Spring Break
Cutcliffe's cut-throat conditioning challenge
Newly-hired head coach wants his team to lose a collective 1000 pounds
By: Will Flaherty
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Football
Last update: 1/31/08 at 7:03 AM EST
Last update: 1/31/08 at 7:03 AM EST
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"He said collectively we needed to lose at least 1,000 pounds," junior defensive lineman Ayanga Okpokowuruk said. "When he first got hired, he straight up told us that we need to be able to run, and that in order to be able to run, we need to be in good shape and well conditioned."
Cutcliffe said his first goal in turning around a team that has struggled to win games in recent seasons-particularly in late-game situations-is conditioning. With the team's 15-day spring practice period beginning March 19, Cutcliffe already has set weight-loss and endurance goals for his players.
"We're not going to have a fat football team," Cutcliffe said. "And we're a fat football team right now."
One of the chief struggles for the Blue Devils last season was the ability to close out games. Duke was outscored 100-50 in the fourth quarter last season and lost contests against Navy and UNC in the final period, realities players such as senior wide reciever Eron Riley find hard to gloss over.
"It's obvious that in certain games last year, we'd be playing well, and you could tell that we started getting tired and getting lazy," Riley said. "That Navy game, for sure, came down to the last second, and people started getting lazy, dropping passes... conditioning was a big thing."
In contrast to the conditioning program of former head coach Ted Roof, who emphasized gains in bulk and speed, Cutcliffe's strength and conditioning program is focused primarily on endurance. Although his full pre-spring program has yet to be fully implemented, Cutcliffe recently hired Noel Durphy to serve as the team's strength and conditioning coach. The new head coach has stressed to Durphy and his staff that they should do whatever it takes to get their players in great running shape by establishing a base program for the team to follow.
"If I have to get out there on that field and run them myself, 100 100-yard sprints, then they'll start losing weight and moving better," Cutcliffe said.
Cutcliffe's belief in heavy running and conditioning goes back to his high school playing days, when his coach would assemble the team on Saturday mornings after games to run anywhere from 75 to 125 50-yard windsprints.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Scrambled Eggs
posted 1/31/08 @ 4:17 PM EST
One of the chief struggles for the Blue Devils ... realities players such as senior wide reciever Eron Riley find hard to gloss over.
"It's obvious that in certain games last year, we'd be playing well, and you could tell that we started getting tired and getting lazy," Riley said. (Continued…)
Ace
posted 2/01/08 @ 2:27 AM EST
You can easily go out and party and generally cause a disturbance and still work diligently on conditioning in the daytime. I mean, I do it (well, the fist bit at least, I usually don't hit people, but to each his own I guess). (Continued…)
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