University of North Carolina Athletics
17 Tar Heels Earn Super Ram Status
March 16, 2003 | Football
March 16, 2003
Top 10 Vertical Jumps | Top 10 Bench Press | Top 10 Power Clean | Top 10 40-Yard Dash | Top 10 Squat
By Adam Lucas
Tar Heel Monthly
When Chase Page returns from spring break, he's going to find a surprise at the top of the Tar Heel football offseason strength and conditioning results.
The rising junior defensive lineman thought he had offseason MVP honors wrapped up when he accumulated 103 points (out of a possible 110) in Carolina's strength and conditioning testing. The Heels do 11 tests, and players can earn up to 10 points on each test based on a system that is scaled for each position group.
With just one day left in testing, Page's 103 looked like a winner, prompting some good-natured weight room boasting.
"I think Chase might have talked a little trash," strength coach Jeff Connors says. "He didn't think anyone was going to beat his score. We really like that, because it's competitive and that's what it is designed to be."
But one week ago, on the last day of testing, senior linebacker Clay Roberson returned to the weight room to try and better some of his efforts on certain tests. The strategy worked, as Roberson piled up 104 points, earning him MVP honors and for the second straight season-Malcolm Stewart won it last offseason-giving the title to a linebacker.
"The best linebackers usually have a combination of the best attributes," Connors said. "The best linebackers are the best athletes you have on the platforms we have with regard to the Olympic movements that we utilize. To be a great linebacker you also have to have explosive hip rotary power, and that is expressed in the vertical jump and the broad jump, two of the tests we use."
Roberson heads a list of 17 Tar Heels who earned Super Ram status, the highest offseason award for strength and conditioning. Super Rams average at least eight points in all 11 tests.
"It's a serious thing," senior defensive linemen Donti Coats said. "You're dealing with competitive guys, and everybody wants to be at the top."
That can be an especially frustrating situation for players who aren't seeing measurable increases. Not every Super Ram necessarily saw monumental jumps in their testing results over the winter.
Senior offensive lineman Jeb Terry is one of the Heels who is currently "maxed out." While he still has room to improve his flexibility and foot quickness, traits that will help his effectiveness on the o-line, his power numbers stayed fairly steady.
"It's been really frustrating for me," Terry said. "I'm one of the strongest guys, but I haven't had the increases that I wanted. You just have to keep working, because you don't want to fade out. I've also tried to get more involved each year as far as leadership, especially with the OL. I know the coaches are looking at me for leadership."
Two of Terry's o-line teammates, Skip Seagraves and Willie McNeill, joined him in the Super Ram category. Coats is joined on the list by four other defensive linemen, including redshirt freshman Xavier Rainey, who has made significant progress since his arrival in Chapel Hill.
"Xavier Rainey did a great job," Connors says. "It really illustrates how hard he has worked over the past year. When he came in he was benching 185, and he's put 100 pounds on his bench press and at least 100 pounds on each of his lifts. He's increased his vertical jump as well. The thing about him is that he has good speed and good natural power, and those are the types of athletes you want to recruit."
No matter what their position, earning Super Ram status could be a sign of things to come in 2003 for the players who earned that distinction. It's no guarantee of great results, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
"The Super Ram category is something I've seen as being credible over the years to predict, to a large extent, that someone can play the game of football," Connors says. "We see a high correlation with those individuals who achieve Super Ram status and perform better on the football field."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
