4-2-5 Defense Positions: Fitting Your Personnel to Your System
Put Your Best 11 Players in the Right Positions to Dominate on Defense with the 4-2-5 Defense System.
Base Alignment of the 4-2-5 Defense System Over Front with Cover 3 Coverage against a Pro Twins Formation. In our Strength Call Rules, the Tight End is always the strength if there is one.
OCTOBER 22, 2025
Written by Joe Daniel
Joe Daniel Football
Putting your football players in the right 4-2-5 Defense Positions is a critical step to dominate on defense. Each position has certain ideal characteristics.
Then there is the reality of what you have. If you are a High School, Middle School or Youth Football Coach you do not have all the ideal players.
So who do you put on the field, coach? Easy answer. Your "Best 11" start the game every week. Whoever those 11 players are, regardless of size or speed, will go in your starting lineup.
Knowing how to move your personnel around to get them in the right 4-2-5 Defense positions key to winning games. Even if your team is undersized, outnumbered, or overmatched.
Does the 4-2-5 Defense Fit My Players?
Many coaches will not like me saying this. They will strongly disagree with it. I don't care. I have worked with over 10,000 football coaches and we have proven this to be true over and over again.
You do not need to change your scheme to fit your players. If you have a good defensive system in place, your scheme can adapt to fit your players.
That is true for the 4-2-5 Defense positions, and it is true for every other defense I teach inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems. 3-4 Defense, 33 Stack Defense or 4-3 Defense. You can adapt to fit your personnel.
It is much more important that you know the System you are running. You know how to adjust and adapt that System. How to fit your players into that System.
You learn your System by running the same defense week after week, year after year. You must become a master at your defensive system. Part of that is learning how to adapt it the System to fit your players.
Changing the entire defensive System to fit your players every year is not smart. It's taking you the opposite direction. You never master any defense, you just keep starting over. You're starting over learning how to teach it, how to adjust it, how to adapt it.
Do not use this information to determine if you have the right players to fill out the 4-2-5 Defense positions. You do. You need to determine if you want to commit to the 4-2-5 Defense and master it, or commit to another scheme and master that.
By the way, Multiple Front is a fine approach to defense. But you need a home. You need an identity first, before you add multiple fronts. Your underlying principles like the Umbrella Run Fits matter much more than which scheme you start with, too.
The Umbrella Run Fits System teaches our players how they fit into the defense. An advantage of the 4-2-5 Defense System is that for most coverages, the run fits assignments do not change.
The Reality of 4-2-5 Defense Positions
Names do not matter. Numbers do not matter. Remember where we started.
This is not the NFL. It is not Division I College Football, or even Division III College Football. We are not talking about Madden.
This is the real world of coaching undersized, outnumbered, overmatched football teams. This is the real world where football coaches must find a way to dominate on defense in less than ideal situations.
This is the reality of being a Youth, Middle School or High School Football Coach. You put your Best 11 on the field. You find a way to make it work.
Myths of the 4-2-5 Defense Positions
Yes, the 4-2-5 Defense implies that we have four defensive linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs. I'll get into the ideal characteristics and then the reality for each spot on the defense.
Let's do some Myth Busting first...
4-2-5 Defense Positions Myth #1: The 4-2-5 Defense is a Passing Defense or a Spread Defense. It is the same in core structure as a 4-4 Defense, with only a handful of exceptions. Don't get hung up in the numbers. The 4-2-5 Defense the way we teach it is capable of stopping any offense.
4-2-5 Defense Positions Myth #2: The 4-2-5 Defense requires four big defensive linemen. You actually need more defensive linemen in a 30 Front than you do in the 4-2-5 Defense positions. We can use smaller, quicker players across all but one spot on the defensive line.
4-2-5 Defense Positions Myth #3: The 4-2-5 Defense uses five defensive backs. Remember that the structure is the same as the 4-4 Defense or the 6-2 Defense. The overhang safeties, as we call them, are the same as outside linebackers.
Then why not call them outside linebackers? Well, I like to run a lot of Cover 1 defense, or Man/Free. That means they are locked man-to-man on a slot receiver. We also have a split field Quarters package that some of our higher level High School teams run.
I also learned the defense from Gary Patterson's TCU defenses. I've never met Coach Patterson but I have had a lot of conversations with coaches who learned directly from him. And I've studied plenty of videos and playbooks from TCU. They call it a 4-2-5 Defense, so naturally I've called what I teach a 4-2-5 Defense.
But most important of all... calling those kids safeties makes them feel faster. My teams have been undersized my entire career. It is easier to take a 145lb kid and call him a safety, than convince him he is a linebacker.
The few times I've had bigger strong safeties, I had to have a private conversation and let them in on the secret that they are a glorified linebacker. It's about putting the Best 11 on the field, not plugging people into dream position characteristics that we never have.
OK, I've explained myself for the 9,326th time. Plenty of coaches won't read this and will never learn. You made it this far, so we are in good shape. Let's get into those 4-2-5 Defense positions.
4-2-5 Defense Positions: The Defensive Line
It all starts up front, so we are going to start up front with the Defensive Line. I will give brief descriptions for the Ideal Characteristics, and then the reality of coaching football at the Youth, Middle School and High School level.
Strong Defensive Tackle
In the 4-2-5 Defense this is your best defensive lineman. He plays in a strong side 3-technique, outside shade of the Guard. He takes on a lot of double teams and needs to hold his ground.
The ideal Strong Tackle is big and quick. 6'0" tall and 265lbs or more. And he can move. Do you have a lot of those guys? I don't.
In the real world, play your best defensive lineman here. When you don't have any, you can play both tackles head up on the guards and slant them. But this is your best one.
4-2-5 Defense System Base Alignment with Over Front and Split Field Quarters Coverage. We’re using a Sky Check strong and a Blue Check weak. The Strong End plays in a 5-technique with no Tight End. Strength is determined by the wide side of the field.
Weak Defensive Tackle
For our 4-2-5 Defense positions I call this player the Nose. He is in a weak shade (1-tech) on the Center. This position takes on fewer double teams than the Strong Tackle.
Your ideal Nose is a duplicate of the stud Defensive Tackle. Unlikely. If you have two, play the smaller but quicker of the two here. How did you get two of those guys? Most of us just want one.
The reality is your Nose can be smaller and quicker. I love Wrestler-type kids here. Find a 5'9" tall, 185lb kid for your high school team that is quick and tough. I've played kids as small as 145lbs here. The toughest one I ever coached against was a State Champion wrestler at 135lbs. He was un-blockable!
Strong Defensive End
The Strong End has to be able to take on a base block from a Tight End. How good the Tight Ends you see are, or how many you see, might change the needs for this position.
The ideal characteristics of a Strong Defense End are that he is your second-best Defensive Lineman. Taller, lighter and quicker than the Strong Tackle. He can defeat a base block to control C-Gap. He can string out a reach block on outside runs. And he can get after the Quarterback. Think of a 6'2" tall and 225lb plus type kid.
I have coached a good number of these kids. Not those exact numbers, but a 6-foot, 200+ pounder who can move a little bit. Maybe not fast enough to be a linebacker, but athletic in his own way. Put more emphasis on the run defense than the pass rushing.
Weak Defensive End
Here's where we break the myth completely. The best Weak Ends are often nothing like a typical Defensive Lineman. You want a disruptor here.
Your ideal Weak Defensive End is the prototype pass rusher. Long and lanky, extremely athletic. He looks more like a dominant receiver than a Defensive Lineman. No baby fat on this kid. 6'2" and 200lbs but more important, he can speed rush a tackle.
The reality is this kid is often the one that loses the battle for our three Safety positions. He is every bit as athletic as the guys that beat him out, but he doesn't play as well in space. Of all the positions on our defense, this requires the least thinking. Do you have any good athletes that are not thinkers? You found his spot.
Now that we have our Defensive Line filled out, it is time to move on to the...
4-2-5 Defenses Positions: Inside Linebackers
The centerpiece of the defense. They make all your calls, and most of your tackles. The Linebackers are leaders on the field and critical to the success of your defense.
Mike Linebacker
Your Strong Side Inside Linebacker is the Mike. He is everything you think of when you think of a linebacker. Lined up outside shade of the guard with heels at 5 yards, this is a run-stopping specialist.
Your ideal Mike Linebacker is 6'2" tall and 220lbs+, and a football finding machine. He has leadership. He has instincts to get to the football. He plays sideline to sideline. He never misses the weight room.
He is a Linebacker. Now, you might have smaller linebackers. That's OK. One of the best I ever coached was 5'7" tall and 185lbs but he was tough and instinctive. He sucked in pass coverage. Did not care, because he could fill downhill and make plays from tackle to tackle. Put your best Linebacker here.
Base Defensive Line Slants we teach in the 4-2-5 Defense System inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems. These calls come directly from TCU’s 4-2-5 Defense. Teams with smaller defensive tackles often use more line slants.
Will Linebacker
Like our Tackles, if we had another prototype Linebacker he'd play the Will position. Do you have two of those guys? Probably not. OK, so the Will can be a little smaller, a little more athletic.
My ideal Will Linebacker is 6'0" tall and 200lbs but he can run. He's faster than anyone we've talked about so far (except that weak end, but Will plays better in space). I coached the 2nd leading tackler in NJCAA Football one year, and because we ran a Split Field Quarters system he had to cover the flats in pass coverage. He could do that, and he made tackles all over the field.
Haven't coached one like that since. Use your next best Linebacker, one that is smaller than the Mike but hopefully as fast or faster. Against heavy 21 personnel teams that run weak side Iso a lot, I've flipped the Linebacker to protect my smaller guy. That is coaching in the real world.
Our front 6 is in place, time to move to the back end with...
4-2-5 Defense Positions: The Overhang Safeties
The big controversy. The way I talk about these guys and the way our System coaches these guys gets some coaches all riled up.
The coaches who buy into it don't care, they're busy winning games.
Call the Safeties. Call them Linebackers. Call them Ends. Give them fun names like birds, bats, hawks and dogs so you can forget the whole thing. Who cares if he's a Safety or a Linebacker?
Strong Safety
These are hybrid positions. The Strong Safety is a hybrid Linebacker / Safety. Notice we put the Linebacker first. Primary run defender, who also has flat coverage in Zone defense and man coverage in Cover 1 defense.
Your ideal Strong Safety is a 5'11" 200 pound kid who would be playing Inside Linebacker if he was a little bit bigger. This guy can run, and he can set the edge. Great tackler. Since he is on the strong side, you expect 70% of outside runs to come at him. He is quick enough to play man coverage, but we give him Free Safety help as much as possible.
The reality is that he's usually an undersized Linebacker. Must be able to tackle, but we have played some little kids out here. I'm talking about 140lb barking chihuahuas - the kind of kid you wish you could put his heart and mind in one of those big, lazy kids. That's your guy.
Weak Safety
Another hybrid player, but the Weak Safety is a Safety / Linebacker. Meaning he's a little more of a Defensive Back than he is a Linebacker. He has to be able to tackle, but he also needs to be better in coverage if you play Cover 1 defense. The Free Safety is giving more attention to the strong side.
An ideal Weak Safety looks just like your Strong Safety, but maybe a little smaller and a little faster. He is 5'10" tall and 190 pounds but he can run. He's athletic and able to play man coverage. On the weak side he gets fewer runs coming right at him so emphasize the coverage more.
I have played a little bit of everything here. One season I had two barking chihuahuas. Sometimes I have two glorified Linebackers so we just play Cover 3 and don't even flip them.
The best one I ever had was 5'10" tall and skinny as a rail. He could run, and he was tough. We loaded up the Strong Side with All-Region defenders. Everyone ran at him, and he led our defense in tackles.
4-2-5 Defense System base alignment on the field with Cover 3 coverage and an Indy Front (double 2i’s). The Free Safety plays both alleys and is the glue that holds the defense together.
4-2-5 Defense Positions: The Free Safety
Why did I separate this guy from the rest of the Safeties group? Because he is different. He is special.
The success of your 4-2-5 Defense depends on the performance of your Free Safety. This is your best football player on the field. Best tackler, best athlete.
Not the Mike Linebacker. Not the Strong Safety. This guy, right here, needs to be your stud. I explain more about why he is the most important defender in my article on teaching Umbrella Run Fits for your defense.
Free Safety
The bell of the ball. Find your best football player. One defensive-minded head coach at the Division III level told me he coaches one position. He coaches this kid. He recruits this kid. He tries to bring one in as a Freshman and start him for all four years, then bring in the next one. It is that important.
Your ideal Free Safety is the leader of the defense. He has the mentality of a Linebacker, lined up at 9-12 yards off the ball. He is great in pass coverage but more importantly, he fills the alley. He doesn't just fill the alley. He owns the alley. 6' tall and 190lbs, everyone knows who he is.
The reality is that no one cares how big he is. Honestly, his pass coverage is secondary because for Youth Football Coaches and High School Football Coaches, you won't have to stop the pass if you can't stop the run. Put your best football player here, no matter what size he is. He has to fill the alley for your team to succeed.
And last but not least... at least not in the passing game...
4-2-5 Defense Positions: Cornerbacks
We made it to the true pass defenders. Everyone else in our 4-2-5 Defense positions is a primary run defender. Not these guys.
Your Cornerbacks are Stay-in-Coverage defenders in the Umbrella Run Fits System. Even against a run play, they stay over top looking for trick plays and play actions. They allow the Free Safety to be aggressive in the box.
Field Cornerback
I'm going to break these down into the Field Corner and Boundary Corner, or wide side and short side. Many coaches don't flip them at all. Or you move them based on match-ups.
Former NFL Defensive Back, current Tulsa Cornerbacks Coach Dominique Franks talked about the field corner on The Football Coaching Podcast. He says the Boundary Corner sees more deep throws. Most High School Quarterbacks can't get a long throw to the sideline on the wide side.
Your ideal Field Corner is the lightest player on the defense, but also one of the fastest. I do not want to give up height here, but the reality is we used all our 6-foot kids up even in an ideal world. So he's 5'10" tall and 175lbs or more. He is extremely athletics, he can jump out the gym, and has great ball skills. Your Field Corner is a better tackler since he plays on an island against hitch routes and quick screens.
Unless you run our Split Field Quarters Coverage package and play a lot of Cloud coverage (traditional Cover 2 with Corner Force), he does not need to be a great tackler. If you play lots of man coverage, he'll need to learn that skill but it can be taught to even average defenders.
So we're left with smaller defenders who are good athletes. Don't waste one of your best tacklers out here. That's a bonus in the real world. Most High School coaches don't have to defend elite passing attacks. For Youth football coaches, this is where you hide a player.
4-2-5 Defense Over Front with Split Field Coverage against a Pro Twins formation. We are using a Cloud check on the weak side so that the boundary corner is the force defender. Gary Patterson and TCU started their 4-2-5 Defense Install against this formation every year.
Boundary Cornerback
The best pass defender of the two. Again, many coaches will not even flip these players. It depends on who you have and what you see.
Your ideal Boundary Corner sees more deep ball throws. He needs to be taller than the Field Corner. Let's call him 6'0" tall but know that we are running out of them. Does not get in the mix often and because we are into the boundary he gets more safety help. Teams rarely run to the short side of the field, so he's doing less crack-replace run fits. Focus on pass defense.
In the real world he is the same guy as the field corner, just the better of the two in coverage. Undersized, and not a great tackler. He gets sideline help defending the passing game so it is more important that he can stay over top. Look for one who has the ball skills to find those fade throws in the air.
Next Steps…
There you have it. The Complete Guide to 4-2-5 Defense Positions. You have the ideal characteristics (which I just made up and are not at all official) and what to look for when you coach in the real world.
For more on the 4-2-5 Defense System, the JDFB Way, be sure to check out these other articles:
22 Keys to Coaching the 4-2-5 Defense
5 Strengths and 5 Weaknesses of the 4-2-5 Defense System
Watch or Listen to “We Don’t Have Enough Players to Win!” from The Football Coaching Podcast
Watch or Listen to “We’re Not Getting the Most Out of Our Talent” on The Football Coaching Podcast.
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GET THE FREE DIGITAL GUIDE FOR BUILDING THE ULTIMATE FOOTBALL DEFENSE THAT WINS GAMES
Shut Down Any Opponent When Your Team Misses Fewer Tackles, Allows Fewer Big Plays, and Gives Up Fewer Points. Enter your best email address below, and I'll send you a FREE copy of our latest Football Coaching Guide titled "What You Need To Know To Build The Ultimate Defensive Football Coaching System"!
Your information is safe with us and will not be shared
4-2-5 Defense Positions FAQ
Q: Does the 4-2-5 Defense fit my football team if our players are smaller?
Yes. The 4-2-5 Defense can fit any football team, even if your players are smaller. The system is built to adapt to your personnel as long as you understand how to adjust your alignments and assignments within the same core structure.
Q: Should I change my playbook to fit my players every season?
Most teams only need one Base call they focus on. For movement you’ll need one or two change-up fronts and one change-up coverage to start. Most coaches benefit from simple defensive line stunts like slants, too. Aggressive calls include your base blitz package (bringing one extra defender) and 1-3 exotic blitzes that are more complex and focused on a single purpose in your weekly game plan. Keeping the playbook small makes it easier for players to master and execute on game day.
Q: What do defensive play calls look like?
No. Changing your defensive playbook every season keeps you from mastering any system. It’s better to run the same defense and learn how to adapt it to your players each year. The 4-2-5 Defense lets you adapt the defense to your players every year and put them in the best positions to win.
Q: What type of players fit best in each 4-2-5 Defense position?
You don’t need perfect players for the 4-2-5 Defense. Put your best 11 on the field and fit them into the system. It’s about teaching each kid how to do his job, not finding the perfect body type for every spot.
Q: Is the 4-2-5 Defense just for teams that face spread offenses?
No, but that is a common myth. The 4-2-5 Defense isn’t only for stopping spread offenses. It’s built on the same core structure as the 4-4 Defense and can stop any offensive system when taught correctly.
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