There’s no escaping Herbert’s grasp
FAYETTEVILLE — One mandatory stop for any Arkansas Razorbacks football prospect is a meeting with strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert.
The meeting normally takes place in Herbert’s office, which overlooks the indoor football practice field, and typically lasts for about 45 or 50 minutes, depending on how many questions the recruit and his parents or guardians have.
“I’ve gone 90 minutes and we’ve had to do them in 20 minutes, but I like a 45- to 60-minute window,” Herbert said.
Herbert was named Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association in 2015. It his profession’s highest honor, and Herbert, 35 at the time, became the youngest recipient.
He encourages questions from prospects and family members.
“There’s nothing better than questions,” Herbert said. “That’s what the meeting is all about. You have questions, I have answers. I want to give them a clear and concise answer so there’s no doubt about what we do and more importantly why we do it and how it’s going to help their son to become the best player he can be.”
Because of NCAA rules and restrictions limiting the amount of time athletes can spend with their position coaches, athletes end up spending more time with the strength and conditioning coach and his staff than anyone else during their college career.
“We play a significant role in where they are, where they finish physically and mentally,” Herbert said. “Our goal is to tap into their potential. Some guys have done virtually nothing from a training standpoint and then there’s guys that come from extensive high school backgrounds, but our job is to tap into what their genetic potential is. Everyone is different.”
Herbert will ask what appears to be some seemingly simple questions.
“‘Do you want to be the best you can be?’ ” Herbert said. “A hundred percent of the time guys say yes to these. ‘Do you want to earn a degree? Do you want to be a starter? Do you want to play in the NFL?’ ”
Being 100 percent committed each and every day while training under Herbert and his staff is a must.
“The reason the first one is so crucial is because there’s going to be days where they say ‘yes, we aspire, we have ambition. We want to be all these things.’ Then all of sudden they get into the environment and it’s not easy. It’s demanding.”
“What they tend to lose sight of is, things [that are] demanding have value. You’re preparing yourself for what is to come. All of sudden a guy comes in and shows us what his potential is and then he shows us a day where he’s uninterested. He’s not feeling it for whatever reason. He wants to go through the motions. We don’t let that happen.”
When a player doesn’t respond well to being pushed, Herbert will remind him of how he responded to the questions.
“They get flared up, or whatever it may be at times, and I just remind them this is what you told us and it’s our job to hold you to that standard,” Herbert said.
Perhaps one of the more powerful moments during the presentation is when Herbert shows a prospect the before and after body pictures of some current and former Razorbacks.
“When you look at guys over time, it’s a powerful tool to see how they developed,” Herbert said. “We talk about body composition and nutrition and how it all plays a role.”
One illustration shows a former Razorback who added 43 pounds of mass to his frame. He ended up getting drafted and is on an NFL roster. The weight is added in two main areas.
“It comes in at their lats and predominantly in their lower body where their largest muscle groups are,” Herbert said. “You tap into those muscles. That’s where your mass is going to come from.”
Other photos show the how players have reshaped their bodies.
“You have guys that take 30 pounds of fat mass off,” Herbert said.
One of the most striking photos is the before and after of a former Hogs lineman, who was drafted into the NFL and is still in the league.
“I took a picture of him the first day of practice and he’s like 374- 375 pounds,” Herbert said. “He couldn’t get through the warm-up and at the end of the process he’s a 315-pound guy. He took almost off 65 pounds of fat mass off his frame.”
Herbert stresses a combination of good sleep, nutrition, hydration and eating habits in order to maximize a player’s potential.
“We had a guy who swore up and down he was doing everything he could do fueling-wise and hydration-wise to increase lean mass on his frame,” Herbert said. “He’s a 170-pound guy and all of sudden it’s time to prepare for pro day and the combine and he’s 185. ‘What were you waiting for the previous two years for?’ ”
BOHANON UPDATE
Earle quarterback Gerry Bohanon announced his top six schools in no particular order on Saturday.
Bohanon, 6-4, 215 pounds, narrowed his list to Arkansas, Mississippi State, Louisville, Ole Miss, Baylor and Georgia. ESPN rates him the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback and the nation’s No. 117 overall prospect.
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com