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Good morning. Michigan's new staff tests the roster's strength and doesn't like the numbers, four Washington State players clear 400 on the bench, and Oregon's quarterback credits his backup for 17 pounds of muscle. Let's get into it...
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One of the first things Kyle Whittingham did after taking over at Michigan was find out how strong the team he inherited actually was. Bench press, squat, see what they can do. Then Doug Elisaia, the director of football sports performance who followed him over from Utah, walked into his office with the numbers.
"Coach, you're not going to like this," Elisaia told him. Whittingham's answer: "Doug, I got no question in my mind. You'll get it right." The numbers paled next to Utah's. "We had all these real tall, long, good-looking athletes, but the sheer strength just wasn't there," Whittingham said at Big Ten Media Days. Seven months later they tested again. By Whittingham's count, 97% of the roster hit at least one personal best.
Four players cleared 400 pounds on the bench in the weight room Malcolm Hardmon runs at Washington State, per max numbers the football account posted Monday out of the Cougar Football Complex.
Linebacker Nylan Brown put up 407 at 242 pounds, more than one and a half times his body weight. Running back Kirby Vorhees may have topped him: 402 at 5-11, 207 pounds, just short of double. Guard Nick Bakken matched Vorhees at 402, and tackle Jaylin Caldwell hit 400 even, months into rehab from a lower-body injury. Per Cougfan, the two 5-11 guys get some help from shorter arms, which makes the numbers from the linemen impressive in a different way.
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At Big Ten Media Days, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore said he's added 17 pounds since January's playoff loss to Indiana, putting him at 220. He gave the credit to his backup. Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola has been setting the pace: "He's pushing me in the weight room. He's pushing me on the football field." Moore threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns last season.
Opening camp, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni held up Joshua Medcalf's "Chop Wood Carry Water" and walked the room through his favorite chapter: being faithful in the small things. His list of controllables started with two. "Effort's free," he said. Then: "Conditioning is free." He was up front about the catch: "It's not sexy and it's often boring. It's monotonous."
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