University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Join The Fraternity
July 19, 2006 | Football
July 19, 2006
By Adam Lucas
An enormous dry-erase board dominates the wall nearest Jeff Connors's office in the Kenan Football Center weight room. About two weeks ago, everything vanished from the board except for one heading:
Fraternal Order of Mental Toughness Graduates.
Last week, names began to appear below the heading. As second session summer classes approach a conclusion, Connors's summer conditioning program has likewise headed toward the exam stage.
There's no cramming for these exams, though. Each summer, the Carolina football strength and conditioning coach devises a conditioning test he intends to serve as a "crossing over" for players from summer conditioning to training camp readiness. This year's test is a series of six 300-yard runs performed in a scaled series of times with only a 30-second rest between each repetition.
"You wake up in the morning thinking about it," says quarterback Cameron Sexton, who is trying to make sure his ankle is 100 percent for camp on August 3. "It can be tough and Coach Connors is so intense. He's done a great job getting me to where I am, but those 300s are still pretty daunting."
The summer-concluding test is even tougher than the conditioning test players will be required to do on the first day of training camp--that test involves just four repetitions of 300-yard runs broken up into 25-yard increments. Players who pass the test see their name added to the dry-erase board.
"NCAA rules say we can't award people for achievements in the summer," Connors says. "We used to hand out t-shirts but we can't do that anymore. So we want to recognize our guys who have achieved a certain level of conditioning and mental toughness. I believe the majority of the games we play this year will be close and we will have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. So if we are not successful in the fourth quarter, I never want it to be a conditioning question."
Tuesdays are induction days for the Fraternal Order of Mental Toughness, and after yesterday's testing only a handful of Tar Heels remain who haven't met the requirements. Every player has their own particular approach to the run. One of the best surprises of the summer was when Quinton Person, who has an extremely good work ethic but tends to struggle with 300s, made his times on the very first day.
And while running a combined 1,800 yards sounds physically draining, players find it more taxing in other ways.
"It's more mental than physical," Larry Edwards says. "For the first 100 yards or so, I just look down. If you look up, you start thinking about how far you have to go. Seeing how many guys have done it is a testament to everyone's physical and mental strength. Coach Connors stresses us taking it to that next level so we can tire out opponents later this year."
Edwards has been one of the players moving into a leadership role this summer. Just a couple months ago and coming off a 2005 campaign that featured Matt Baker, Tommy Richardson, Tommy Davis, and Chase Page, John Bunting was expressing some concern about the leadership of his 2006 squad. He knew his sixth Tar Heel team included some players with leadership potential--Jesse Holley, Kareen Taylor, Brian Chacos, and Ronnie McGill among them--but none who had ever truly had to carry a team.
In the summer, it's Connors who spends the most time around the players. And although he too might have had a little skepticism at the beginning of conditioning, he's developed a healthy respect for a core group that has emerged.
"Guys have really stepped up," he says. "I call them the Dark Horses because nobody expected them to step up and lead as they have been. Larry Edwards is doing a great job. Ronnie McGill is doing a great job. Jesse Holley, Melik Brown, Shelton Bynum, Brian Chacos, and Jon Hamlett have done great jobs.
"Overall, the senior class has really shown some promise. There are some specific people who have been very verbal, and the guy who has been more verbal and more demanding of players both in his position group and the defense overall is Larry Edwards."
"I feel like this offseason I've developed way beyond my years," the senior linebacker says. "I've put so much more time and effort into this team than I ever have before. I'm my own biggest critic, and I want to hold everyone to those same standards that I set for myself."
Strength and Conditioning Notes: The testing process will conclude next week. It won't be a full battery of tests, as the squad will not run 40-yard dashes in an effort to limit hamstring injuries...The top bench press so far belongs to Kenny Price (505 pounds). Eleven Tar Heels have benched 405 pounds or more...Cam Thomas and Kentwan Balmer both turned in team-high 364-pound power cleans. Nineteen players have power cleaned 331 pounds or more...Cooter Arnold's 400-pound bench press is an all-time Carolina defensive backs record...Brooks Foster set a pair of all-time wide receiver team records with his 375-pound bench press and 331-pound power clean...Jesse Holley's 565-pound squat now tops the all-time Tar Heel receiver list...Melik Brown's 655-pound back squat is an all-time Carolina defensive lineman record...
Hilee Taylor is up to 250 pounds and turned in a 4.6-flat 40 this winter (the last time the Tar Heels tested in that event). "He's amazingly explosive," Connors says...Another player drawing praise from Connors is quarterback-turned-fullback Joey Bozich. "He's up over 250 pounds and he's carrying his weight well," Connors says. "He was very physical during the spring and he's already passed the conditioning test."...
Check back next week for another strength and conditioning update, including information on the freshman class that has been working out in Chapel Hill during the second session of summer school.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
