Football Library · Routes
Hook Out
Route5-9 ydaka Hook-Out
7-yd vertical release then a ROUNDED U-turn hooking back outside (toward the sideline), settling at 3-4 yds depth. The receiver reverses direction back toward the sideline. Beats off-coverage corners who stop retreating — the receiver comes back to them. Strong boundary route and clock-stopper.
Demo rendered on @X (outside WR) at 7yd depth. Only the route runner and the QB are shown so the break stays the focus; the same route family scales to any depth a play calls for, and concepts that use this route may set a different depth.
How to run it
7-yd stem, U-turn back outside — work back to the sideline, stop the clock.
Reading it by coverage
How to run the hook out against what the defense shows.
- Cover 1:
- vs off-man — stem to his cushion, hook back to the sideline as he keeps retreating.
- Cover 2:
- come back to the boundary under the squat corner — clean vs two-deep.
- Cover 3:
- hook outside the curl/flat defender toward the sideline — get eyes back fast.
- Man:
- reverse back to the sideline when the corner stops bailing.