NEW STRENGTH PROGRAM TOUGHENS NOTRE DAME
SOUTH BEND, IND. Nyles Morgan had never seen guys vomit more than twice during a workout.
That was before Matt Balis arrived on campus.
Balis was hired in mid- January as Notre Dame’s director of football performance ( also known as the strength and conditioning coach), and players immediately experienced an increase in intensity during offseason workouts. It has only gotten worse — or better, depending whom you ask — from there.
“Balis’ regimen is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Morgan, a senior captain linebacker. “I’m pretty sure a lot of guys feel the same way. Every day you anticipate somebody puking. It’s good but it’s bad, but it’s overall good.”
When Brian Kelly introduced his seven new staff members in January, he placed special emphasis on Balis. Hiring him was equally crucial to new offensive coordinator Chip Long and defensive coordinator Mike Elko, Kelly said.
“The mental toughness, the finish, things that obviously at times in the fourth quarter, didn’t show itself,” Kelly said at the time as a reason for change in that role.
After seven spring practices, Kelly can see his players benefiting from Balis’ pro- gram. He noted players are feeling better about their bodies, conditioning levels are up, they’re running the ball more effectively and there’s overall better physicality deeper into practice.
“Those are all contributed to having the kind of strength and conditioning that you want from your football team,” Kelly said after the fourth practice. “Certainly that showed itself today. It was a long practice. And then the way we finished practice with some scripted reps and then the scrimmage. That’s where you see maybe if you’re lagging a little bit you get sloppy, guys get tired, people are on the ground. Didn’t see much of that.”
Balis’ previous stops were at Connecticut, where he worked under former Irish
defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and under Dan Mullen at Mississippi State and Urban Meyer at both Florida and Utah.
The Notre Dame football Instagram account recently posted a photo of Morgan during an offseason workout. His head is tilted back and he’s screaming as he works his upper body. Morgan is looking and feeling slimmer than he was last season and said he has lost about 10 pounds, checking in at about 240. Last year, he played closer to 250. “That was cool and all,” he said, but he thinks he can be more effective and explosive at a lighter weight.
Morgan vividly remembers his first day working out with Balis. “It was a Tuesday,” he said. “We just lifted, and guys are puking during the lift. And I’m like, no one ran. It’s like, oh, my God.
“Now, guys are starting to adapt and get better and grow and really build that great mentality that we need.”
Morgan explained what, exactly, is so difficult and different about these workouts compared to what the team was used to under former strength coach Paul Longo, who took a leave of absence.
“Reps, weight, no breaks, no water,” he said. “( Balis) is just like utilizing the entire weight room. I remember the first time going through warm- ups, and guys are like dying. I’m just like, ‘ Did we start yet?’ And he’s like, ‘ No. We didn’t start.’ ”
Morgan said besides exercises they know, such as squats and the bench press, Balis focuses on different muscles and body parts than they’re used to, such as the neck, which they work every day. Balis has neck exercises for his players to strengthen those muscles.
Balis’ program has received positive feedback from players. But is there a fine line when players say there aren’t any breaks and describe the workouts as the hardest they’ve ever done?
Kelly explains why there isn’t. “I think that’s a real easy line to define when you can adapt to what the level of conditioning is to each player,” he said. “I can tell you that we went out in the first week when we had our accountability runs and it was pretty clear that not everybody was on the same level. We had 15 drills we had to cut down to seven.
“So I think it’s a fine line if you don’t want to see it, but it’s pretty clear that you want to build everybody’s competency, and by building their competency at some level, you’re going to get something back on the other end.”
It’s not just Balis in the weight room. There’s a full staff of trainers, including Dave Ballou, Jake Flint and David Grimes, who’ve overhauled the program.
“Each one of them have a role, and I think collaboratively they’ve really done what I’ve asked them to do,” Kelly said. “And that is to build this football team from a mental and physical standpoint. Both were crucial.
“As we know, last year seven of our eight games came down to the fourth quarter, and we lacked some of those components. I think we’ve done a great job together of building that.”