Fall Camp injuries under Chryst & Rudy

[Oscoe]

Hi Guys - Badger fan here.

Quick question: During PC's (3) years in the Iron City, does anyone recall the Panther's suffering a rash of injuries during his Fall camps ?

Just wondering, since our OL and MLB seem to be dropping like flies this week in Madtown.

Thanks.....I'll hang up and take my answer off the air.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Chryst's biggest mistake at Pitt was the hiring of his initial strength and conditioning coach. I can't remember the guy's name but he was horrible and the players did not make any strides at all between years one and two. That's a KILLER for a program whose calling card is they are going to out-tough the other team and win late. Honestly, that was a strange choice at the time and it became even more difficult to understand when it became clear how little the kids had developed from a strength and conditioning standpoint.

I actually liked our final S&C coach a lot and that's who Wisconsin has in place now.

I suspect it is just a matter of Chryst trying to re-instill a sense of toughness in a program that has long been built on running the football and stopping the run. Bumps and bruises go along with that philosophy. Fortunately for you, that system works and soon it will be other teams' MLB who suffer bumps and bruises against Wisconsin's famous rushing attack.

 

[Oscoe]

Thanks, Doc, much appreciated.

Yeah - the guy PC hired afterward - and who we have now in Madtown - is Ross Kolodziej. He actually played at UW, so we're very familiar with him and like him a lot as well.

 

[vegasgreed]

the name you cannot remember is todd rice.

Chryst's biggest mistake at Pitt was the hiring of his initial strength and conditioning coach. I can't remember the guy's name but he was horrible and the players did not make any strides at all between years one and two. That's a KILLER for a program whose calling card is they are going to out-tough the other team and win late. Honestly, that was a strange choice at the time and it became even more difficult to understand when it became clear how little the kids had developed from a strength and conditioning standpoint.

I actually liked our final S&C coach a lot and that's who Wisconsin has in place now.

I suspect it is just a matter of Chryst trying to re-instill a sense of toughness in a program that has long been built on running the football and stopping the run. Bumps and bruises go along with that philosophy. Fortunately for you, that system works and soon it will be other teams' MLB who suffer bumps and bruises against Wisconsin's famous rushing attack.

 

[TFloss]

Paul Chryst probably had no idea that the MLB's are getting hurt b/c he doesn't care about that side of the ball.

I'm sure he's got plenty of OL ready b/c he's good at that.

The first strength coach was named Todd Rice I believe. He was at BC and NC State. I don't remember anyone saying nice things about him. He was basically removed of duties before his first year was up if I remember correctly. It just became Ross K's thing. I agree that Ross K seemed like a really good hire. He did some good stuff with Conner, and a lot of the OL.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

the name you cannot remember is todd rice.

Ah, yes. Todd Rice. Horrible hire and a major blemish on Chryst's record. To his credit, Chryst did finally recognize his mistake and he corrected it. However, we lost a year or two along the way and that still stings.

 

[vegasgreed]

yep, horrible hire. just like pulling robinson out of working at a homeless shelter to coach rb's.

shame on nordy and company for giving pc no money for assistants. shame on pc for not standing up and asking for a bigger budget.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Agreed, and I will take it one step further.

Shame on Pederson and Nordenberg for firing Dave Wannstedt for winning a lot of games but not quite enough of the big games and then not having a feasible succession plan in place. That was what made that whole deal so bizarre to me.

Once they declared that second place conference finishes were not enough, that's cool. I'm okay with that provided it is accompanied by an announcement or demonstration that the university was also prepared to step up financially to help Pitt clear that last hurdle.

It made no sense whatsoever to tear the whole thing to the ground and not give the program anywhere near the resources it needed to build it back up to our aspirational levels.

I'm sorry but that was dumb on every level and it amazes me that many people still can't/won't recognize the idiocy of that move.

Pitt's mediocrity over the past five years can be traced directly back to that boneheaded decision.

 

[thebadby2]

Chryst's biggest mistake at Pitt was the hiring of his initial strength and conditioning coach. I can't remember the guy's name but he was horrible and the players did not make any strides at all between years one and two. That's a KILLER for a program whose calling card is they are going to out-tough the other team and win late. Honestly, that was a strange choice at the time and it became even more difficult to understand when it became clear how little the kids had developed from a strength and conditioning standpoint.

I actually liked our final S&C coach a lot and that's who Wisconsin has in place now.

I suspect it is just a matter of Chryst trying to re-instill a sense of toughness in a program that has long been built on running the football and stopping the run. Bumps and bruises go along with that philosophy. Fortunately for you, that system works and soon it will be other teams' MLB who suffer bumps and bruises against Wisconsin's famous rushing attack.

Before we start giving Ross K too much credit, let's remember that Lafayette Pitts and James Conner each played about 10-15 pounds overweight last season by their own admissions. They both lost that weight since the Duzzi regime came to town. Inexcusable for skill players to be playing overweight. That alone speaks to some deficiencies in PC's S&C department. If anything, an unusual number of injuries in camp is indicative of subpar conditioning and strength training. More likely still is that it doesn't mean a thing, it's just a bad year for injuries.

Also, do you really think Chryst needs to "re-instill toughness" in Wisky's running game and defense? Melvin Gordon was the nation's leading rusher last year (2nd highest rushing total in NCAA history) and won the Doak Walker; Wisky was #3 in the country in rushing offense and #4 in the country in total D. Statistically they were better in those two areas in the two years under Gary Anderson than they ever have been. Not to mention, our D was far from "tough" under PC. In fact, Narduzzi has been outspoken about getting them to be tougher, play with more attitude, to hit harder, to let other teams know it's going to be a bare knuckle brawl when they play Pitt. What Duzzi's saying is, the D he inherited lacked toughness and attitude.

I'd say there's not a lot of re-instilling to do in Madison. Alvarez handed the keys to the Lamborghini to PC. Now it's up to him to not drive it off the cliff. I believe he'll be OK for a couple of years, but that program will lose ground over the long run with PC at the helm.

 

[ratking17]

Pulling robinson from a homeless shelter might be one of the lair ' s best lines ever

 

[The Loaded Italian]

I think ... or I remember having quite a lot of injuries actually. I cant remember them all, but there were some big hits for sure.

That being said, dr you nailed each response. Wannstedt not only was making us respectable and consistent winners, but we were killin it in recruiting compared to where we were, and we didnt have to worry about DW leaving for greener pastures. I wont ever understand that move, and I admit, I didnt love his play calling, but he was a Bowden/Paterno type leader coach.

Anyways, water under the bridge, and I think Narduzzi has even more tools in his arsenal to work with. Would love to lock him up with a big contract if his wins/losses seem to match his personality.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Before we start giving Ross K too much credit, let's remember that Lafayette Pitts and James Conner each played about 10-15 pounds overweight last season by their own admissions. They both lost that weight since the Duzzi regime came to town. Inexcusable for skill players to be playing overweight. That alone speaks to some deficiencies in PC's S&C department. If anything, an unusual number of injuries in camp is indicative of subpar conditioning and strength training. More likely still is that it doesn't mean a thing, it's just a bad year for injuries.

Also, do you really think Chryst needs to "re-instill toughness" in Wisky's running game and defense? Melvin Gordon was the nation's leading rusher last year (2nd highest rushing total in NCAA history) and won the Doak Walker; Wisky was #3 in the country in rushing offense and #4 in the country in total D. Statistically they were better in those two areas in the two years under Gary Anderson than they ever have been. Not to mention, our D was far from "tough" under PC. In fact, Narduzzi has been outspoken about getting them to be tougher, play with more attitude, to hit harder, to let other teams know it's going to be a bare knuckle brawl when they play Pitt. What Duzzi's saying is, the D he inherited lacked toughness and attitude.

I'd say there's not a lot of re-instilling to do in Madison. Alvarez handed the keys to the Lamborghini to PC. Now it's up to him to not drive it off the cliff. I believe he'll be OK for a couple of years, but that program will lose ground over the long run with PC at the helm.

No, I don't think they need to re-instill toughness for all the reasons you mentioned. Wisconsin has built itself into one hell of a program and they need not doff their cap to anyone. Over the past 25-30 years, the Badgers have proven themselves to be among the very best college football programs in America.

However, I am sure Chryst's boss feels differently - especially in light of their 59-0 shellacking at the hands of Ohio State in the B1G Championship Game. I did not see that game so perhaps this isn't fair. However, I'm sure the perception in Madison is that the team quit that night in Indianapolis and that is an unforgivable sin. As such, I would guess that toughness is a major theme of their preseason preparations.

Also, under Anderson they ran fewer powers and more zone blocking types of things. Melvin Gordon is an extremely talented runner who thrived in that system but he was a different type of runner than what they have typically had in Madison. He is a speed guy all the way. Gordon is nothing close to a power runner in the James Conner mold. Chryst is a true power running disciple - very much from the Barry Alvarez school. That is a different animal and it comes at a physical cost.

Again though, I don't really care about Chryst or Wannstedt except in the context of their time at Pitt. I liked both of those guys and have nothing against them whatsoever. I would just prefer to focus on Pitt, not its many ex-coaches.

As for Pitts and Conner playing overweight, I think they are different cases. Conner's size was probably by design, seeing as he was the lead back in a power offense. Pitts on the other hand, I have no idea what to make of his collegiate career to date as his journey has been a very strange one. Frankly, to this point in his career, Pitts has been something of a disappointment. He has started too many games to be considered a bust, per se. However, aside from his freshman season, I can't really point to too many games during his career where I could honestly say he played well for us. He has mostly been mediocre as a Panther. Hopefully, this aggressive new quarters scheme will fit him better than House's more passive Cover Two scheme did. I think it will but time will tell. Pitts has a LOT to prove, IMHO.

I will say this much: I like players to be lighter and quicker versus bigger and heavier. I don't want to see Conner dip down to 210-215 but 225-230 seems about right to me. That should make him a half step quicker to the hole.

The guy who I thought was WAAAAY too heavy last year was Jaymar Parrish. I'm sorry but a 270 pound fullback is no longer a fullback but rather a pulling guard. I would have liked him a LOT more in the 250-255 range. Holtz also looked a bit too bulky to me last year. He is a good athlete, we just have to turn him loose.