American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

, the upback (also known as the punt protector or personal protector) is a blocking back who lines up approximately 1–3 yards behind the

line of scrimmage In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...

in punting situations. Because the punter plays so far back, the upback frequently makes the line calls and calls for the

snap Snap or SNAP may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind'' *''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme * ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...

to be received by the punter. Their primary role is to act as the last line of defense for the punter. Upbacks may occasionally receive the snap instead of the punter on

fake punt A fake punt is a trick play in gridiron football. It involves a running or passing play run out of a punt formation.Examples include: A fake punt can take a number of different forms. The punter may simply take the snap and look to throw a f ...

s. Upbacks receiving the snap normally run the ball, but they may throw it. An upback is typically played by a back-up for another position, mostly a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

, or a fullback. This position is usually referred to simply as a

special teamer In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, or even a gunner (though that word is used more often for a different position). A notable upback is

Nate Ebner Nathan Ebner (born December 14, 1988) is an American football safety and special teamer who is a free agent, and a rugby sevens player for the United States national rugby sevens team. Ebner played rugby union (15-a-side) on the US Under-19 ...

, formerly of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. A former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, Ebner uses his versatility in order to execute fake punts and protect the punter.

References

{{American football positions American football positions