Ivey sees more change in three months with Savage than previous three years
ATLANTA - Who could forget Taven Bryan's words and criticism after Florida's Pro Day this spring.
"We looked like the Pillsbury dough boys," said the former Gator defensive lineman about the team's conditioning last season.
It's been an ongoing storyline since Jim McElwain's departure, Florida's strength and conditioning program is inadequate and needed an overhaul.
Enter Nick Savage.
"I see more change in three months than I was here for three years," said Florida offensive lineman Martez Ivey said at SEC Media Days.
"The strength conditioning coach is the most important guy on your staff," said Gators head coach Dan Mullen. "You look at this time of the year, I got to spend some time with my family, so he is the head coach. He is in charge."
The team's lack of physicality and form has been blamed heavily on how the strength and conditioning program was handled in the last three years. Ivey admits that many players on Florida's teams chose to hire personal trainers away from the university in order to prepare their bodies for the seasons.
“We could tell that people were stronger than us, and I don’t want to say that it was intimidating, but it just made me ask why," said Ivey. "I have a feeling that we will be more physical up front, and we will be able to take control of the game more and have more strength more speed and more power.”
One of Mullen's first moves as head coach was to bring Savage to Gainesville. According to several players, the Director of Football Strength and Conditioning has changed the culture around the weight room.
"Coach Savage has been the biggest difference since Day one," said linebacker David Reese. "He has been doing a great job of keeping the energy for our program and making sure we work as hard as we can, day in and day out...Him and his accountability for our unit has been the biggest difference.”
"With the new staff, we do it more as a unit. We run harder, it’s different. There’s no walking in and walking right out," said Ivey. "They recognize people doing well in the weight room," said Ivey. "It’s competition and everyone wants to win. I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want to win."
"I could give you a great example. This morning we knew we were going to SEC Media Days. We made it a priority to work out at 6:30this morning and work out with our team and give a great lift, a great run and then come back with momentum during the day," added Reese. "Most people probably here didn’t work out today and have that competitive edge, but we got that and made sure we ran through the line on every sprint."
Thats the competitive edge Mullen and company want and need if they want to turn things around at the Swamp.
"He's [Savage] the voice they are hearing," said Mullen. "Don't do things that are going to set you back. Don't make a decision or put yourself in a position or hurt this team that would set us back from all of the work and the progress that we've made.
"He's critical in making sure that that message gets across to the team every day, whether it's me, whether it's him, whether -- really, everybody within the program. Wherever you turn, you're hearing that message."
Dominated in the trenches in several games, but this year Reese says history will not repeat itself.
"I feel like we’re going to be physically dominant on defense [because of these changes]," said Reese.