Michigan football strength coach

Submitted by goblue85 on
There are rumors floating around that Michigan may found its man Ben Herbert from Arkansas? Any truth to it?

amir_6

December 29th, 2017 at 8:49 AM ^

Imagine what this guy can do when he gets his hands on some real young talent. The caliber of players here compared to Arkansas is obviously night and day in terms of raw talent.

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2017 at 9:36 AM ^

S & C coaches.....ALL S & C coaches are blamed by fans for teams percieved weakness when outbound or heralded as the triumphant savior when inbound and yet I defy anybody to point to even ONE team where it made any difference at all.  ONE.  Show me a team that only changed their S & C coach and saw either radical improvement or decline because of their arrival or departure. 

I remember all too well the breathless excitement of BARWIS....OMG BARWIS and the incredible things he was going to accomplish with his increadible methods.  We would the strongest, best conditioned team in the NCAA and the 4th quarter would always and forevremore be MICHIGAN because of Barwis-methods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To me this is about as important in the grand scheme of things as changing the training table cook.  

dragonchild

December 29th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^

They're not saviors because they never can be, but don't understate their importance.

I kind of view them like air traffic controllers.  If things are going to plan they're invisible and as such should be unheralded.  But if you've got a bad one, you've got an unquestionably serious problem.

I do wonder what sort of problem Harbaugh thinks Tolbert was.

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2017 at 10:00 AM ^

They are not the "air traffic controllers".

They are the baggage handlers.  Important to a pleasant flight but not life-saving.  If you get a bad one you are annoyed and have to deal with inconvenience but you dont die.

You vastly overstate their importance as most fans do.   BTW how did Arkansas do this year anyways under this guys expert guidance?  

XiX

December 29th, 2017 at 7:01 PM ^

I don't think any HC sees their S&C coach and staff as a mere convenience. They depend on these folks to build the mental and physical foundation of their program. And since the players spend the vast majority of their time with the S&C coaches, HCs depend on them to help instill the culture of their program as well.

I agree that fans tend to make too much out of S&C coaches and their methods but I wouldn't be so dismissive either. And no, their impact may not be easily quantifiable in any meaningful, measurable way by us fans but it is to HCs and that's really what matters. It's more than just physical measurables and I think many fans miss that part.

For whatever reason, Harbaugh didn't like what he was seeing under Tolbert and felt there needed to be a change. I don't necessarily think that's a knock on Tolbert or his methods, as he knew how Tolbert operated and brought him in because he believed in what he did. I think Coach may feel a change in S&C will help simply because it's different (different voice, different methods, different focus) and not because Herbert (or whomever) has some kind of miracle program. Sometimes a different coach can connect better with kids and get more out of them and it could be as simple as that.

Anyway, I think Coach is staying true to his desire to look at every way to help his guys be successful and to achieve the goals he has for the program. Like he said, "better today than yesterday" and so forth...

 

blueblueblue

December 29th, 2017 at 10:27 AM ^

Sorry, but this is a pretty asinine take. You are committing the fallacy of misplaced concreteness. Just because the influence of S&C coaches does not make its way into the abstract realm of the media, doesn't mean that they do not make a concrete difference. To assume that they are all the same is to lack a basic appreciation of the basics of differentiation. There is a reason why some are paid more than others, some work for better programs than others. And your one example does not refute the basic and pervasive process of differentiating ones self from the others by the differences you make in your organization and profession. 

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^

Then can you point me to the program that changed their S & C coach and saw a noticeable impact, either positively or negatively, in their win totals the following year.  I dont need many examples...just ONE will do.  Because if their impact is so important and their methods are so different and unique it should be fairly easy for you to find ONE program that shot upwards to greatness with the right one or plummetted with the wrong one.  

Not the first time I've had this debate here.  It's like I'm the guest speaker in kindergarden and I just told the class Santa isnt real.  NOBODY wants to hear that bit of unpleasant news.....

blueblueblue

December 29th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^

Wow. I can see you are not one who often opens one's self up to seeing things from different perspectives. In your blind belief in your position, you completely missed my argument. We only see what is reported. There are at least two key reasons that the impacts of the S&C coach not often reported - the first is that the S&C is part of a system. It is very difficult to separate one part of the whole, and measure its impact. It is the nature of the whole to be more than the sum of the parts. So I dont need to find one program - it's basic logic and understanding of the real world to know that S&C coaches differentiate themselves from one another. The second reason is inherent in the first - it's boring copy. Reading about the S&C is boring because it integrates with many other factors that ultimatley have impacts on the field. You can't readily point to direct impacts because there are none. But there are most certainly impacts at the system level. If you can't see that difference, I'm not sure what else to tell you. 

As for unpleasant news, I'm not sure what you mean. It's both pleasant and unpleasant that an S&C coach can make an impact. Your take is actually more pleasant - that we can just plug in any ol' S&C coach and have the same results. It's just unrealistic and frankly simple minded. 

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2017 at 11:12 AM ^

" I can see you are not one who often opens one's self up to seeing things from different perspectives. In your blind belief in your position, you completely missed my argument."

Couldnt I say the same about you?  My position is the S & C coach's importance in determining a team's win/loss record is vastly overstated by fans and yours is it isnt.  But you cant point to even one example of where a change in S & C coach had any impact on a team's record so it would seem YOU are the blind one in this arguement, not me.

But hey...I'm pretty simple-minded so maybe I'm missing something here.

ohioNblue33

December 29th, 2017 at 11:28 AM ^

his team's excelled in the 4th quarters of games and held a 15-5 record in November at Wisconsin. Which that is coaching and also conditioning. Now when someone says we just look tired in November and in 4 quarters it usually points to S & C and also coaching am I right? So to say S&C doesnt factor in games is kinda BS. Take that noise RCMB dude :)

blueblueblue

December 29th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

Hahaha, I see and understand your position. In fact, it took seeing and understanding your position to state my own. But you just keep coming back and inanely repeating the same argument you made in the first post. Hell, you dont even see that I have made all of my arguments by diving into your own. You are blind to anything outside of your own view now, have been, and I bet always will be. 

Blue Mind and Heart

December 29th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^

Agree that S&C position is overrated. Important but unlikely to vary significantly on final results. It was always my contention that Barwis hype was a negative at Michigan. Not that his methods were wrong but another example of RR arrogance that his methods would fix the outdated Michigan model. RR was tone deaf to the culture clash that results in a 3-9 season.

Im thinkin bou…

December 29th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^

Of different programs for weight loss, strength, speed development. Strength coaches are only as good as their history of their program tho. Good qualities beyond knowledge of how to get people in football shape would be the ability to motivate and care for the needs of players.

maize-blue

December 29th, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^

My guess is he's in. Same with Enos. I think Devin Bush Sr. has the inside track for the Safety/Secondary position. Frey may leave or his departure may already be a done deal, so a OL coach will be needed. There may be movement with Pep and/or Drevno too but that is only guessing on my part.

I'd like to see Drevno focus on OC and there be one OL coach. 

ohioNblue33

December 29th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^

Arkansas. He was with Bielema at Wisconsin also. From the things I've read his team's performed well in the 4th quarter of games and in November. Something we really need. I'm hoping the rumors are true!

Unicycle Firefly

December 29th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^

Call me jaded and cynical, but I feel like a lot of “new, cutting edge” S&C programs are just shorthand for “quietly give the players steroids and HGH.” Don’t tell me Alabama’s players get that big by lifting weights and drinking muscle milk.

ArmyOfNobunaga

September 25th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^

Guys I come in peace. Not a troll. I’m an Arkansas fan. That makes me part of the most trolled fan base in the US.

 

I was going to start a topic for this but I couldn’t until 100 posts. 

 

I watch UM v Wis and I saw how slow your guys looked. It reminded me... well of what happened to our team in the span of two years.

 

This is just FYI.

https://forums.hogville.net/index.php?topic=652336.0

 

Ben Herbert will make your guys Slow as southern molasses in an Alaskan winter. I promise you that if Jim Harbaugh (Who I respect) keeps him on that it will cost Jim his job.

 

I saw the game and just shook my head. I think you guys need to start looking as to why your 4 and 5 star talent looks like they are running around with cinder blocks on their feet.

 

Anyway good luck the rest of the season. All of us in the south HATE Ohio state so hopefully you guys beat the hell out of them.

 

 

Nobu