Ballenger's max bench was 215?!?:wow:
Sigh, these guys are football players, not power lifters or olympic lifters.
I *LOVE* seeing these guys put up great numbers as it definitely does show the team is getting stronger, but that's not the end all be all in football. Football players are more concerned about weight than about strength, at least typically. Football players not certainly not the strongest athletes on the planet, especially when you consider pound for pound strength. They have to specialize and spend a lot of time taking snaps as well.
Also, training for max strength has consistently been shown to reduce power output. Power output, not maximal strength (unless we are talking about the the lines), is more crucial to success, especially in football.
The fact that the their squats and clean #s are going up shows a good program is in use. I would love it if we saw max deadlifts, overhead squats and snatches, but to each his own.
The bench press is an overrated POS anyway. Anyone that uses the "bench press" to show how manly they are doesn't usually know anything about strength, especially as it relates to sports. The overhead press more directly translates to shoulder and chest strength (there is a relationship between the bench press and overhead press), but I'd also love it if we saw max jerks. Again, power output > maximal strength for most sports. When I go to the gym I see a lot of wannabe powerlifters that do decline, incline and bench to "get ripped." Sorry, that's not how it works. You really need to use your legs and back to get absurdly strong and focusing so much on your chest will give you
SEVERE rotator cuff problems, which is VERY problematic for a QB.
And for the naysayers, the fact is that the team has to be strong to compete and that is simply not something we had with our old coaching regime. Great conditioning, combined with strength, will let you beat your opponent 9 times out of 10. I liken football to boxing in that regards. A team can have more natural talent than the other, but a better conditioned team can certainly even things out.
But I will also say this, no one ever lost a game and wish they could bench press 10 more pounds. The last time I checked there wasn't a bench press on the 50 yard line where 2 teams could compete for most reps or strongest team. I've seen major strides lately in our conditioning and strength and that will translate to wins, provided that our coaches put them in a position to win. I'm certain of that. That's why this season will rest on our coaches...I feel we can definitely compete week in and week out with the rest of the Big 12 North.