Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Buffs Offseason Mantra Is 'Champions Do Extra'
April 10, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — This is, quite simply, the time of the year when football teams that will produce success next fall separate themselves from the pack.
In April, every team has potential. But in September, the distinction between potential and production is determined by teams that dedicated themselves to offseason conditioning programs, voluntary summer workouts and the development of a work ethic that carried over to fall camp.
It is a lesson the Colorado Buffaloes learned last summer, when a group of seniors took ownership of the program and produced the best offseason in years — the springboard to the most successful CU season in more than a decade.
"What we have to do as a team is keep the leadership going," CU senior wide receiver Bryce Bobo said Monday morning after a strength and conditioning session. "The older guys have to show the younger guys that you have to have a work ethic now rather than developing it later. We have to get everyone focused and understand what our goal is, and that's to be in the Pac-12 championship and go from there."
The Buffs are in the midst of their last required strength and conditioning stretch of the spring. They will then have some time off after the end of the semester before returning for a summer session in June, which will set the table for the opening of fall camp (tentatively set for July 28).
But along with the required strength and conditioning sessions, another important part of the spring and summer are player-led practices, voluntary workouts that include 7-on-7 drills, conditioning and position-specific drills. They can involve as many as dozens of players — or just a few getting together for an hour or two of running and throwing pass routes.
"We saw what it meant last summer," Bobo said. "Coach Drew (Wilson, director of strength and conditioning) instilled that new work ethic in us and it carried over into everything we did. He helped us understand that for us to do something great, it requires discipline. It requires you to listen even when you're tired. It requires you to do extra work. He stressed that, and when we came into fall camp, we had an understanding of what was expected of us. We had a work ethic that hadn't been here since I've been here."
Wilson is finishing up his second spring with the Buffs — and his impact had been noticeable. Thus far, he said he's been pleased with what he's seen from the Buffs in the weight room.
"I think there's a sense of urgency, but it's a little different than it was last year," Wilson said. "That group felt they had something to prove. These guys don't want to be the group that let anyone down. They want to do their part. They know we did something special last year and there's a sense that we need to keep this thing rolling and pick up where we left off. From what I've seen so far, there's some good leadership — a lot of guys are picking up on that role."
It is that leadership that will be extremely important when it comes to the voluntary workouts. Those are practices that are not required. There are no coaches telling players what to do and how to do it.
But they are also the workouts that can provide an extra degree of separation and make the difference between winning and losing on Saturdays next fall.
"Every one of these guys knows that somewhere in the nation, there's a team — whether it's in the Pac-12 or someone we may meet in a bowl game — that's working extra hard because they don't want to be embarrassed on Saturdays," Wilson said. "They know that somewhere, there's another team putting in the work.
"And that's been our constant theme — champions do extra."
It is a theme Bobo, a fifth-year senior, and the rest of his classmates are determined to firmly embed in the mindset of the 2017 Buffs.
"A lot of the guys I came in with are going to the NFL," Bobo said. "They're going there because of the extra work they put in. We're trying to keep that same kind of drive going this year and keep that kind of reputation, that we have NFL-caliber players on this team. The older guys are getting the younger guys to come out and do the voluntary workouts because we're all getting better. We know what we do now and in the summer is what will set the stage for what we do next fall."
A year ago, Wilson was starting to see the signs of something special. He saw CU's seniors begin to take the reins and guide the team.
Now he hopes to see a repeat performance.
"I've been impressed," Wilson said. "They're taking ownership. They know when they're finished with our workouts, they have to decide if they want to do extra — and they're doing it. We can't make them do any extra, we can't require it.
"But they know what the deal is because they saw it a year ago. That's when you know a team is starting to mature because you see guys starting to say, 'We have to take ownership as players. We have to do that something extra.'"
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
