OSU Winter Conditioning
NotesBy Brandon Castel
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The sun had yet to rise and most of Columbus was still tucked safely in bed, but the football Buckeyes were already in full workout mode. That’s because Monday marked the first day of 6 a.m. winter workouts at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and Eric Lichter was going to make sure his guys got in a good sweat.
“We’re looking for toughness, we’re looking for finishing. It’s tough, you’re going through physical exertion beyond what’s normal,” said Lichter, Ohio State’s director of football performance. “We just want to see guys compete in every single drill and not quit and give their best effort and really challenge the hour.” It challenged some guys to the point of puking, but that’s the cost of being Big Ten champions year after year.
Here is an inside look at Ohio State’s first 6 a.m. workout.
When it comes to the look test, no one on the entire roster was more impressive than running back Rod Smith. At first glance, the guy looked like a super hero in his workout shirt. Think of Superman, and that was Rod Smith, a redshirt freshman out of Fort Wayne, Ind. He is ripped, but not bulky. He looks to be in incredible shape and moved extremely well.
Joel Hale-Man of the Hour
Smith might have looked the most impressive, but the best performance of the day belonged to true freshman Joel Hale. The kid should be a senior in high school right now and absolutely dominated both John Simon and Nate Williams in the "band war" drill, which Lichter called his favorite drill. For those not familiar with the drill, two guys enter a circle and they are banded together with a teather. One guy has to drag the other guy out of the circle using brute strength. Hale worked Simon twice, went and puked in the trash can then rallied to beat Nate Williams. It was impressive.
Hale talked about possibly staying at defensive end, but there is no way he isn't going to be a tackle. He looks like a tackle right now and hasn't been in OSU's strength program for more than a couple months. It doesn’t matter all that much in Ohio State’s ever-evolving defense, but that’s what it will look like on paper.
I must admit, I was surprised with how good of shape the new freshmen are in already. It’s amazing how advanced some of these high school programs must be Lichter said.
