University of North Carolina Athletics
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: Freshmen Shape Up for First Day
August 6, 2003 | Football
Aug. 6, 2003
By Adam Lucas
For most of Carolina's football players, the phrase "put on weight" meant the summer quest to add more muscle before the 2003 season.
For freshman Isaiah Thomas in late July, however, it meant the Jeff Connors-assigned task of putting on a 40-pound vest and sprinting up the Kenan Stadium steps. Thomas, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman from Winston Salem, completed the task in eight seconds, impressing Carolina's strength and conditioning coach and making him one of the standouts among the true freshmen who reported for the second session of summer school and began their first training camp today.
"Isaiah Thomas has surprised me with the way he handles his body weight," Connors says. "Right now he's weighing around 320, and the way he did that sprint repetitively was impressive. I like his attitude."
Due to NCAA rules, the rookies couldn't work out with the Tar Heel position coaches and head coach John Bunting until Wednesday, when Carolina went through their first 2003 session at Navy Field. But the freshmen who attended summer school were able to participate in Carolina's offseason conditioning program.
Connors is quick to note that based on an ACC-level standard, none of the freshmen were particularly impressive with their strength and conditioning. All are coming from the much less intense environment of high school football, where conditioning is rarely an every day ritual. Of the players who attended summer school, Connors singled out offensive lineman Scott Lenahan (who has already bench pressed 420 pounds and back squatted 560) and linebacker Joe Kedra (who is already up to 245 pounds) as having experienced the most advanced high school conditioning programs and therefore being the most college-ready.
During the time Connors has worked with the group, however, the progress of two individuals has been exceptional.
"The two guys who stand out are Thomas and [6-foot-5 defensive lineman] Shelton Bynum," he says. "Those two guys have really made some excellent progress with regard to their conditioning and commitment and desire to play. Having them come in early has helped them get some insight as to where they need to be and has helped them make the progress they needed to make in order to be in a position to help us."
Bynum, who rarely lifted weights in high school, currently weighs in at 320 pounds.
Thomas, Bynum, Lenahan, and Kedra all play positions where the Tar Heels could use immediate help. Kedra is part of a heralded linebacker class that includes Kory Gedin, Fred Sparkman, and Larry Edwards, plus spring enrollee Melik Brown.
"I've been impressed with our linebackers," Connors says. "Larry Edwards, in particular, runs well. The linebackers physically look the part. They have good base strength, even though they have a ways to go.
Another area of immediate need is wide receiver, where the graduation of Sam Aiken and Chesley Borders leaves offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill expecting to have at least two true freshmen see the field this year.
Of that group, Connors singled out Mike Mason's 35-inch vertical jump as impressive, and also mentioned Adarius Bowman's solid performance in the pass-skeleton drills organized by Darian Durant.
Although a handful of players have performed the various strength and conditioning tests usually conducted by the coaching staff, no formal testing was done in the summer.
"We've been very careful to try and keep them healthy so that we don't have any injuries in testing," Connors says. "We haven't done any speed testing because I want to make sure everyone is healthy from a hamstring standpoint coming into the season. Because we're really looking at some of these guys helping us this season, I want to make sure they are prepared and they are healthy. I can tell a lot about someone during training without having to do formal testing."
The training officially ended today with the first practice session of the fall. In the past, freshmen reported three days earlier than upperclassmen for a short orientation period, but this year the NCAA ruled that the entire squad should report together. Carolina's first workout in full pads will be Sunday.
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.
