One of the first adjustments players make during a coaching change is getting used to a new strength and conditioning coach - and so far Nebraska’s Mark Philipp is earning rave reviews from some veteran players.
Defensive lineman Kevin Williams said the thing he most appreciates from Philipp is how important it is to the first-time strength and conditioning coach to make sure the players know why they’re doing certain drills and what part of the body their focusing on with each task.
“He always jokes around and says ‘The N stands for Knowledge’ - so he provides us with a lot of the science behind the things that we do,” Williams said. “It’s stuff we may not have known from before. He’s teaching us the different techniques and why we do it."
Williams, who has battled back from a pair of knee injuries while at Nebraska, said the other thing he appreciates is that Philipp has tailored his approach when dealing with an injury history.
“One thing that I do know that is different is that he tailors a lot of his workouts individually,” he said. “For me, I’ve been through two knee surgeries, so certain lifts need to be altered such as reverse lunges. Maybe I need to alter that to do step ups. So he does a good job of finding different ways to get the most out of what he wants.
“Before (individual plans) would happen but it wasn’t to the same extent. This time I could really feel it. Before I’d feel like I wasn’t getting the same benefit out of it. Now I feel like I’m doing something totally different but I’m getting the same training affect as someone else doing it."
Offensive lineman Alex Lewis appreciates the energy that Philipp has brought to the group. Lewis freely admitted that it can be difficult to motivate yourself during the doldrums of winter, but the fiery Philipp has the guys ready to go each day.
“Mark is a great coach, very energetic and brings it everyday,” Lewis said. “It’s somebody you want pushing in the weight room. And with speed. They’re very knowledgable guys that know exactly what they are talking about. They’re going to be precise with the work. They are going to get in and get out. Get the job done right.”
Lewis said he’s noticed Philipp has stressed more full body workouts. He said the linemen have been doing more hang cleans and power clean lifts. There’s been more focus on the lower body and building leg strength.
The offensive tackle said all he needed was one look at Philipp to get a picture of the results of the work.
“You can just look at him - he’s an impressive 200-pounder that can move well,” Lewis said. “That’s something that everyone wants. Especially our front group. We all look forward to it."
Williams agreed with his teammate and appreciates the approach he’s brought to Nebraska.
“Mark Philipp is a great dude,” he said. "He brings passion. Excitement and energy into the weight room. I wake up and I ready to roll every morning.”
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Note to Riley.
Never use the statements "it's a process" or "we are doing an excellent job in all aspects" in a press conference, especially after a loss.
Well, let's hope this all translates to improved performance on the field. I believe it will, but the only true test will be how we stack up on the field against the likes of Wisky, Sparty, and Nutty (what the hell do we call them Buckeyes, anyway?).
I am cautiously optimistic. For years we were thinking that not getting the 4 and 5 star players was what was holding Nebraska back. I always figured that to elevate your ranking as a team, the coaches were going to have to figure out how to coach up the talent we did get.
I also always thought that our last staff wasn't necessarily so good at coaching-em-up. Not enough experience to know how to do that in my opinion. So, inexperience shouldn't be an issue any more and let's hope we can move up from struggling to beat unranked Gophers and Hawkeyes, to struggling to beat Top 10 teams.
That'll sure feel more like Husker Football to me.