. From there, the possibilities are extensive.
Let’s take a look at how Wake Forest gets creative with one of football’s most dependable run concepts.
G/H Counter
Here is the DNA of the play. This is counter in its simplest form, and it is the foundation for everything that follows.
Why does it work so well? Counter creates an advantage at the point of attack by bringing additional blockers to the intended running lane. The pulling guard handles the edge defender, while the H-back wraps inside to account for the linebacker. The remaining offensive linemen secure their assignments and create space for the ball carrier.
The play also pairs well with shotgun offenses. The backfield action helps influence the defense, and the pulling action creates a clear picture for the offensive line. It is relatively easy to install, gives the line a repeatable set of rules, and can serve as the foundation for a wide variety of complementary plays.
The real value is not just in the base play. It is in how many different ways an offense can present the same blocking scheme without changing its core identity.
Slot G/H Counter
Wake Forest lines up in an empty squeeze set, a formation that might lead the defense to believe the offense has eliminated the traditional running game. After all, there is no running back sitting in the backfield.
Wrong.
The Demon Deacons use the outside wide receiver as the ball carrier, flipping the ball out to him and running the counter concept from an unconventional alignment.
The timing and path are not perfect here. The receiver takes the ball too wide, which makes it more difficult to get north and south behind the blocking. Still, the idea is worth considering.
If the defense is accustomed to identifying counter through the running back’s alignment and the guard’s pull, why not change the player carrying the ball? This variation gives the offense another way to get the ball to a perimeter athlete while keeping the same basic blocking structure.
It is a reminder that the personnel alignment does not have to dictate who gets the ball on a base run concept.
G/H Counter Shoot
The shoot route has become a familiar part of modern offenses. It gained traction as a complementary answer off zone schemes, but coaches have since incorporated it into nearly every major run concept imaginable.
Wake Forest does the same thing here, taking the H-back who would normally wrap to the playside linebacker and sending him on a shoot route into the flats instead.
This creates a conflict for the defense. If the H-back releases into the flat, someone has to account for him. A defender who widens to cover the route may no longer be in position to fit the run. If the defense stays committed to stopping counter, the quarterback has an immediate outlet throw available.
Of course, sending the H-back into a route takes away a blocker from the original scheme. That is the tradeoff. The offense is exchanging a potential blocker for a pass option and forcing the defense to defend both possibilities.
The goal is not necessarily to throw the ball every time. It is to make the defense respect the route enough that it cannot devote every available defender to stopping the run.
Q G/H Counter
This might be my favorite variation of the base play.
Wake Forest uses jet-sweep motion as a distraction, influencing the defense toward the perimeter while the quarterback keeps the ball and runs G/H Counter.
The offense has no intention of handing the ball to the motion player. The sweep action is there to widen the alley defender and create more room for the quarterback inside.
That is the beauty of pairing counter with eye candy. The defense has to account for the motion player, the quarterback, and the pulling blockers. If the edge defender widens with the sweep action, the quarterback has more room to work inside. If the defense ignores the motion, the offense has another potential answer built into the same presentation.
The blocking scheme does not need to change significantly. The offense simply adds a layer of misdirection that can influence the defenders responsible for fitting the run.
Add the Rail Route
Wake Forest gets creative with its formation here, aligning the running back into the boundary and away from any eligible wide receivers. From that alignment, the Demon Deacons run counter toward the boundary while releasing the running back on a rail route.
This gives the quarterback a pass option that complements the run scheme. If the defense commits to stopping counter, the running back can release into space. If a defender widens to account for the rail route, that defender may be removed from the run fit.
The formation is an important part of the presentation. By placing the running back away from the eligible receivers, Wake creates an unusual picture for the defense and makes the offense account for a potential throw from a less conventional alignment.
This is another example of how a familiar run concept can become more difficult to defend without requiring the offensive line to learn a new blocking scheme.
Q G/R Counter
What happens if the defense starts keying the H-back because it knows he is the player responsible for wrapping on counter?
Wake Forest has an answer.
Instead of sending the H-back through the hole to block the playside linebacker, the running back crosses the quarterback’s face and becomes the lead blocker. The H-back arcs toward the backside, potentially pulling defenders who are reading his movement away from the intended running lane.
The result is a different blocking presentation built around the same general counter principles. The defense may anticipate the H-back wrapping inside, but the offense changes the assignments and uses the running back to account for the interior fit.
For coaches, this is a valuable reminder that the H-back does not always have to be the second puller or wrapper in a counter scheme. By changing who inserts and who arcs, you can create a different picture for the defense while keeping the offensive line’s responsibilities relatively familiar.
Q Super Counter
One of Wake Forest’s favorite answers near the goal line is to combine the best parts of G/H Counter and G/R Counter into one concept.
The guard kicks out the edge defender, the H-back works through the hole, and the running back is added to account for a defender trying to fit off the edge. The offense effectively combines its counter blocking structure with an additional lead blocker to handle the extra defender.
This is an attractive goal-line concept because the offense is adding bodies at the point of attack in an area where space is limited and every block matters. Rather than relying on the ball carrier to make someone miss in a congested box, the offense creates a more favorable numbers situation with its blocking assignments.
The key is that the extra blocker must have a clear responsibility. If the defense brings an additional player into the fit, the offense needs a plan for that defender. Super Counter provides another way to account for the edge while preserving the downhill nature of the play.
For teams that already carry G/H Counter and G/R Counter in their playbooks, this can be a natural extension of the existing scheme rather than an entirely new installation.
Conclusion: One Scheme, Endless Answers
This breakdown does not even cover Wake Forest’s G/Y Counter or its various G/T Counter concepts. That is what makes counter such a valuable foundation for an offense. Once the offensive line understands the core rules, the coaching staff can build a menu of complementary plays without constantly starting from scratch.
The variations shown here give coaches several ways to expand the scheme:
Change the ball carrier. Use the quarterback or a perimeter player to create a different look while preserving the core blocking concept.
Manipulate the defense. Add jet motion, change the H-back’s path, or use the running back as a lead blocker to influence how defenders fit the run.
Build in a pass answer. The shoot and rail routes force defenders to respect the perimeter and give the quarterback options when the defense overcommits to the run.
Adjust for the situation. From empty formations to goal-line packages, counter can be adapted to the personnel and the defensive problems you need to solve.
The lesson from Wake Forest is not that every team needs to carry every variation. It is that a well-installed base scheme gives you options. You can change the formation, alter the backfield action, add a route, or change the blocking responsibilities while maintaining familiar principles for the offensive line.
We may talk about counter a lot at The Board Drill, but the film keeps giving us reasons to come back to it. When a defense has to account for the same blocking scheme presented in six or seven different ways, the offense has created a problem that goes well beyond stopping one play.
And that is the point: install one scheme, then make the defense defend the entire family.
I am excited to see that the counter play is popular again, I have always enjoyed watching offenses that use Counter Trey as a foundational concept.