Brooks: Turning Large Lifts Into Bigger 'W's?

BOULDER - The numbers that carry the most weight are recorded from September through November, but those posted by the Colorado football team from December through early March might offer a tantalizing glimpse of what's to come.

"That's the idea," Jeff Pitman, CU's director of speed-strength and conditioning, said of a revamped off-season program that produced the biggest across-the-board improvement during his tenure and hopefully sent the Buffaloes into spring drills last weekend more energized than in the past.

Aside from wanting to see an overall team upgrade in strength and speed during the winter work, Pitman said he and his staff hoped to have the Buffs enter spring practice "rested, or fresher, so to speak."

Here's what changed:

Weekly weight lifting was pared from four days to three;
The day gained from that cutback primarily was devoted to running and, for players at the speed/skill positions, plyometric exercises were added;
Offensive and defensive linemen worked with a local boxing trainer - Dave Gaudette, Front Range Boxing - to develop better balance, hand-eye coordination and hand speed;
And rather than starting the workouts in the wee hours - a relative term for college students - they were switched to afternoons.

"I think that was one of the bigger things, and it reflected in our 'maxing' (in lifting and various drills), too," Pitman said. "Usually by spring ball guys are pretty worn out, because we're getting them up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning every day. That's helped out a lot."

"This is the freshest I've been going into a spring," cornerback Jalil Brown said. "I'm not tired and my muscles aren't as sore as in the past. I'm not sure what exactly why . . . but I definitely notice the difference in how my body feels."

Added tailback Rodney "Speedy" Stewart: "Working in the afternoon, I think everybody was a lot fresher. We weren't waking up at 6, being tired coming in and half 'BS-ing' through the work."

Brown also said the afternoon sessions tended to promote more camaraderie because teammates adopted the attitude of, "If I'm here, I might as well stay and work out. It was a lot easier to get guys to stick around for the PRP's and the seven-on-sevens and one-on-ones.

"Before, in the mornings, guys left and went back home."

Brown, a fifth-year senior, was among the players posting the most eye-popping off-season numbers. He and Stewart, a junior, were recognized as, pound-for-pound, being CU's strongest players based on a Pitman formula that divides total weight lifted by body weight.

Brown, at 6-foot-1, weighs 202; the 5-6 Stewart weighs 175. Stewart was a repeat winner, but Brown's overall improvement pleased Pitman "because he's over 200 pounds. What he did was just pretty frickin' impressive."

Brown power cleaned 375 pounds, which Pitman termed "ridiculous for a speed guy." His other 'max' numbers: hang clean - 475 pounds; squat - 672 pounds; bench press - 383 pounds; vertical jump - 34.5 inches.

"I look at it totally different now," Brown said of his attitude toward Pitman's off-season program. "When I was younger, when we had to run, lift, I was thinking how tired I was going to be.

"Now, I'm thinking, 'This goes by so fast and before I know it the season's going to be here.' It's going to benefit me in the long run. I'm looking forward to 'Coach Pit' running me hard and working me in the weight room. It's going to benefit me; I'm not dreading it like I was in the past."

Brown also said new secondary coach Ashley Ambrose has helped him with technique improvement at his position: "Maybe it's the outlook I have, but this spring and fall I'm looking forward to having the most improvement I've had since I've been here. I'm really excited about it."

Fellow senior corner Jimmy Smith was not overshadowed by Brown's off-season achievement. Smith power put up 212 pounds in the power clean, 415 in the hang clean, 600 in the squat, 350 in the bench press and vertically jumped 35 inches.

"The cornerbacks were as impressive as anybody; those two guys are beasts in here," Pitman said.

The team-wide numbers, though, also showed up beastly. Although the power clean average of 315 pounds was about the same as last off-season, Pitman said it was more promising because about 20 more players tested this year than last.

Among the other highlights:

The team's squat average was 547 pounds, with 31 players squatting over 600 pounds and two - nosetackle Eugene Goree and defensive end Marquez Herrod - topping 700;
Safety-turned-linebacker Patrick Mahnke recorded a vertical jump (done from a standing position) of 38 inches. Behind him were defensive back Anthony Perkins (37), tailback Brian Lockridge (36.5) and receiver Toney Clemons (35). Clemons' leap was 5 inches above his previous best. Said Pitman: "Probably the thing I'm most proud of is the team average of 30 inches."
Newcomer Eric Richter, a junior college transfer getting a first look at left guard, had the top bench press (505 pounds). He was trailed by Herrod (427), defensive tackle Curtis Cunningham (411) and Goree (405).
Offensive left tackle Nate Solder topped Pitman's all-school, all-time hang clean record with 473 pounds. At Boise State, Pitman had two players at 460 pounds. The 6-9 Solder lost an inch in his vertical jump - but he hit 32 inches, still impressive for a 305 pounder.

The boxing work, said Solder, "just translated into things involved in being an athlete - using your hands, having quick hands, having balance and coordination with your lower body.

"I think some of the best things were done with a jump rope. I think all of it helped."

But, Solder added, "I wasn't a very good boxer."

Pitman will settle for Solder being a very good left tackle, Brown and Smith being very good corners, Stewart a very good tailback . . . .

With the overall work ethic on the uptake, what Pitman saw from December to early March was encouraging: "Everything went up as a team . . . from bench (press) to power cleans to hang cleans to vertical jumps.

"Everything went up from where we were last year, which obviously is what I'm looking for. That's the way it should go. It's been getting better and better every year . . . I can't complain."

The obvious next step: Converting the heavy lifting into 'Ws.'

SIMAS RETURNS: Receiver Markques Simas returned to practice Friday, his indefinite suspension for violating team rules lifted for at least the remainder of spring practice.

Coach Dan Hawkins was undecided whether Simas will face any more punitive action once the 2010 season starts: "We'll see. I'm going to do whatever I've got to do with that guy. I don't have a lot of years left with him and by the time he hits the streets he needs to figure it out."

Simas initially believed he would be suspended through the spring game (April 10), but said Hawkins was "generous and let me back early - and I thank him for that."

Simas conceded to making "a dumb decision (he was cited for DUI) and it'll never happen again. I learned from it. If I'm going to go out, be safe, be smart. This is definitely it, man."

Asked if he felt like this was his last chance at CU, Simas said, "I felt like that three incidents ago, to be honest with you. 'Hawk' is definitely worried about me as a person, not just a football player, and that's what I love about him.

"Honestly, anywhere else, I probably would have been gone a long time ago. But he stuck with me; he knows I'm a good kid at heart . . . I'm definitely going to be smarter about things in the future."

Explaining his decision to reinstate Simas, Hawkins said, "We're in the people business, trying to get kids to grow up and be uncommon in a world that doesn't always stress that. He's been doing a good job, doing a good job in the classroom and taking care of business and I'm trying to throw him a little bone. So we'll see how it goes.

"He's got a great future . . . he's a smart guy, a charismatic guy and can do a lot of great things in this world - football aside. So it's my job to make sure he gets that part of the equation figured out."

FIRST WEEK REPORT: CU conducted its second practice in full pads on Friday, ending its first week of spring drills. Hawkins said the Buffs were "running around good, the intensity (and) hustle are good. It's never as clean as what you want it. The offense turned the ball over a few times today, didn't yesterday. It's always good for one, bad for the other. But I think their intensity is really good, and that's impressive." Hawkins said it was good to have more players this spring "running around and competing." After a weekend off, the Buffs return to practice Monday and Tuesday, then have their first full spring scrimmage on Thursday (4 p.m.). It is tentatively set for Folsom Field, weather permitting.

MILLER UPDATE: Offensive guard Ryan Miller made his first appearance at practice Friday after undergoing surgery to replace the rod in his right forearm and also have the rod removed from his left fibula. In the four-hour surgical procedure, Miller said bone marrow was taken from his right hip and injected into his right forearm to expedite the fusion process. He will miss the remainder of spring drills but plans to be ready for August camp.

BUFF BITS: With Jake Behrens having expended his eligibility, the Buffs roster lists no true fullbacks. Being given a spring look at the position in goal line situations are linebackers Tyler Ahles, a 6-2, 240-pound sophomore, and Derrick Webb, a 6-0, 230-pound redshirt freshman. Hawkins said while the offense "isn't running with a true fullback," the tight ends/H-backs also can fill in at the position when needed . . . . Stewart missed Friday's drills to "take care of some schoolwork," Hawkins said . . . . Offensive tackle Sione Tau, who missed last season due to a school suspension, "still has to slim down," according to Hawkins. "He's up there (in weight) . . . . But he's done a nice job on the line of scrimmage. I think losing another 10 or 20 (pounds). I think he can lose that much and still be the heaviest guy on the team. But he's a big man." . . . . Freshman Josh Moten's plan to get a look at quarterback lasted all of, well, zero days. Before spring drills began, he was working at cornerback in seven-on-seven passing. Hawkins said Moten, a January enrollee, "kind of figured out" that the secondary was a better fit for him. "He's doing a nice job back there. He's young, but he's heady and has the athletic ability." . . . . Former Buffs Alfred Williams and Eric Bieniemy (1987-90) and their coach, Bill McCartney (1982-94) are included on the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ballot for possible induction into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. Williams, a defensive end, and Bieniemy, a tailback, are among 77 players under consideration, while McCartney is among seven coaches . . . . The Buffalo Bills have re-signed former CU tight end Joe Klopfenstein.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU