What is the End Around concept in 5v5 flag football?
In 5v5 flag football an end around is a reverse with one handoff instead of two. The backside receiver runs behind the formation and takes it straight from the quarterback just right of the ball, while the back fakes a run up the middle with nothing in his hands. It develops about a second faster than a reverse and drops far less often.
Why End Around works in 5v5
It is the reverse you install first
Both plays beat the same defense the same way, but one exchange between two moving players is meaningfully easier than two. At five a side, where a ball on the ground sits in open space with nobody engaged and five defenders free to run at it, that difference decides which concept a younger team can actually use. Teach this one, then add the reverse when the exchange is clean.
The fake is a whole player's job, and he cannot block
The back sells a run he is not carrying and that is his entire contribution to the play. In tackle football he would fake and then block somebody; in flag he fakes and then has nothing left to do. That makes the quality of the fake worth real practice time, because it is the only thing his twenty percent of the offense is producing.
It costs you your deep threat for the down
With three receivers, the one running the end around is often the one who would otherwise be stretching the defense. While he is gathering a handoff behind the line, a third of your passing threat is standing in the backfield, which is a real price at five a side that barely registers at eleven.
One exchange is the whole advantage
Every handoff is a moment when the ball belongs to nobody. Taking one of them out halves the risk and shortens the play by roughly a second, and against a defense that recovers quickly that second is often the difference between a big gain and a runner caught from behind.
The receiver is already moving when he gets it
He has run behind the formation to arrive, so he takes the ball at speed and pointed where he intends to go. That is a better starting position than most runs offer, and it is why an end around frequently turns the corner before the defense has finished reading it.
The fake costs one player and buys the whole backside
The back sells a run in the other direction with nothing in his hands. He is not blocking anyone and could not, so his entire contribution is the picture he paints, and if he paints it well the defenders chasing him are out of the play without anybody touching them.
How to read it
- 1
The receiver leaves early enough to arrive at speed
He should be moving before the snap or immediately on it. An end around where the receiver is still accelerating at the exchange has given up the one thing that makes it better than a reverse.
- 2
The back fakes it like he has it
Eyes down, shoulders square, full speed for four or five steps. A visible fake is not a fake, and the defenders it was meant to hold will simply look past him at the receiver.
- 3
Take it flat, then get north
The receiver runs behind the line to gather it, but the yards are upfield. A runner who keeps arcing toward the sideline is running into the pursuit rather than away from it.
- 4
Beat the edge, do not beat everybody
The end around is a play to the perimeter. Once the edge is turned, taking what is in front is the right outcome; cutting back across the field to look for more usually finds the defenders the fake had already removed.
What changes in 5v5
It is the reverse you install first
Both plays beat the same defense the same way, but one exchange between two moving players is meaningfully easier than two. At five a side, where a ball on the ground sits in open space with nobody engaged and five defenders free to run at it, that difference decides which concept a younger team can actually use. Teach this one, then add the reverse when the exchange is clean.
The fake is a whole player's job, and he cannot block
The back sells a run he is not carrying and that is his entire contribution to the play. In tackle football he would fake and then block somebody; in flag he fakes and then has nothing left to do. That makes the quality of the fake worth real practice time, because it is the only thing his twenty percent of the offense is producing.
It costs you your deep threat for the down
With three receivers, the one running the end around is often the one who would otherwise be stretching the defense. While he is gathering a handoff behind the line, a third of your passing threat is standing in the backfield, which is a real price at five a side that barely registers at eleven.
When not to call End Around
It shows itself earlier than a reverse
The receiver has to start moving before the ball does, so an alert defense sees the shape of it coming. A reverse hides behind a genuine run for longer, which is the trade: the end around is safer and less deceptive.
It puts your fastest player in the backfield
The receiver running it is usually the one you would otherwise have threatening deep, and while he is gathering a handoff behind the line he is not stretching anybody. Called too often it quietly removes your best player from the passing game.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the free flag football play designer, collect them in the football playbook maker, and print football play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open End Around in the designer
Opens this exact 5v5 diagram. Move anybody, change the depths, then save it to your playbook.
Open this play in the designerRelated questions
End around or reverse in 5v5 flag football?
Who should run the end around?
What age can you run an end around in 5v5 flag?
Related guides
Coach Ray Carroll
Coaches 5v5 flag football from kindergarten through 7th grade in San Mateo and San Carlos, California, and built RC Football to design, teach and print the plays his own teams run.