@ea_accessible, let me make sure I understand...
During a running play for the offense, it is important that the player know:
* Which is the optimum direction to run -- indicated by an arrow that works like a compass.
* Where nearby defenders are--the direction the defender is in relative to the player.
* How close defenders are--the range the defender is from the player.
So if I were only using sound. I might use a tone to indicate which direction to run--with the idea that the player wants to keep that tone in front of them and centered as much as possible. There might be a couple ways to do that. One might be a floating tone that moves relative to the player. The other might be to use just a few tones to indicate if the player is on course or if they need to turn left or right to be on course.
I probably should explain the second option. If the runner is faced in the correct direction, they would hear a sound telling them they are on track or possibly they would hear no sound. If they are off track, they would hear different sounds or tones. For example, if it would be faster for the runner to turn left to get back on course, they would hear a tone/sound from the left or a tone/sound that indicates they should turn to the left. It might also be possible to indicate how far off the track they are by varying the volume or pitch of the tone/sound. The louder/higher the further they need to turn in that direction to be on track. The lower/softer the pitch/tone, the closer they are to being on track.
To indicate the direction and range of defenders, you might be able to do something similar. This is just an example. Each defender will emit a breathing or footstep sound. The player knows where the defender is by the direction of the sound and knows how close the defender is by the loudness of the sound. I suppose you could also use vibration to indicate the range of the nearest defender--kind of like feeling the vibrations of footsteps.
Just in case you are unaware, I feel I also should mention that we do have a few people on these forums who specifically design games for the blind and they might also be able to provide ideas. For instance, @aprone is one who's work I am most familiar with. His FPS Swamp is fairly popular and I expect he dealt with some of these types of issues in designing his game. I also think he has tried at least to incorporate vibration and possibly other feedback in his games. He is not the only one--just the one I am most familiar with.
Is there any articles that explain what capability controllers have for vibration? I am assuming they allow you to vary the types of vibration, strength, and duration. I am not sure what else they allow you to do. I will admit that I am most familiar with the use of vibration as a feedback mechanism for ultrasound devices that give someone who is blind an idea how far and object is that is in front of them.