Conversation with Boyd Eply

[T_O_Bull]

One evening in the late 80ies I was snowed in at the Holiday Inn in Winona, MN. I was sitting at a table having an adult beverage and couldn't help buy hear the conversation that was going on at the table next to me. The conversation was about the strength training programs at schools involved in major college football. The were talking about Ohio State, Penn State, ect., ect. I finally had had enough and said to the guy who was closest to me, "If you really want to talk strength training you need to talk about Ne3braska." At that point one of the guys leaned forward and said, " Thanks. That's my program. I'm Boyd Epley." I basically felt like I had just run into the pope. As the conversation went on he said that the U of N recruited its linemen based on bose structure. With the right bone structure Eppley and the coaching staff could build linemen.

Get a pipeline going that produces good/great linemen and you will rule. If your skill positions aren't that spectacular, a great line wll make them seem to be better than they are and every once in awhile you will have both and that was what we had in the mid 90ies.

T_O_B

[ESPY]

That's the first time I've ever heard a S&C coach mention bone structure. Obviously Epley knew what he was talking about evidenced by all the great linemen he helped develop at NU.

 

This is intriguing info that makes me wonder if current S&C guys target the same thing. Did he go into greater detail about exactly what kind of bone structure he targeted?

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing! He was certainly one of the icons in Nebraska sports history.

[MCAT800]

That's the first time I've ever heard a S&C coach mention bone structure. Obviously Epley knew what he was talking about evidenced by all the great linemen he helped develop at NU.

 

This is intriguing info that makes me wonder if current S&C guys target the same thing. Did he go into greater detail about exactly what kind of bone structure he targeted?

 

What TO Bull is saying is fact. Many lineman entered NU less than 200lbs. Lance Lundberg was under 200lbs when he arrived in Lincoln. I camped with several O-lineman from the 92 class that were long and lean. And then NU put on their weight.

I was kind of looked at by NU as a center, nothing more than a walk-on but they were concerned about my frame even though I was about 6’3” 240lbs my senior year. So I signed with USD and could never play above 260lbs. Ended up having two ankle surgeries, knee surgery and lots of shoulder problems. What they told me about their concerns with my body type were right on, I peaked in strenght, speed and my body couldn't hold up to the weight.

Since then as an O-line coach in HS and a two year stint in the IFL I have studied bone profiles and it does help in picking out who will be a successful lineman. Footwork and flexibility in the back and hips being the most important.

I wish they would get back to that, I would rather have a kid come in light and put on the weight under the tutelage of a professional staff.

[ESPY]

That's the first time I've ever heard a S&C coach mention bone structure. Obviously Epley knew what he was talking about evidenced by all the great linemen he helped develop at NU.

 

This is intriguing info that makes me wonder if current S&C guys target the same thing. Did he go into greater detail about exactly what kind of bone structure he targeted?

 

What TO Bull is saying is fact. Many lineman entered NU less than 200lbs. Lance Lundberg was under 200lbs when he arrived in Lincoln. I camped with several O-lineman from the 92 class that were long and lean. And then NU put on their weight.

I was kind of looked at by NU as a center, nothing more than a walk-on but they were concerned about my frame even though I was about 6’3” 240lbs my senior year. So I signed with USD and could never play above 260lbs. Ended up having two ankle surgeries, knee surgery and lots of shoulder problems. What they told me about their concerns with my body type were right on, I peaked in strenght, speed and my body couldn't hold up to the weight.

Since then as an O-line coach in HS and a two year stint in the IFL I have studied bone profiles and it does help in picking out who will be a successful lineman. Footwork and flexibility in the back and hips being the most important.

I wish they would get back to that, I would rather have a kid come in light and put on the weight under the tutelage of a professional staff.

So do you think coaches recruiting O-linemen request bone profiles regularly? I can't imagine this is just something a coach can see watching tape of a possible recruit.

[Nexus]

Speaking of Epley, I remember reading this article last summer. He was such a crucial part of our success back in the day. Here's to hoping Coach Dobson has the same type of success here at NU.

 

 

Boyd Epley Breaks His Silence

by Husker Mike on May 19, 2009 10:40 PM CDT in Football 0 comments

 

Former Nebraska strength and conditioning guru Boyd Epley talked to the Omaha World-Herald's Dirk Chatelain about his thoughts on "energy systems" and how many coaches don't understand how the body of an athlete actually works in competition.

 

It's obvious right away that Epley has a fundamental disagreement with former Husker strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy, though he does his best to avoid throwing him under the bus.

 

"One of the things that made Nebraska successful, which is a little controversial, is running. We did not run as often or as far as a lot of people do. Sport coaches tend to overdo that. They do it for mental toughness, for whatever reason. But the way the body works and the way the game of football is played, there's need for recovery after each play. There's a burst during the play and then a recovery period.

 

"The body has an energy system that has three parts. The part that football uses only has about six or eight seconds of fuel. So during the rest period of a football game, the tank refills so that you have full power on the next play. If you train football players properly, they will have a great burst, then great recovery and be fully ready for the next play."

 

Keep in mind that Dave Kennedy was a big believer in having distance running, having offensive linemen running long distances, even timing linemen over the summer in a 2 mile run.

 

Q: What did you notice about the strength and conditioning program under Kennedy, who has since moved on to Texas A&M, and Bill Callahan, now with the New York Jets?

 

Epley: "There were some things that needed to be changed, but it wasn't my role to change them. It was (Kennedy's) program. There were some things I would've changed, but those things were probably better left unsaid."

 

Listening to Epley, you've really got to question Dave Kennedy's methods. Kennedy's methods might not be too bad for a wide receiver like the Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald, who swore by Kennedy. For a wide receiver running all over the field, endurance running might pay off when sprinting 30 or 40 yards play after play. But for the men in the trenches, not so much.

 

Epley remains loyal to former athletic director Steve Pederson, praising him for being creative. That being said, he also recognizes Pederson's faults, though he points out that Pederson deserves some credit.

 

"Now he made some bad decisions, maybe hired some people that were the wrong people for Nebraska. He's gotten a bad rap, and there's a lot of people that don't like Steve. ... Whether people like it or not, a lot of things he put into place are still being used today. He did a lot of good things for the state of Nebraska."

 

To be fair to Pederson, not everything he touched turned to manure. The office complex in the North Stadium appears to be top notch, and the finances of the athletic department seem to be in good shape. Pederson also held off on ticket price increases and created game day amenities such as the pregame pavillion.

 

But while he's loyal to Pederson, he's even more loyal to Nebraska and the athletic department:

 

Q: What do you think of the changes at NU since you left?

 

Epley: "I was very happy to see Tom Osborne named athletic director. The word I used then was 'healing.' The state needed Tom Osborne."

 

Epley likes the direction James Dobson is moving the strength program at Nebraska, even though he wasn't familiar with Dobson before he arrived at Nebraska:

 

"I think he's young and energetic. His philosophy is very good. It looks like Nebraska is back on track ..."

 

LINK

 

[MCAT800]

That's the first time I've ever heard a S&C coach mention bone structure. Obviously Epley knew what he was talking about evidenced by all the great linemen he helped develop at NU.

 

This is intriguing info that makes me wonder if current S&C guys target the same thing. Did he go into greater detail about exactly what kind of bone structure he targeted?

 

What TO Bull is saying is fact. Many lineman entered NU less than 200lbs. Lance Lundberg was under 200lbs when he arrived in Lincoln. I camped with several O-lineman from the 92 class that were long and lean. And then NU put on their weight.

I was kind of looked at by NU as a center, nothing more than a walk-on but they were concerned about my frame even though I was about 6’3” 240lbs my senior year. So I signed with USD and could never play above 260lbs. Ended up having two ankle surgeries, knee surgery and lots of shoulder problems. What they told me about their concerns with my body type were right on, I peaked in strenght, speed and my body couldn't hold up to the weight.

Since then as an O-line coach in HS and a two year stint in the IFL I have studied bone profiles and it does help in picking out who will be a successful lineman. Footwork and flexibility in the back and hips being the most important.

I wish they would get back to that, I would rather have a kid come in light and put on the weight under the tutelage of a professional staff.

So do you think coaches recruiting O-linemen request bone profiles regularly? I can't imagine this is just something a coach can see watching tape of a possible recruit.

 

You don't have to get to serious, looking at ankle and wrist bones will give you a real good indication.

No I don't think many coaches request a bone profile because they recruit tall/fat O-lineman which is quite obvious that they can handle the weight.

 

NU used to prefer more athletic, agile, and quick OL so they wanted to know how much they could load the frame before they became fat bodies

[74Hunter]

I remember back when NU was dominating the 90's, I read an article where TO mentioned that they moved from distance running, to running "gassers," which essentially were running as fast and as far as they could in a few seconds, for conditioning. It made sense to me, as football plays are going for 6 or 7 seconds as hard as you can, and they have 40 seconds in between for rest. Duplicating that in conditioning only makes sense. Just another epic fail of the previous regime.