Khaleke Hudson is Strong!

Submitted by jbibiza on

According to his Twitter post he did 25 reps at 225 lbs. - only one less than Rashan Gary and more than some linemen at the last combine (Bosa/Conklin/Glasgow).       Amazing!

WolvinLA2

July 12th, 2016 at 10:07 AM ^

Bench press is not a great thing for elite linemen, offense or defense. Having long arms hurts bench press, but makes you really good at being a lineman.

ldevon1

July 12th, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^

I don't think it's a big deal when they don't do a lot, but I don't know that I agree with the long arm theory. I think teams fall in love with players at the combine, instead of looking at a players tape, but if you know the combine is coming and a receiver or DB does more reps than a lineman, I think it looks bad. I don't know that anyone has fallen in the draft because of it. Lineman tend to prepare for the combine working on their quickness and agility, and being stiff in the upper body effects that, so the bench press suffers a little. 

DrMantisToboggan

July 12th, 2016 at 10:48 AM ^

Bench press is one of the most important exercises for DL and Linebackers. Half their game is getting off blocks. You want to play with your blocker literally benched away from you, arms locked straight outward. If Hudson can rep as much as our best DL recruit there's no doubt he has the physical tools to succeed at SAM.




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panthera leo fututio

July 12th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^

Depends on what you mean by "supplemental". If you're talking about isolation work for triceps and delts, nobody in the history of humanity has ever gotten strong doing this. You get strong at pushing things by pushing heavy weight. You might see some strong dudes doing isolation stuff, but they're either shoring up weak points or trying to get sexier. They got strong in the first place by pushing heavy weight.

VicTorious1

July 12th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

I'm not talking about isolation excercises for the triceps and delts.  I'm talking about heavy lifts: military press, squats, deadlifts and bench along with olympic style lifts: pull, press, jerk, snatch and front squat.  Skullcrushers are pointless except for bodybuilding.  Narrow grip bench hits both the triceps and pectorals with an emphasis on the triceps.  I just know of so many guys who care too much about the bench press without supplementing it with other equally, if not more, important lifts.  You can significantly increase your bench by squatting, deadlifting and pressing more frequently.

VicTorious1

July 12th, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^

My max?  I haven't done a 1RM in awhile, but it's probably around 280-290 lbs.  I generally hit bench, squats, deadlift and military press twice a week.  For bench, the first weekly workout is low reps (4-6) of 4-5 sets of heavier weight (255 lbs) and the second time is higher reps (8-10) of 4 sets of lighter weight (225 lbs).  

DrMantisToboggan

July 12th, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^

All squat variations will always be the most important lifts for football training, maybe for any sport. But the bench press is far from a useless workout for DL as the commenter above suggested. In terms of play-to-play functionality it is one of the most important. Yes, all power starts in the legs and with leverage so those muscles are priority one. No, supplemental tricep workouts are not more important. You can get bulging triceps for the ladies from doing skulls or extensions, but functional tricep strength for locking your defender out comes directly from pressing things from your chest. 

VicTorious1

July 12th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^

Perhaps I shouldn't have used "supplemental" when I meant to supplement the bench with military press, squats and deadlifts.  I don't do or recommend isolation exercises for triceps or biceps.  Exercises that can help increase your 1RM (military press, squats, etc.) are the supplemental work to which I was referring.

Wolfman

July 12th, 2016 at 9:19 PM ^

I recall my son doing so many getting ready for football sason his entire body shook. I asked him why he concentrated so much on those and he said one of his coaches said it was one of the best lifts for football. Oc course, the bench has to be the best for upper body, and as you said, got to get those legs in to knock the hell out of people. That midsection through the thighs is where that comes from. 

wahooverine

July 12th, 2016 at 10:57 AM ^

Isn't it more accurate to say short arms aren't a great thing for elite lineman?  A worse bench press is just a result of long arms.  You want them to have a good bench press despite that, relative to other long arm guys.   If I have two guys with the same long arms (and everything else equal), give me the one with the better bench press.

DavidP814

July 12th, 2016 at 12:16 PM ^

Top performers are mostly interior lineman, so he's not wrong.  Arm length is most frequently highlighted as a key trait for perimeter linemen--offensive tackles and DEs (which is why Mason Cole and Bredeson's ideal NFL positions are Guard or Center).  For the interior guys, not so important.  Your link actually proves his point about long arms adversely affecting BP numbers.

MGoStrength

July 12th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^

The most useful data I think we have is how the NFL Combine correlates to future NFL success.  Interestingly enough, although The Combine in general does not correlate well to NFL success and the bench press is probably the worst of the bunch, the bench press does seem to correlate well to a few positions, particularly offensive guard and defensive tackle (and oddly enough cornerback). 

 

I agree that your logic makes sense about long arms and how it impacts a good bencher.  It's important to remember that correlation does not equal causation.  Offensive guards and defensive tackles tend to be shorter and squater in stature which lends well to bench press biomechanics, whereas offensive tackles and defensive ends tend to be a little longer and leaner, which puts them at a biomechanical disadvantage in the bench press.  Would a taller offensive guard or defensive tackle be better at football (and worse at benching as you suggest) with longer arms?...good question.  You could probably look at height, weight, and maybe wingspan (if they measure it) and compare that to NFL success.  I feel like "experts" most seem to suggest no as they prefer a player with a lower center of gravity, likely for run blocking and/or stuffing the run.

 

So, the bench press data may have some value as long as you put it in context.

 

 

Danwillhor

July 12th, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^

but I still haven't received an answer to what level of competition he played against. I'm right up there with Brian as far as being clueless as to how a tape and measurements like that were turned down by psu a couple times. It's an insane senior tape but it's even more so if he is playing in a decent-high division of Pennsylvania HSFB. He's played well in every All-Star setting so we know he's a solid prospect but if he did THAT to top HS competition in Pennsylvania......*yup*