About this project ...
Hello valued subscriber,
Been working on a feature with the strength and conditioning program that will be available for your viewing pleasure on Thursday. Basically, every team says how hard they grind in the offseason and I wanted to get a feel for what they thought was different and what was working; hard to strike a balance between going full meathead and making it accessible for everyone but it'll be a entertaining watch nonetheless. We were given the opportunity to pitch Coach Norvell story ideas during the offseason and he gave the thumbs up on this and everyone was super accessible. Storms and the team allowed me to film two separate workout sessions (one in June and the other in July). Storms made himself available for interviews twice, Stephen Dix and Robert Scott were also gracious with their time -- and the latter is on my Mt. Rushmore of most pleasant athletes to interact with; he's a real gem of a kid. I didn't get to see all 85 scholarship kids lift but if you have any specific questions, I'll try and reply.
I observed McKenzie Milton when I attended a June lifting session. He was going through the same routine as his teammates -- he was partnered with Gino English and both were doing squats using what they call the "safety bar" (you'll see it in the video). Milton wasn't being coddled or monitored any more than his teammates. At the end of the team lift guys do some more isolative and individual stuff and he was aggressively working his lower body. All that to say, believe him when he says he feels good.
Didn't get to observe him but the staff seems pleased with the development of Darius Washington. Think a lot of us forget he shut it down late in 2019 with a shoulder injury and those are always extra delicate for a lineman and you probably need a full year to get right and he's had that time to mend.
The young linebackers are workout champs. Stephen Dix Jr. and D.J. Lundy are pretty dang sturdy. Dix is Adonis and Lundy is a specimen himself. Dix went from 208 as a freshman to 240 and says he feels as fast as ever. Says his squat is at 545 lbs, bench is 345-350 lbs, and his clean was 345 lbs. but says he could probably go heavier. Mentioned the confidence the gains have given him in terms of knowing he can compete against whoever he's asked to line up against and that coupled with a year of being wiser has given him a totally different mindset; admitted a lot of last year was nerves and playing to not mess up rather than being more assertive. He's still a freshmen but even the upperclassmen and transfers were in awe when he took his "after" photo for offseason comparison
Robert Cooper is a strong, strong human being
Bryson Estes is someone you can tell came from a good strength program in HS -- or had a parent pointing him in the right direction early on. Strong, technically sound and carries his weight well. I know they're maligned but Baveon Johnson and Dontae Lucas both appeared to be keeping up with their partners and Lucas still looks like one of the baddest men on the team for whatever that's worth.
Wanted to get a nutrition and diet element to it but Dix and Scott both opted to divulge their cheat days, ha. I think we can all agree Dix gets a pass and Robert says while he needs to get better with his food choices he's no longer on the "gain train" and has been hitting the weight target the staff has set for him (neighborhood of 315).
Looks like they're running a pretty tight ship. Guys were punctual, there was good spirit in there, lots of moving parts in one of the smaller gyms in high end P5 football but everyone was shuttling from station to station and getting quality work in. Oh and one other thing, I heard a transfer talking to a teammate about how this strength program blows his old school's out of the water.
Anyhow, lots of shirtless (moving) photos and just bright, bubbly soundbytes from Robert Scott to come. Hope you'll enjoy it.
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