Kent writes about O-Line

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That's a solid article from Youngblood. Nice to see Gopher football on the front page of the Trib.

However, this sentence worries me a bit.

'Wills, who played last season at or above 370 pounds, is down to 358 and moving better.'

Now, it's good to hear Wills is moving better. But 358 is still way too high of a weight for him if he really wants to be a successful OT in the Big Ten. I thought Wills looked better as the year went on last year, and I still have high hopes for him this year. But if he can't get down around 335 I'm worried about his ability to be consistently effective (as well as his long term personal health). There's a long time till Fall camp, and if Wills and the conditioning staff are on the same page there's plenty of time for him to get into solid game shape.
 

AhliBobwa said:
That's a solid article from Youngblood. Nice to see Gopher football on the front page of the Trib.

However, this sentence worries me a bit.

'Wills, who played last season at or above 370 pounds, is down to 358 and moving better.'

Now, it's good to hear Wills is moving better. But 358 is still way too high of a weight for him if he really wants to be a successful OT in the Big Ten. I thought Wills looked better as the year went on last year, and I still have high hopes for him this year. But if he can't get down around 335 I'm worried about his ability to be consistently effective (as well as his long term personal health). There's a long time till Fall camp, and if Wills and the conditioning staff are on the same page there's plenty of time for him to get into solid game shape.
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Muscle weighs more than fat!
 

I agree Ahli, but I do think it is important to note that 370 was probably being pretty generous with Mr. Wills last year. If I had to guess, I would imagine that Wills weighed 385 last season, so that means he has lost about 30 lbs in 4 months. That is still a decent amount of weight for a kid who is losing weight (and power lifting) at the same time. I do echo your sentiments about wanting him at 335 lbs, but I would imagine he will come in around 345-340 next season, and that is a significant amount of weight for a kid to lose in one season.

I don't think 345 lbs is an ideal weight for Wills, but I think he would be a heck of a big 10 lineman at that weight.
 

While his weight is interesting, more so is the shot he takes at Fisch. I for one now like Wills even more.

"Last year [Fisch] preached running the ball,'' right tackle Jeff Wills said. "But we knew, deep down, he wasn't into running the ball. I think this coach, with his history, we know he's down to run the ball. He wants a physical team."
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gophmeister said:
Muscle weighs more than fat!
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I completely agree. You guys have to understand that he has to get stronger while losing weight. He could easily be down the 330 if weight loss was his only focus. His pass rush technique was almost perfect towards the end of the season and I'm sure he's only getting better in that regard. I'd bet that his body fat percentage is waaay down and he can definitely be successful even at this weight if that's true.
 


great article, you the man kent!
 

I loved the shot acorss the bow from Wills. Definitely candid and not the company line.
 



I still think Wills is a work in progress. If he keeps working on the wt. and strength, I think he's going to be playing on Sun. in a few yrs.
 


I have no faith in any of the starters. IMO they were all awful last year. I'm excited to see what the more talented newcomers on the OL can do.
 

Plinnius said:
Why? We ran the ball 52% under Fisch. Should we have run it more?
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Naw nothing to do with that. It's an interesting quote because of how he phrases it in regards of his feelings about Fisch. It is obvious that most fans didn't like Fisch but Wills gives some insight to the players perspective about the guy.
 



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