Article:Strength Guru Johnny Long

#1
orange+white=heaven

orange+white=heaven

VN GURU
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Feb 16, 2005
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#1
How have offseason workouts progressed? Better than ever of course!

tfpOnline:Full Article

Coaches are seldom critical in July. No matter the school, it seems that every offseason is more stringent than the one before. Each team is in the best shape in recent memory. All players are giving great effort.
So it is again this season at Tennessee.
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"This year has been more demanding and physical," Long said. "We've probably kicked up the conditioning a little bit due to the fact that we go to the no huddle offense. You have to be ready."
Long was relatively unfamiliar with the no-huddle attack. So he spent much of spring practice jogging behind the offense with a stopwatch to learn. He has since increased tempo for offensive players, including quarterback Erik Ainge, who has recovered from minor knee surgery in the spring.
"We were able to tailor it a little bit from the start, but now he's back into things full-swing," Long said of Ainge. "He's been a heck of a leader. He's been mentoring those young quarterbacks and working with the receivers when they've come in at special times."
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on those freshmen wunderkinds...
"It makes me look good when they come in and they're running 4.4 (40-yard dash times)," Long said. "They came in ready to compete. They're not ready to take third string and wait until next year to get second. They want to be on that field right now. You see a big difference in their attitude and their effort."
The most impressive of the newcomers? Highly rated cornerback Eric Berry, Long said, although junior college receiver Kenny O'Neal has also stood out.
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the Eric Berry lovefest continues..
"You talk with our strength coaches right now, there's nobody working harder than Eric Berry," UT secondary coach Larry Slade said. "You couple that with his athletic ability, his ability to change directions, his outstanding speed. That's a heck of a combination to have that kind of character, work ethic and type of athletic ability. Given that, I think he'll play early."
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have a great day folks...
 
#2
#2
Thanks for the update- glad to see Ainge is doing well.
 
#3
#3
I've thought UT lagged behind the rest of the SEC in strength and conditioning. I think Auburn has a staff of 4 or more people focusing on it.

It doesn't seem like UT pushes people off the ball like they once did. I think Toenia has the bench press record at UT that was recently broken, but he was only an average blocker on UT's line.

From the outside it seems like they focus too much on how much weight they can lift, and not enough on the overall conditioning of the players.
 
#5
#5
I can't argue that we haven't lacked the kind of physical play on the line we used to be known for. The record of the past two years is evidence enough.
I think the message has been delivered though. It was a point of emphasis in spring drills and will be again come August.

Of course, it's just talk until we see it on the field of play....
 
#6
#6
seems to me they have lacked in stamina. They seem to fizzle off at the end of the year.
 
#7
#7
By the way, there was also this...

coach Johnny Long is pleased with the Volunteers' weight room work. He's particularly content with the shape of an offense intending to run more this season.
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No one like Fulmer or Cutcliffe has come right out and said the Vols intend to run more this season, I don't think. This constitutes rather benign confirmation of what I think we all expected...
 
#8
#8
orange+white=heaven said:
No one like Fulmer or Cutcliffe has come right out and said the Vols intend to run more this season, I don't think. This constitutes rather benign confirmation of what I think we all expected...
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And if the Vols can get back to pounding the rock behind an experienced offensive line, as Cutcliffe has indicated, Tennessee’s running game will be all right, too.
“You got to call it, and call it and call it,” said Cutcliffe, recalling a shared philosophy of friend and longtime NFL coach Dick Vermeil. “Just because it makes 2 yards or 3 yards doesn’t make it a bad play. Don’t go away from it.”
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Sounds like Cutcliffe pretty much has put his mind to it.
 
#11
#11
“I said this all during the year, and I think people thought I was just talking,” Cutcliffe said, “but I didn’t do a good job of managing the run game. I didn’t call stuff that we do well — and I know we do well — enough.”

Sounds like Cut is taking the blame for less run production last year. If we could just get OTHER coaches to take the blame as they should.
 
#12
#12
The Vols finished 9-4 in 2006, despite averaging just 108 yards a game(run yds.), the lowest average for a UT team since Doug Dickey’s first year as head coach in 1964.
Tennessee’s 382 rushing attempts is the third lowest total since 1950, behind only 2004 (320) and 1964 (377).
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Man, that really sets the problem in cement...
 
#13
#13
Hopefully our oppenents think we will come out passing everydown and we are able to run it down their throuts.
 
#14
#14
I have it on good authority from someone who works directly with some of our skilled players, that Ainge has come in having packed on 12 lbs of solid muscle. This individual indicates he looks like a different QB.

Hope it pays off in durability.
 
#15
#15
Interesting. So, the no huddle is going to be such a prominent part of your scheme that the trainers are modifying their summer approach to account for it. I have to say I'm impressed by that.
 
#16
#16
'Boro-vol said:
I have it on good authority from someone who works directly with some of our skilled players, that Ainge has come in having packed on 12 lbs of solid muscle. This individual indicates he looks like a different QB.

Hope it pays off in durability.
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Is your good authority the numerous public articles stating as such?
 
#18
#18
VolinArizona said:
Is your good authority the numerous public articles stating as such?
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No....just one of the trainers that performs their massage therapy.

Didn't mean to point out the apparently already well known.

Guess I'll go back to lurking.
 
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