of the program....I've actually had more than one discussion in the past several weeks about another area that might be in need of a change. I know this may be BLASPHEMY to many but could some of our troubles be a result of our strength and conditioning methods?
I attended two Yox seminars in first couple of years at AU and as he readily admits, his approach is different than most. He focuses far more on exercises, lifts, runs etc. that translate more toward what you would be doing on the field. For instance, I don't know if he still uses this approach, but he had guys bench pressing with their grip in much closer, almost a tricep press, because a lineman blocks with his hands inside and that's where he feels the strength should be. Sounds good in theory and seems to make sense.
Anyone recall a guy that went by "The Deacon"? Might have been on Ghey Nation but he claimed to have worked with Yox as a GA, if memory serves. But, he was very critical of Yox's methods, claiming he wasn't interested in bulking guys up and getting them stronger. Said his methods were more about conditioning than building real strength. Admittedly, we constantly talk about getting this guy or that guy in here and "Yoxercising" him up to 250 or 315. And our players do seem to consistently put on weight each year....except McProne. But, I also think that's a natural occurrence when you're 17-22 and weight training and sitting at a training table with the best foods all day every day.
I'm not dogging the guy. He knows more about his craft than I could ever dream of learning. And yes, I see the pic of Porsche throwing a couple of tons overhead. But if we're going back to more of a ground and pound style, do we need to focus more on our linemen squatting small busses and benching Volvos? As one coach I talked to said when we were talking about it, "I'm sure he's good but sometimes you just need a change". Are our defensive tackles getting pushed around for a reason? Are our linebackers not getting off blocks because they're getting physically whipped? Just food for thought while we ponder why we suck everywhere else.