OL Weight Loss Article

[Mjcpr]

Good article from the Tulsa World. Goes along with that pic of Duke Robinson (to be known as 'Bix Sexy' going forward ) that was floating around the other day...

Baked chicken outweighs pizza

At least it does for these four Sooners who have lost 162 pounds.

NORMAN -- Don't call them the Flab Four any more. Oklahoma football players Branndon Braxton, DeMarcus Granger, Cordero Moore and Duke Robinson all came in from high school last season significantly overweight. But when the Sooners began spring practice this week, they had dropped more than 150 pounds between them.


"When you get up in the morning, you see yourself in the mirror, you see you've really changed," said Granger. "You go home and your family, not really seeing you for a while, says, 'Oh, you lost a whole bunch of weight.' That really makes you feel good inside."


Robinson had the most to lose, and he and Granger have lost the most, 61 pounds. Robinson dropped from 390 to 329. Granger went from 352 pounds to 291 Monday. Braxton, the tallest at 6-foot-6, has shed 30 pounds, from 350 to 320. Moore went from 325 to 305.


That's 172 pounds -- roughly one kicker and half an equipment manager.
Robinson said his body fat last year was 47 percent, but now it's down to 24.5. Granger said his plummeted from 32 to 23. Braxton and Moore had similar changes.


Half the success can be attributed to strength and conditioning coach
http://adserver.tulsaworld.com/?SIT=SportsStory336x280

Jerry Schmidt and his program of exercise and proper nutrition. The other half goes to the players themselves and the dedication they've had.

"We'll go out and you see all them receivers and (defensive backs) loading their plates up with french fries or pizza," said Granger, "and you're sitting over there with a salad and a baked chicken, saying, 'Dang, that pizza sure does look good.' You just have to learn how to say no."


Said head coach Bob Stoops, "They've worked hard, coach Schmidt and his staff have worked with them in a great way, and they've committed to watching their diets and the way they're working and what they're doing. They all can run, they're quicker and their endurance is better. So it's really helped them."


It should really help the team, too. Robinson and Braxton, part-time players on the offensive line as freshmen, will probably be starters next fall.


Granger, ranked as the top high school defensive tackle in the nation, redshirted last season but could be a starter in 2006. And Moore, who also redshirted in '05, could get into the rotation on the defensive line.


Granger said that freshman season was filled with setbacks -- hitting the target weight of 320, then coming back from a weekend at home seven pounds over the limit. That meant endless hours on Schmidt's stair climber machines.


Robinson said sometimes the foursome would get a late-night craving, "but either DeMarcus or Cordero is like, 'No man, don't do it, you know we got that weigh-in tomorrow.' "


"You don't want to do that," Braxton said. "Because you know, come that Monday practice, you're going to be weighing in with Smitty, and if you don't make it, you're right back on that Stairmaster."


Not only are the players slimmer and faster, but their self-esteem has never been better. Robinson, for instance, used to finish dead last -- way back in the pack -- on every conditioning run. And it never felt good to finish last.


"Yeah, well, it don't happen like that any more," Robinson said. "I haven't come in last in a long time. That matters to me," Robinson said. "I can really feel it. . . . And the players, they keep me going. They call me Big Sexy. I like that."
That's another positive.



http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStor..._B8_Baked26337

[GDC]

You beat me to it, major. I like how AD reconfigured Williams' headgear according to the practice report.

OU Practice Report
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
3/25/2006

NEWS AND NOTES
In pads: Friday's practice was the Sooners' third of the 15 allotted drills, but the first in full pads, and the first outdoors.

"The usual first day in pads," head coach Bob Stoops said. "A little sloppy, I guess, with our snap count and all. But we've changed it up and we need to keep changing it up. So that's expected."

Snap issues: Some of the offense's inconsistencies so far can be traced to a revolving door at center. Friday, redshirt freshman Ben Barresi sat out with an undisclosed injury, and true freshman Chad Roark did most of the work with the starting unit. Sophomores Jon Cooper and J.D. Quinn, the lead candidates for the job in the fall, are both recovering from offseason surgeries.

"It gets a little foggy sometimes who 1s and 2s are," Stoops said. "Yeah, right now in the spring there's a lot of rotation going on where you get a lot of 1s and 2s together, really on both sides of the ball."

Switching sides: Freshman Brian Simmons, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound defensive tackle who redshirted last season, moved to the offensive line on Friday and was frequently used at guard. Simmons hails from North Carolina but came to OU from Hargrave Military Academy.

OU

needs offensive linemen in the worst way, and with Barresi down, the situation has become bleak. Simmons said he agreed to the move because of the success that Jammal Brown and Davin Joseph had after switching from defensive line. Brown became a first-round NFL pick, and Joseph is projected as a second-rounder next month.

"I thought (Simmons) looked awesome for one day and just, on the run, trying to teach him where to go and what to do," Stoops said. "But he looks like a natural in there. I kind of equate and evaluate it a little bit like a Davin and Jammal. They made the transition, and I think it has a chance to be really good for Brian as well."


SCRIMMAGE PREVIEW
OU will scrimmage on Saturday for the first time this spring. After an 11 a.m. practice, the team will begin what Stoops said will be a 60-play scrimmage, lasting about an hour. The scrimmage is expected to start around noon. Campus lots will be open, and gates 1 and 11 on the west side of Memorial Stadium will open at 10 a.m.

Stoops said quarterback Rhett Bomar will work exclusively with the No. 1 offense, and that running back Adrian Peterson will be "tagged" for limited contact if he does anything at all.

It might be good to rest Peterson not only for his sake, but for the defense's as well. On Friday, Peterson took one handoff around the left end and slammed into safety Darrien Williams. Williams spent the next 30 seconds trying to readjust his helmet.

"I keep telling him, 'Why don't you try and avoid somebody?' " Stoops said. "He keeps muscling up on everyone."

[OUster]

It might be good to rest Peterson not only for his sake, but for the defense's as well. On Friday, Peterson took one handoff around the left end and slammed into safety Darrien Williams. Williams spent the next 30 seconds trying to readjust his helmet.

"I keep telling him, 'Why don't you try and avoid somebody?' " Stoops said. "He keeps muscling up on everyone."

Is it only me, or is that really funny stuff? I laughed out loud at work and people asked me what the h### I was laughing at...no one is a Soonerfan. So, no one gets it. Someone show some love.

[jbstrick]

It might be good to rest Peterson not only for his sake, but for the defense's as well. On Friday, Peterson took one handoff around the left end and slammed into safety Darrien Williams. Williams spent the next 30 seconds trying to readjust his helmet.

heh.

[SkipTracer]

"He keeps muscling up on everyone."

Now that is funny.

[BASSooner]

I had no idea Duke was 390...

[Chi Gamma Blackness]

AD is a freak of nature.......I love it!

[LosAngelesSooner]

Nah...Duke's new nickname (not that he needs it) is Dukezilla.

[snp]

Is the Tulsa World stalking SF.com for article ideas? We discussed Dukezilla days ago.