Evaluation of Longo

[Chris P. Bacon]

A lot of the competency on the OL and DL can be attributed to him. You don't see dudes getting out-muscled anymore, or dominated physically. Same goes for the LB corp too, as well as the RB's.

Look at Theo Riddick's transformation:

Yeah Riddick looked gigantic in the spring game, he has really filled out and I think that goes for GAIII, they both seemed to have bulked up and seem quicker, atleast from the practices and the blue and gold game.

 

[yankeeND]

To me you can tell by the scores the last 2 years. Minus the Navy game in 2010 I don't recall another game that we were outmatched. The win loss record doesn't exactly reflect that but it's much better to see the team in a game for 4 quarters against better compitition than watching us get destroyed by Michigan, USC, and LSU.

Also being in excellent physical condition is one thing, but not turning your head to catch a ball or bat it down, or throwing a wounded duck into great coverage several times every game will prove to be to much to overcome more times than not. These guys gotta start protecting the rock or it will be an average year once again, but hey at least the guys will be in great shape.

 

[NDhoosier]

The only exception to the S&C argument... Was the beginning of the USC and Stanford game. We came out flat against both of them and got dominated on the lines. However, we should have caught back up to U$C and possibly even won that game. We were in such a big hole in the Stanford game that it was too late to come back... Though Hendrix did beat Stanford 14-7 iirc...

 

[ChiRish]

Uh no wonder o linemen want to come here. Talk about getting jacked for both college and the pros. Wow.

 

[Zbi]

Cave looks like a strongman competitor. When he was on the field our line was dominate last year.

 

[FLDomer]

Cave looks like a strongman competitor. When he was on the field our line was dominate last year.

I agree, and I really believe if he was healthy along with Jonas, we would have beat the Criminoles.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Cave looks like a strongman competitor. When he was on the field our line was dominate last year.

Must run in the family. This is a pic of his dad he tweeted recently.

 

[FLDomer]

Must run in the family. This is a pic of his dad he tweeted recently.

Dern Dad! But I think he was meant strongman from the world strongest man competitions, those massive massive fvckers!!! Google Phil Pfister or Mariusz Pudzianowski

 

[clashmore_mike]

oh yeah, I know about the strongmen, just saying that being a beast physically runs in the family.

 

[FLDomer]

oh yeah, I know about the strongmen, just saying that being a beast physically runs in the family.

Yeah you are right Mike, the apple hasnt fallen far from the tree, for sure! Braxs could look like his pops to if he hit the diet hard but I think the lbs are a lil more practical for b1tching opponents D-linemen

 

[Black Irish]

Yeah you are right Mike, the apple hasnt fallen far from the tree, for sure! Braxs could look like his pops to if he hit the diet hard but I think the lbs are a lil more practical for b1tching opponents D-linemen

Brax may not be able to rock the pink banana hammock like pops does, either. So much yet to learn.

 

[4life]

He should be using more WESTSIDE Methods
LOUIE SIMMONS is the BOSS

 

[Emcee77]

Along with his S&C duties, Longo is also Kelly's right-hand man when it comes to evaluating potential. Longo advises Kelly on the potential of a kid and how he can shape him. Have you all noticed, that under Kelly, our 3-star and lower ranked recruits in each class are the biggest athletic freaks w/ the highest ceiling? Longo helps evaluate these guys for what they all can be, rather than just making judgments on what they are.

As far as Longo vs. Mendoza, Longo has our guys much leaner. With Mendoza, everyone could bench an incredible amount, but couldn't run because of the bad weight they carried. Hell, Golden Tate had 14% body fat (WR should be 6 to 10 at most). Longo is very unconventional by S&C standards, but has a focus on functional strength/speed rather than traditional exercises.

I think the bolded is one of the most important things to know about Longo (and Kelly, for that matter). I've read that Kelly gives Longo a much bigger role in the recruiting process than most S&C coaches have. Kelly's philosophy is to really rely on his players' athletic ability, so how a guy projects to develop from a purely physical, athletic perspective (i.e., whether he will really be the kind of athlete Kelly needs in 3 years) is as important to Kelly as anything else in evaluating a player's potential. Longo's opinion on how much speed, strength or bulk the player is likely to add is often a critical part of Kelly's decision-making during the recruiting process. How Longo compares to other S&C coaches once he actually gets ahold of guys, I don't really know, but I know that he is much more than just the glorified meathead that some S&C coaches are.