text: high school football...? how tall should i be to play cornerback on a high school football team? also, what should my weight be? that really depends on the relative size of the players in your league. i played db in high school (both corners and the later free safety) and corners are usually smaller and fast, and in high school, they're usually around 5' 6" and 5' 10", occasionally taller, with weight of around 140 ~ 180.... but since corners are smaller, speed, quickness (ability to break on the ball), jumping ability, body control and tackling ability are very important. i ran a 4.6 40, but the range is between 4.3 ~ 5.0.  a corner's responsibilities vary depending on the type of coverage called.  a corner will be given one of two ways to defend the pass (with variations that result in more or less the same responsibilities): zone and man-to-man. in zone coverage, the cornerback is responsible for an area on the field. in this case, the corner must always stay downfield of whoever it is covering while still remaining in its zone, always between the sideline and the opposing player.   the free safety is responsible for reading the offensive plays and covering deep passes. depending on the defensive call, he may also provide run support. he is positioned 10 to 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, toward the center of the field. he provides the last line of defense against running backs and receivers who get past the linebackers and cornerbacks.