RamWire: CSU football sees gains from spring plan

The plan held merits, and the advanced scouting was all sound.

After coaching changes delayed the implementation for a season, Colorado State football coach Mike Bobo was excited for the quick turnaround, first into a burst of offseason conditioning straight into spring camp. The target was at the backend, an extended run of lifting to correct what he felt was a flaw in the overall development of his team.

By fitting in the 15 spring practices before spring break, the Rams were left with essentially a six-week, undeterred stretch leading to finals, giving the players time to build up without having to take a break.

What ended up getting broken was records.

"I look at how many personal records have been set in our testing numbers. It's over 400 personal records in all of our testing numbers with all these guys," strength and conditioning coach Joey Guarascio said. "Their body compositions are coming back. I'm extremely encouraged by Damion Dickens. He lost 11 percent body fat from January until now."

The defensive lineman isn't the only player he highlighted. The target areas were the offensive and defensive lines and some of the skill positions. Center Scott Brooks gained an inch in his neck and two in his arms, all without altering his body weight. He added three inches to his vertical and broad jumps and 20 pounds to his max clean, squat and bench press.

The numbers make Guarascio smile, because he knows the overall gain is being able to translate them into power for the player on the field.
Jamori Fox boosted his total lift numbers in the squat, clean and bench by 215 pounds.

Another for Guarascio was Rashad Ajayi. As a true freshman, he started all 12 games at corner, but he was undersized at 170 pounds. Now, the Mountain West will see a vastly different player in 2019. He's added 12 pounds to his frame, added 50 pounds to his clean, 40 to his squat and 60 to his bench. All totaled, Guarascio said Ajayi is now, pound for pound, the fifth-strongest Ram.

"It's not only seeing guys get bigger, but also get faster and more powerful," Guarascio said. "That's what's going to transfer the most. I want a guy to be able to bench a lot, but I want a guy like Rashad to break on a ball, pick it off and take it to the house. That's the ability we're trying to drive. You're going to do that if you're more powerful, and being 182, we call that body armor. He's got more body armor."

Real non inflated numbers #edge #theywentbig pic.twitter.com/oHp2XJaH7S
— Joseph Guarascio (@CoachJoeyG) April 30, 2019

Bobo gave Guarascio the freedom to develop a plan in his first year on the post, knowing he had seen firsthand what the team lacked when he was an assistant under Ryan Davis. Included in the plan was speed work, which the Rams hit two early, 12 in total, and that training showed gains.
Bobo's expectations were met, and not just in a physical sense.

While sitting in his office, defensive lineman Ellison Hubbard popped in to say hello, and Bobo immediately raved about the way the junior looked. Hubbard was pretty darn happy too, admitting he felt better about his body and what its potential holds.

"You see their bodies have been changing, and they feel good about how they feel, how they look. There's evidence right there, a kid coming in and he feels like he's gotten stronger," Bobo said. "Half the battle is really the mental and the belief when you walk in that weight room. I think the way we structured it and the way we said this is going to help us get stronger, the kids have bought in, and that's half the battle. They've bought in and they're working their tails off."

The process started with quick conditioning work to set the Rams up for spring practice (which technically finished before the actual season began). Guarascio felt the team attacked those workouts, which provided a foundation for what he felt was a competitive camp. The carryover came in what he not only witnessed in the weight room, but also how they approached the process.

Step by step, he said the Rams were ready to work, part of which included the addition of Green Forge, special sessions during the week where the Rams were challenged while fatigued. The idea was to make them mentally tougher with the ability to focus when tired, mimicking the effort needed at the end of a 12-play drive and especially in the fourth quarter.

"I feel that it was what was best for our team to start what needed to be done," offensive lineman Keith Williams said. "I feel like we got tougher physically and mentally.

"During the spring we saw the difference in what we looked like before and after. Everyone is progressing in strength, speed and how we look overall. I definitely can feel a confidence boost with the team."

After passing the tests constructed by Guarascio in the weight room, the Rams have four weeks before the next phase begins. They have finals in the classroom, then a bit of a break. Guarascio wants them to use it well – to rest up and recover – but to get in four lifting sessions of their own so as not to lose ground. None of it is mandatory, but Guarascio knows it will reveal the true character and commitment of the players.

As impressed as both he and Bobo were, they know the real goals they're seeking have not completely been met.

"Now we have to take it from here to the summer, because we still have to get stronger as a football team," Bobo said. "We're not as strong as we need to be in some areas."

One still being the offensive line. Yes, Brooks, Williams and Barry Wesley made major gains, but the group in particular is not as strong as Bobo said they need to be to become a dominant front. They can still be a good unit, but the eight weeks of working in the summer will be crucial.

Two words: Max. Day.#EDGE | #CSURams pic.twitter.com/8C8eO6yOfz
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) May 1, 2019

Bobo said the administration has aided the cause, allowing players to come in June 3 and give them nearly seven weeks of training before camp starts, a length of time the Rams have not had in recent seasons.

"Before spring ball my emphasis was conditioning and maximal strength; after spring ball we transitioned into maximal strength and power," Guarascio said. "Now we're going to transition into speed, power and agility and specific football movements. It basically goes from very general to specific in that continuum. It doesn't mean we're not going to squat heavy and push these numbers, it's just the emphasis is going to shift to things that are directly transferable to increasing play. We all know the fastest, most powerful team wins. The team that's in the best shape wins. The team that's toughest wins. There's still going to be aspects in it."

With the results in, Bobo said he will continue forward with the same plan in following years, with spring ball starting early enough so it can finish before spring break. Guarascio is completely on board.

Goals were met, Guarascio said, in large part to the new leadership structure of the team. It led to better accountability and dependability, noting not a single player was late or even missed a workout the final three weeks. In his eyes, they were all there for each other, a component which wasn't in evidence a season ago.

"When we maxed out, the weight room as packed," Williams said. "Everyone had energy and encouraged each other, even if they were still lifting. The energy was crazy, and when somebody PR'd, everyone got hyped and was real. There was no fake energy."

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