(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)
Whether a wide receiver or a linebacker, working out stands as a top priority for the Colorado Buffaloes football team during the off-season.
Freshman wide receiver Jarrod Darden said the off-season lifting is much more rigorous than lifting during the season, as players tend to lighten their workouts to avoid being sore before games.
Darden said he works out five days a week, consisting of four days of running and three days of lifting.
“Players always try to push their mental and physical limits,” Darden said.
Players prepare for the upcoming season by working out and staying in shape in the off-season, a key to the next season’s possibilities for improvement.
Junior Nate Solder, the Buff’s starting left tackle offered some insight.
“The reason it’s so important is that everyone else is doing it and you’ve got to be competitive,” Solder said.
With playing time a rare commodity for most players, the off-season is a chance for athletes to work toward a starting position or even simply improve their game.
“It’s very important to be working out because it’s definitely a deciding factor in playing time and [a] great place to hone my skills,” Darden said.
The athletes are team-oriented, lifting with fellow football players.
“I like to lift with my friend D-Webb,” said freshman outside line backer Liloa Nobriga, referring to teammate and linebacker Derrick Webb.
Some players, like Darden, a Texas native, even use off-season workouts to connect with old friends.
“I like to work out with teammates and during breaks…I lift with old friends at my old high school in Keller, Texas,” Darden said.
As far as workouts go, a favorite lift of the football players seems to be the hang clean. An Olympic lift, the hang clean is used to target upper and lower body as well as the core muscles.
In addition to this workout, freshmen outside linebacker Liloa Nobriga also said a favorite workout is, “whatever coach Pit assigns,” jokingly referring to strength and condition coach Jeff Pitman.
While Nobriga said his motivation roots from his father, the players’ motivations evolves from different areas.
Darden’s motivations are personally motivated.
“To get better because I enjoy the college football atmosphere, I would love to be out on the field playing in front of thousands of fans,” Darden said.
He also has a simpler reason.
“I mean, I like football, I don’t want to suck,” Darden said.
Thomas Bradbury is a freshman at Broomfield High School who is writing for the CU Independent as part of a high school journalism workshop the CU Independent hosted on Feb. 26 and 27.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Esteban L. Hernandez on behalf of Thomas Bradbury at Esteban.hernandez@colorado.edu.
