Billy Napier, Mark Hocke Praise Gators’ Offseason Bodily Advancements
College football is a year-round affair, culminating in the fall with the display of skill refinement executed in the shadows during the spring and summer. Florida's harped on that fact since Billy Napier took over at the helm in December 2021, splitting the year into a cycle of phases to break up the monotony that the increasingly time-consuming sport can bring.
An integral piece to the offseason puzzle under Napier is associate head coach and director of football strength and conditioning Mark Hocke, the man in charge of the crucial summer workouts. Deemed the 'Regimen' phase, the ramp-up to fall camp is a strength and conditioning period designed to work talent into proper physical shape to operate at the level they're asked to when the season arrives.
On Sunday, as the phase ended with players and coaches reporting for fall camp day one on Monday, Napier and Hocke praised the drastic advancements the team made across the board during this year's rendition.
Jason Marshall Jr., Princely Umanmielen, Ricky Pearsall, Graham Mertz, T.J. Searcy, Andy Jean, Jalen Kimber, Jack Pyburn, Tony Livingston and Bryce Lovett proved to be exemplary pieces throughout, as all lost fat, added muscle and/or improved their core, bench, squat and clean lifts.
- Marshall: Gained seven pounds of muscle.
- Umanmielen: Maxed out on all of his lifts (core lifts, bench, squat, clean), improved max velocity, gained ten pounds of muscle and lost ten pounds of fat.
- Pearsall: Gained four pounds of muscle and decreased body fat percentage slightly.
- Mertz: Gained four pounds of muscle.
- Jean: Gained nine pounds of muscle.
- Searcy: Gained 12 pounds of muscle since January.
- Kimber: Gained eight pounds of muscle since April.
- Pyburn: Gained 10 pounds of muscle since January.
- Livingston: Gained 28 pounds of muscle since January.
- Lovett: Lost 10 pounds of fat, gained it back in muscle.
"Got a lot of guys using the resources," Napier said. "I thought the buy-in was much improved, and I think we've benefitted from being in the Heavener Center. Overall, really pleased with that part of our team."
According to Hocke, the aforementioned standouts encapsulated the roster's overall direction, as Florida saw most players produce favorable returns.
It’s always going to be a “mixed bag” of positives and negatives, but the overall growth suggests a positive trend for how the Florida team will look stepping off the bus in 2023.
"I think you're always going to have a mixed bag as far as did everyone hit this number on Power Clean, did everyone hit this number on max velocity, speed work, whatever," he said. "I think the majority trended in the right direction, and that's what you're really looking for."
However, the offseason regimen is deeper than the muscle key contributors and depth pieces are able to add to their frame and the speed at which they move.
It's a crucial step to presenting on-field improvements each fall.
In Hocke’s experience, the best gauge for year-over-year development comes from his ability to put his ear to the ground in the weight room and workout setting. It allows him to quietly evaluate the maturity of the unit as Napier's desired culture starts to take hold.
"The way I've always seen it, and I could be wrong, I'm looking at the culture because I feel like that's what I need to have my ear to the ground on because I think that's more important than just a Power Clean number or max velo number,” Hocke expressed.
"What type of people do we have? Are they selfish, or are they grateful? How do they operate as a unit? Those are the things that I think are more important, the intangibles."
He's witnessed some of the selfishness fade heading into year two compared to the team's attitude at this point last season.
"I think that comes with having a better understanding of what's expected," Hocke added. "Look, I get it; I'm stubborn, too. My wife tells me that all the time. Sometimes you just have to have an open mind and be willing to change."
As a result, a large portion of the roster has embraced the change. It’s paid dividends thus far.
They now look to translate what they gained from the weight room and field work to the gridiron.
But, despite no longer being at the top of the to-do docket, the job doesn’t stop for Hocke.
His mission now shifts to ensuring the team-wide progress doesn't regress as other aspects of preparation rise on the priority board. Despite the shift in attention away from strength and conditioning, there is still a desire to chase strength and speed during the 2023 season, not merely maintain it.
"You hear maintenance — like we're going to maintain strength, we're going to maintain speed. We believe that maintenance is a myth," he said on Sunday. "We are going to chase strength and speed year-round. We have a plan in place to develop strength and speed year-round.
"You can only serve one king. In season, king is practice, king is competition, and not necessarily strength and conditioning."
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