GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nick Savage has made quite an impact in his first two seasons as Florida's Director of Strength and Conditioning. It was evident last season and it still is this spring, most notably with early enrollee and offensive lineman, Ethan White.

White was a three-star recruit out of Clearwater that showed solid promise. The only issue was that White entered at 6-foot-5 and 392 pounds according to UF.

“Obviously he was heavy when he got here,” Savage said. “Our biggest thing is that he continues to drop at an appropriate rate, which is safe for him."

White started to work with Savage and train to drop the weight.

“So we do work and he’s got extra protocols that we follow and things like that but the biggest thing’s nutrition and putting the time and effort to see the weight continue to come off.”

In two months, Savage says White has lost 35-37 pounds since his arrival and looks like a completely different player. His dedication and work ethic would have helped turn him into a better athlete and player, but the strength program Savage built was key to the quick transformation.

"Once again, it's solidifying our foundation that coach preaches about all the time,” Savage said.“The program identity...Everything these kids hear everyday, instead of teaching them from Day 1, we're able to hit the ground running. Put the pedal all the way down. Our success is going to be driven faster now because of them knowing what's expected."

After losing four starters from 2018, Dan Mullen will need as much quality depth as possible along his line and White’s weight loss will only help in that department.

“He's worked hard at it,” Mullen said. “We've got some young O-lineman but there's a lot of opportunity with guys leaving early and a transfer and some injuries at that position, a lot of opportunities for young guys.There's a lot of opportunities on the O-line, somebody's gotta climb them so for those young guys it's a great opportunity."

White still has more weight to lose, but he is off to a great start in turning himself into the college lineman he wants to be.

“We recruited him, knew a lot about him so for a while but you know that happens with kids. Very, very rarely are high school kids coming in 100% ready to go, especially on the line,” Mullen said.

“Some guys are gaining weight, some guys are losing weight, some guys are getting stronger, more flexible. There's a lot of development at that position.”