It’s tempting to think of the strength and conditioning staff and the on-field coaching staff as being two separate entities.
After all, they do completely different things. The strength staff builds the players up physically and mentally through some grueling offseason workouts, and then the on-field coaches take those players and build schemes around them during the spring and fall.
And maybe at some places, that is how the relationship between the two staffs works. But not at Florida under Billy Napier. Instead, the Gators are implementing position-specific training in the weight room. Offensive linemen and defensive backs use different muscles and make very different movements in games, so the workouts need to be tailored for each group.
To do that, Napier and associate head coach/director of strength and conditioning Mark Hocke have assembled a strength staff that is filled with coaches that played different positions. Tiger Jones played receiver at Louisville and is working with the Gators’ offensive skill players. Alex Watkins is working with the linebackers. Edward Thompson, a former cornerback at Louisiana, is working with the defensive backs, while Karmichael Dunbar, a former Ragin’ Cajun defensive lineman, is working with both lines of scrimmage.
Those coaches frequently communicate with the corresponding on-field assistant coaches to make sure that the players are getting what they need in the weight room. The strength staff is very much an extension of the on-field coaching staff.
“Those position coaches in the weight room work hand in hand with the position coaches that have them in-season,” Hocke said. “That’s where colleges differ. You’re just with the strength staff four months of the year. You’re not with your position coach, so it’s really important to have synergy between your position strength coaches and position on-field coaches.”
Hocke was one of Napier’s first hires at Florida in early December, as he followed him from Louisiana. Before he got to work with the players in January, he met with each player individually to get a feel for what they thought needed to change in the weight room from the old staff to the new one. In his opinion, part of being a strong leader is listening to what the people that you’re leading have to say.
“One of the best things that kind of kept coming up was ‘We need to make the small things important,’” Hocke said. “And that’s accountability. That’s another way of holding people accountable. We put a premium on that – making the small things important. You might think from a weight room standpoint, how you do a clean or a power clean or a back squat’s really important. No, we want to know ‘Are you tucked in? Are you in your dress code for the day? Are you early? Are you on time? Do you work throughout the entire 60-minute period?’
“All of these guys, they wouldn’t play at Florida if they weren’t blessed with a tremendous amount of ability. We’ve got to get consumed with the intangibles – integrity, discipline, toughness, effort, play together, and then, obviously, becoming believers. Believe you can do it and compete with anybody.”
Quarterback Anthony Richardson hasn’t done much in the weight room this year as he continues to work his way back from meniscus surgery, but he can already tell a difference in the philosophies of this staff and the old one led by Nick Savage.
“I’m kind of glad I wasn’t a part of some of that stuff because, those runs that I’ve seen them do, they did look kind of tough,” Richardson said. “It was kind of hard. I feel like it’s helped us because you see guys moving around quicker. Guys are stronger. So, it’s helped us, but I’m glad I wasn’t in some of that stuff.
“[Hocke’s] focused on your body a little more. For the last staff, they were trying to get us to bulk up and be a lot stronger. But, Coach Hocke, he wants us to be a faster team because you can’t really teach speed, but you can get guys’ bodies right so they can move a little faster. And that’s pretty much been their focus, just getting people right, making sure they’re sleeping well, making sure they’re eating right.”
They’ve still got plenty of more workouts to do throughout the spring and summer leading into the season, but Hocke is pleased with the effort he’s seen so far.
“I want to say how proud as a staff we are of this team and their effort so far.” Hocke said. “Throughout the first two phases, Foundation and Identity, there has been tremendous buy-in at the player level. They’ve showed up one day at a time, worked really hard, given great effort, showed up with great self-discipline, and I think we have improved one day at a time, one week at a time.”
Napier said that the players’ immediate buy-in is a testament to Hocke’s character. They want to work hard for him.
“I think that goes back to hiring really good people, not only people that are experts at what they do, but also sincere, authentic people that care for the players, and that’s where we start with hiring people,” Napier said. “Mark fits into that category. He’s just a very genuine guy that cares for the players; they sense that. He’s also a great leader, and we’ve hired a great staff around him.”
No stone is being left unturned in the Gators’ weight room.