Rob Glass and Staff Hard at Work Developing Workout Programs

Oklahoma State athletes are spread out across the country, football included, and Rob Glass and the strength staff are working to keep them working toward next season.

STILLWATER -- Now it is almost a week into college athletic programs, and more precisely the football programs that are disseminating materials to their athletes to keep them on point with the on-line classes and keep them pointed physically at next season or whenever they are able to gather again. There are virtual meetings with position coaches and/or coordinators.

Glass and company; which includes Gary Calcagno, Anthony Hibbert, Mark Smith, and Joel Tudman; can send instructions even video instructions, but they cannot meet and monitor workouts through video. Although, seeing posts on Twitter like this one from returning All-Big 12 linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez has to make them smile. 

"Really like when we talked the other day, it is a fluid situation and when we think we have programs that we can send to the guys and all athlete with all sports, then their situation changes," Glass said. "Now it is shelter in place and we're really kind of had to work out five different workouts for our athletes. With football right now we're trying to maintain fitness levels, which is the main thing. We are going to take some hits in peak strength since they aren't able to get to bigger weights and their central nervous system will see some regression there."

This has all caused Glass to become more proficient in technology and being able to communicate electronically. Most of the time, Glass and his assistant strength coaches communicate face-to-face.

Glass has said to Pokes Report on a couple of occasions that if he and his staff were going to train a team remotely in absentia, then this team, for a variety of reasons, would be the one that gives them a chance to be close to where they need to be to start fall camp and to get ready to win football games. 

"Teams, vary from year to year, their physical maturity, and average age, all of those things vary from year to year; and we have about 24 seniors and it is a very physically mature group," Glass said of this OSU football team. "Our strength levels are on the high end. Those are somewhat cyclical as well. For us maturity we are on the high side. If they do have to spend a significant time away our strength levels at the end of the winter program were at a very high level." 

The Big 12 and all other Power Five conferences are now under the current guidelines that do not allow teams to gather through May 31. What happens after we reach that deadline will be up to the Big 12 Board of Governors, basically the school presidents. We will see how the COVID-19 pandemic and threat is at that point. The schools and programs that have plans ready to go will have a leg up and I think you can expect Oklahoma State to have a plan in place for a variety of circumstances.