THE BEEF IS BACK
August 09, 2011 12:53 PM | General
Do you remember the old Wendy’s Commercial Where’s the Beef? Well, for years the same could be said for West Virginia’s offense linemen.
When Rich Rodriguez took over at West Virginia in 2001, he made it a point to reduce the waist lines of his linemen, trimming his starting O-line down from an average weight of 311 pounds in 2000 the year before he got there to an average of 291 pounds during his second season in 2002.
Sleek, aerodynamic linemen have been the norm at WVU ever since. In 2009, Bill Stewart’s starting O-line averaged 291.8 pounds per man. Last year, the average crept up to 298.4 pounds per guy.
But now under new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, West Virginia appears to be reverting back to the bigger, more physical blockers that were the standard under former coach Don Nehlen. If the preseason depth chart holds true and Don Barclay, Jeff Braun, Joe Madsen, Tyler Rader and Quinton Spain all hold onto their jobs, the Mountaineers could average as much as 313.4 pounds across its front. Only Rader, at a comparatively miniscule 296 pounds, is below the 300-pound mark.
Yep, the beef is back.
“Coach Bedenbaugh likes the guards to be heavier, over 300 pounds, and he’s comfortable with me being 325,” said senior left guard Jeff Braun. “Basically it’s for the bull rushers. When we go up against the four-man fronts the D-tackles like to bull rush a lot. And then with the tackles he wants taller guys with long arms. He doesn’t want them as heavy - 310-315 is what he would probably like. He wants them to have longer arms to counteract the defensive ends and stuff like that.”
Because of that, Braun said there are no Slim-Fast shakes in his diet.
“I’ve dropped down to 319 already, but I’m comfortable with it,” he said. “I’ve always been a bigger guy and ever since I’ve been here I’ve always had to drop some weight, so it’s nice to be able to maintain a weight that I feel comfortable with.”
Just because Bedenbaugh wants his guys a little bigger doesn’t necessarily mean they can just load up on pizzas and hamburgers, though.
“I still have to eat healthy and watch what I eat, but the biggest thing for me is body composition,” Braun explained. “If you have a lower body fat, under 20 (percent) is good for an offensive lineman, and I was under 20 during the summer so I feel comfortable right now.”
Braun said the biggest thing for him this summer was working on his lower body strength so he can improve his drive blocking this fall.
“I feel like I can really take on the bull rush and I’m excited for it,” Braun said.
When Rich Rodriguez took over at West Virginia in 2001, he made it a point to reduce the waist lines of his linemen, trimming his starting O-line down from an average weight of 311 pounds in 2000 the year before he got there to an average of 291 pounds during his second season in 2002.
Sleek, aerodynamic linemen have been the norm at WVU ever since. In 2009, Bill Stewart’s starting O-line averaged 291.8 pounds per man. Last year, the average crept up to 298.4 pounds per guy.
But now under new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, West Virginia appears to be reverting back to the bigger, more physical blockers that were the standard under former coach Don Nehlen. If the preseason depth chart holds true and Don Barclay, Jeff Braun, Joe Madsen, Tyler Rader and Quinton Spain all hold onto their jobs, the Mountaineers could average as much as 313.4 pounds across its front. Only Rader, at a comparatively miniscule 296 pounds, is below the 300-pound mark.
Yep, the beef is back.
“Coach Bedenbaugh likes the guards to be heavier, over 300 pounds, and he’s comfortable with me being 325,” said senior left guard Jeff Braun. “Basically it’s for the bull rushers. When we go up against the four-man fronts the D-tackles like to bull rush a lot. And then with the tackles he wants taller guys with long arms. He doesn’t want them as heavy - 310-315 is what he would probably like. He wants them to have longer arms to counteract the defensive ends and stuff like that.”
Because of that, Braun said there are no Slim-Fast shakes in his diet.
“I’ve dropped down to 319 already, but I’m comfortable with it,” he said. “I’ve always been a bigger guy and ever since I’ve been here I’ve always had to drop some weight, so it’s nice to be able to maintain a weight that I feel comfortable with.”
Just because Bedenbaugh wants his guys a little bigger doesn’t necessarily mean they can just load up on pizzas and hamburgers, though.
“I still have to eat healthy and watch what I eat, but the biggest thing for me is body composition,” Braun explained. “If you have a lower body fat, under 20 (percent) is good for an offensive lineman, and I was under 20 during the summer so I feel comfortable right now.”
Braun said the biggest thing for him this summer was working on his lower body strength so he can improve his drive blocking this fall.
“I feel like I can really take on the bull rush and I’m excited for it,” Braun said.
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