Owning the Score Zone: How Mount Union Practices Red Zone Offense

When Mount Union piled up 500 yards in its win over Grove City, the stat line reflected more than talent. It showcased the impact of Jasper “Junior” Collins’ red zone offense—an approach built on intentional practice, competitive drills, and execution when the field gets tight. For Collins, the score zone isn’t just another part of the field; it’s where games are won and lost.

Why the Red Zone Matters

Collins has seen firsthand how momentum swings when an offense stalls inside the 20. “It doesn’t matter how you get down there,” he says. “It matters how you finish once you do.” For Mount Union, settling for field goals isn’t good enough. Every rep in practice reinforces that the standard is touchdowns.

Defenses only make it tougher. Gone are the days of predictable man coverage. Now, even inside the 10, teams sit back in zone looks, clogging throwing lanes and forcing precision. To meet that challenge, Collins dedicates 15 minutes or more every practice strictly to red zone situations.

Creating Competitive Pressure

The Raiders don’t treat the red zone as just another period. Collins builds it with game-like pressure:

4th-and-2 at the two-yard line to start practice.
“Two downs to score” situations, where execution is everything.
Seven-on-seven red zone skeletons to refine timing and spacing.

“Those periods force us to get to our best calls,” Collins explains. “The players know—this is where games are won or lost.”

Good on Good, and Then Some

Mount Union tests its offense against its defense as much as possible. Ones face ones. Sometimes ones face twos, or vice versa, to create different matchups. Later in the week, the scout looks prepare them for the exact coverages and fronts they’ll see on Saturday.

The mix of competitive and scout periods gives Collins clarity: which plays and concepts his unit can trust in the pressure moments of the game.

Lessons from the Greats

Collins’ philosophy is grounded in lessons passed down from some of the game’s best.

As a player and assistant under Larry Kehres, he learned the staple that still guides his approach: Players, Formations, Plays. Start with the personnel you trust, align them in formations that create advantages, then call the plays that fit. “It’s ingrained in me,” Collins says. “It’ll go with me wherever I coach.”

That foundation pairs with his time in the NFL. As the Tony Dungy Fellow with the Indianapolis Colts, Collins sat inside the quarterback room for a season. What he discovered surprised him: “They’re doing a lot of the same things we do—just called different or dressed up because of the players.” That experience affirmed that execution, not scheme, separates success from failure.

Execution Over Everything

For Collins, the red zone comes down to one principle: execution. “A play is a play is a play,” he says. “If players don’t understand it, or if there’s doubt, it slows them down. And if they’re not playing fast and confident, the play breaks.”

That belief is why he leans on his staff—line coaches, backs coaches, receiver coaches, even long-time Mount Union mentor Coach Paul Gulling—to ensure clarity in teaching. Everyone must know their role, down to the last detail, so that the Raiders can attack the red zone with conviction.