Respect for Rock fuels strong summer

#1
Shades

Shades

30 minutes of ball and we are smokin at the end
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#1
http://tennessee.247sports.com/Arti...s-strong-summer-for-blue-collar-Vols-77567879

Butch Jones knew he could depend on Rock Gullickson to make an impact when he tabbed the veteran NFL coach to take over Tennessee's strength and conditioning program.

...... because I was just sitting with our three players and [Jones] said, 'Tell me the difference in the weight room. Tell me what you see.'

"And they said, 'Respect. Here's an individual, Coach, who's been in the National Football League. We all have dreams and aspirations of going to that next level, and we don't want to let him down.' The way he commands the room, but also the way he commands respect and gives respect, I think it's been extremely healthy for our program.

"I think it's also been healthy for our other strength coaches as well, and I know our players look forward to going in there every day, and also they can see kind of the rewards of all their hard work because of all the progress that they've made."
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Hiring a strength coach with more than a decade of NFL experience instantly resonated with the Vols, and they've undoubtedly benefited from the presence of a singular voice of leadership as they focus on developing physically for the upcoming season.

Gullickson's professional pedigree also gave him instant credibility with his new team and eased the transition as players responded to him and his methods.
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On multiple occasions this offseason, Jones has noted how this year's new-look team just quietly goes about its business and Monday he called these Vols a "blue-collar football team," a label supported by a pair of his veteran players.

"We have a lot of guys who are working their butts off right now and giving everything they have day in and day out, whether it's in the meeting rooms, on the field or in the weight room," senior offensive lineman Jashon Robertson said. "And that's what you can expect from this team, is a team that's going to work hard, give everything they have and that's day in and day out."
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"This is one of the best offseasons I've had since I've been here," fifth-year senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers said, "and guys are ready to work."
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#2
#2
The previous guy, Szerszen, was with Butch at Cincy since he arrived there. All last summer we saw tweets and vids of players looking jacked. Even rival fans I would talk to said that UT "looks" like a football team.

So was UT a Ford F350 with a Yugo engine?

Here's to Rock building them from the inside out! Go get 'em Rock!
 
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#3
#3
One of Butch's best hires was "Rock". Exactly the kind of person our players needed in the weight room.
 
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#4
#4
Hopefully we will see a huge difference come game 1 especially at the lines of scrimmage. When App St was pushing our line around something was terribly wrong.
 
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#6
#6
I'll believe it when I see it. Some variation of this puff piece exists every time there is a change in S&C.
 
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#7
#7
BigOrangeMojo said:
I'll believe it when I see it. Some variation of this puff piece exists every time there is a change in S&C.
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This is true. All of a sudden the previous guy sucked and had no idea what the bench press is, and the new guy will have the team moving mountains.
 
#8
#8
Florida will be in the top 5 if they beat Michigan in week one. Hype will be out of control.
 
#9
#9
Mike Griffith said on the Vols SEC country podcast (a good podcast by the way) that Butch told him he did not want to call last year a disappointment because it would send the wrong message to his team. He was proud of how they fought through injuries. He also thought there were very good personal achievements (Barnett, etc.). He didn't think it was appropriate to throw all of them under the bus to placate the media and Volnation's football forum (a direct quote by the way).

Makes sense to me.
 
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#11
#11
vol2002 said:
Mike Griffith said on the Vols SEC country podcast (a good podcast by the way) that Butch told him he did not want to call last year a disappointment because it would send the wrong message to his team. He was proud of how they fought through injuries. He also thought there were very good personal achievements (Barnett, etc.). He didn't think it was appropriate to throw all of them under the bus to placate the media answering Volnation's football forum (a direct quote by the way).

Makes sense to me.
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I feel like I've been educated.
 
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#12
#12
Last summer it was seen by several reporters watching the beginning of Fall Camp that our players were soft and out of shape, and that resulted in many injuries. The players were not held accountable. I believe this year the players are holding themselves more accountable. There appears to be a different dynamic this off season. Less poisonous players in the locker room. Better coach chemistry and player/team chemistry. I think we are going to be well prepared for Fall Camp and the first game.
 
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#13
#13
I think Rock brings more than just his knowledge, experience, and abilities as a S&C coach (not unimportant, by the way). I think he brings the mature leadership during the off-season that was missing last year.
 
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#14
#14
I hope that everything we are hearing and reading about the positives coming from the offseason S&C are real, and we see the impact right away. Looking back at the Appy St game was shocking, surprising, and disappointing. It seem to set the stage for injuries and underachieving for the season.
 
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#18
#18
I do not know what you guys are talking about, but I definitely see the difference in the S&C program under Rock's command. There have been numerous documented physical changes to players that show the results. Kongbo is 275 lbs at 9.7% body fat, Jack Jones was popping the buttons on his shirts, and countless other players have mentioned how they are in the best shape of their lives. It's not that last season's S&C staff did not know how to create a workout, it is the fact that they were not disciplined enough to put the players in position to succeed on the field.

Plus our players have been busting their butts and working hard in the offseason. If you do not set them up with the proper workouts, routine, and nutrition then that hard work will not produce the desired results. Rock has the full program, from top to bottom, in gear.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tennessee.247sports.com/Article/Updated-Tennessee-Vols-football-roster-includes-new-weights-jers-53476922/Amp
 
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#19
#19
Orange&White said:
I do not know what you guys are talking about, but I definitely see the difference in the S&C program under Rock's command. There have been numerous documented physical changes to players that show the results. Kongbo is 275 lbs at 9.7% body fat, Jack Jones was popping the buttons on his shirts, and countless other players have mentioned how they are in the best shape of their lives. It's not that last season's S&C staff did not know how to create a workout, it is the fact that they were not disciplined enough to put the players in position to succeed on the field.

Plus our players have been busting their butts and working hard in the offseason. If you do not set them up with the proper workouts, routine, and nutrition then that hard work will not produce the desired results. Rock has the full program, from top to bottom, in gear.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tennes...roster-includes-new-weights-jers-53476922/Amp
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I think the think with Rock is the whoel "respct" thing. I could walk in a room give them the best advice in the world. But, who am I? He walks in the room and talks and his resume makes them listen It also seems he has the type of attitude that he does not throw his weight around and realizes even though he has a resume respect is still a 2 way street. Just proof that how you say a thing can be just as if not more important than what you say.
 
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#20
#20
Something else to note, Lawson (before Szerson) was making 200k...then he got fired. Szerson, who took over last spring, was making just under 70k.

I've got multiple abnoxious Bama fan friends for some reason, and they all claim that Scott Cochran is the backbone of that team (makes 525,000). Rock Gullickson will be making 375,000, has won the NFL strength coach of the year and is praised by several notable players and coaches including Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre.

My point is, you get what you pay for. It's looking like Rock may be one of the best (the best?) hire Butch has made.
 
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#23
#23
Glass half full- Jones has grown as a coach and had the horsepower to hire a solid NFL level S&C coach.

Glass half empty- Why didn't Jones know that the staff he brought with him wasn't SEC caliber?
 
#25
#25
Sounds really good. Proof is the end of the game with Florida and the UT having the higher score on the board. Just Win. I've heard from more people close to the program and living in the Knoxville area that the S&C coach last year was having problems and the difference in chemistry and physical prowess of the team this year is eye popping.
 
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