Utah football’s new approach to strength and conditioning

Newly minted Utah football coach Morgan Scalley has a distinctive vision for his program. During his introductory press conference, Scalley talked about the need to innovate as a program. Scalley wants to combine the traditional toughness and work ethic that Utah football has been known for with technology, intelligence, and a new way of doing things. 

It’s one of the reasons that Director of Football Sports Performance Steve Saunders was given the keys to run Utah football’s strength and conditioning program. Saunders too has a vision to integrate technology, toughness, and intelligence. And in the process, he’s remaking a program that will make a significant impact on the heights this Utah football program can reach this fall. 

The vision: Smart preparation with a “why” 

Saunders’ philosophy is centered on a foundation of purpose, progression, and reason. His strength and conditioning program is designed to be an add on to Scalley’s 

“This [program] is tough. And our vision for this team is a fast, violent, disciplined football team that can physically dominate games late, all season long. But we’re preparing for that in a smart way,” Saunders explained. “We’re not coming in and training military style just for the sake of beating down the players. I don’t believe in that at all. I think everything’s got to have a why.”

And it’s the “why” that was crucial to Saunders landing the job and taking over Utah football’s strength and conditioning efforts. Scalley has been adamant that his staff design programs centered on purpose and intention, and Saunders has consistently demonstrated that in his brief time at Utah. 

Football specific training to yield on-field results 

It begins with designing a strength program focused on developing physicality that translates itself to the football field. Coach Scalley isn’t interested in fielding a team of terrific weight lifters. He wants football players equipped to out-physical and outlast the opponent. Saunders’ program is designed for that. 

“So two days a week, we’re working on speed. We’re working on short burst work, deceleration, changes of direction. For the linemen that’s doing heavy sleds with maximum strain. It’s doing some explosives, some med ball tosses to a sprint, things that prepare them for the position needs,” Saunders explained. “So our linemen don’t need to sprint 20 yards. They need to run five yards and arrive in a very bad mood. And that’s what we want to train when we’re running.”

Conditioning follows a similar philosophy. 

“When we do conditioning, it’s conditioning for football. It’s not just running to run. We’re not running 400s, and 300s, and even 150s. When we do conditioning, it’s specific to the demands,” he said.

One workout Saunders has introduced is something he calls a cluster. “It’s like the two-minute drill from hell,” he explained. 

According to Saunders, the workout is repeated bursts of maximum effort with short intermittent periods of rest to mimic in-game conditions. The drill is five seconds on and ten seconds off for a series of ten plays. “And I’m looking for maximum intensity in those five seconds of work and working various sets of that,” he said. 

Pumping iron in a new, old school way

Under Saunders, the Utes are taking a similar approach to the weight room, giving players individualized programs tailored to help players get the most out of the short offseason workout windows in January, May, and the summer. 

“The whole team is not doing the same program. The offensive linemen are doing different stuff from the defensive linemen because of the requirements for their position. And it’s the same for the quarterbacks, the specialists, and everything in between,” he said. 

“So to me, looking at this and taking the next step with what Coach Scalley envisions is making it way more position and football specific. And then we’re taking that approach and saying, ‘Hey, we’re old school. It’s going to be hard’,” he explained. “Technology is not going to replace hard work, but there is a ‘why’. There’s a method to the madness for everything that we’re doing.”

Even though Saunders is looking to develop toughness across the roster, the workouts aren’t designed to be hard simply to make players tougher. The days of “play (or lift) ‘til you puke” are long gone. 

“It’s not a mental toughness drill just for the sake of doing a mental toughness drill.

I believe there’s a math behind training. That’s why one of the things that I preach is everything has to have a why behind it,” he claimed. “So that five on, ten off for ten workout, that’s not a ‘day one’ thing. That’s a week seven thing, a week eight thing. And we’re going to build up to that. So as tough as it is, again, there’s a method to the madness. There’s a ‘why’.”

The gold standard

Saunders’ objective isn’t just to get the team ready for the dog days of fall camp. While that period is important in helping the team sort out position battles and work out the kinks, the growth doesn’t stop once two-a-days and scrimmages are over. 

The ultimate measure of success will be what comes on game day. And not just on September 3 when the Utes line up against Idaho. The proof will be in the state of the team week 10 at Arizona and week 11 at TCU. 

“Everybody feels good on the first weekend of September. Everybody trained in the summertime. Everybody had training camp. Everybody is for the most part is healthy. They feel great,” Saunders noted. “Who still feels great, strong, fast, and physical in December? For me, that’s the gold standard.”