Summer Work Critical for Improvement | Ohio State Football
It is sometimes forgotten that unlike most college students, the summer is not a time off for college football players. Even while still taking classes, the summer is one of the most important times for football players to develop and prepare for their upcoming season.
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Sophomore safety Isaiah Pryor, who was in a position battle in the spring and will be again in the fall, knew early on that summer work is a very critical part of the process in continuing his development. He also experienced it as a true freshman in 2017, and used it to help move his way into the two-deep as a rookie.
“[The summer] is pretty important because you don’t want to lose any edge that you have,” Pryor said.
The summer season is the time that will set players apart, having the opportunity to develop from spring workouts until fall camp begins in August. Players will come into fall camp ahead of the game if they continue working in the summer.
But if the players are not working as hard as they should over the summer, the coaches will notice.
“In almost all cases, the guys who have the most successful falls, typically you can circle back and say the leap they made from spring football to fall camp often times is a phenomenal predictor for the success of the football team and them as individuals,” Grinch said. “If the same guy in practice 15 is the same guy practice 1 of fall camp, then you got issues.”
But Grinch is confident that at a place like Ohio State, the player development program is too well run and they spend too much time over the summer making sure that that does not happen.
Part of what the Buckeyes are doing in the summer include team runs and workouts, but a lot of the work being done is mental. Players actually have time during the offseason to study their positions and every intricacy that it involves.
“In the spring it’s more of working out, getting stronger,” Pryor said. “But when we transition more towards the season, you need to make sure you know exactly the coverages, formations, stuff like that. More of the knowledge of the game.”
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Entire article:
https://theozone.net/2018/06/summer-work-isaiah-pryor-ohio-state-football/