After back-to-back injury plagued seasons, BYU is letting go of its two highest-ranking strength and conditioning coaches.
Director of strength and conditioning Nu’u Tafisi and associate director Justin McClure have both been relieved on their duties effective immediately.
“We need a change,” head coach Kalani Sitake said Monday. “Looking at a different direction of what we are doing with our players in the weight room. Also, with what we know about sports science in the training room, we are trying to bridge that together from our training room to our weight room.”
BYU has been among the most injured teams in the country in the last two seasons. This year, the Cougars were forced to start 42 different players by the first week of November. That was good for the third-most in the nation behind Texas A&M and New Mexico.
That came after a 2021 campaign in which BYU lost half of its offensive starters from opening day. Only three defensive players played in every game.
As BYU enters the Big 12, the Cougars felt the risk of injury and the grind of a Power Five schedule would only accentuate the problem in 2023. Notably, the Cougars are still working to build Power Five depth to handle injuries to its starters.
“The vision we have for our players is being healthy and strong,” Sitake said.
Spencer Reid, the son of Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, is the interim head strength coach. He is being helped by sports scientists Skyler Mayne and Colby Clawson.
All three were just added to the staff last offseason as BYU continues to add to its support pool ahead of the Big 12. Up until last March, BYU did not employ the maximum five strength coaches allowed by the NCAA.
Sitake did not whether Reid will be the main strength coach in 2023, or if he will bring in someone new.
Either way, the emphasis will likely shift away from heavier lifting — that can contribute to injuries — and toward a more balanced approach.
“I feel like they are focusing more on agility and flexibility,” tight end Isaac Rex said, who has played hurt for most of this season. “Stuff that will help us more translate to the game, which I appreciate. I just like how they are listening to us and they are always willing to help.”
Sitake went looking for advice last offseason from health professionals about how to avoid major injuries. He changed the entire spring practice schedule to help with injury prevention. The defense also started to substitute more to keep players healthy.
In the past, Sitake said, BYU would be fully healthy the first few weeks of the season and the program would win games. But almost immediately, the injuries would begin to pile up and BYU could no longer compete.
The Cougars followed that same pattern this year. BYU beat Baylor when fully healthy in Week 2. After that, it was a parade of injuries to top players. Now as the Cougars head into their bowl game on Saturday, they have an injured quarterback, a dearth of linebackers, and a missing running back.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/5dORl8j
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