Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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we get everything moving right away. "When you're in that kind of shape and you get hurt, your body can re- cover faster. We also use the philoso- phy that if you have an injury, say a knee injury, 10 percent of your body is injured. So we train the other 90 per- cent at a high level, and psychologi- cally, that keeps them in there at a high level and speeds up the recovery." Out of the 23 scholarship freshmen added to Notre Dame's roster, Longo was able to pick out three that he thinks might have the most upside in the weight room. "[Center] Tristen Hoge, right out of the box," Longo said. "We've had him now for six months, and he's put on 20 pounds. You can just see that he's going to be exceptional." Running back Dexter Williams also has an great frame (5-11, 200 pounds). "He's fast and explosive already. I can see where more upper body strength and adding stamina, and get- ting some body fat down, he's going to really make some good jumps," the coach noted. Finally, Longo described Sam line- backer Asmar Bilal as one of the stron- gest 210-pound figures he's ever seen. "He doesn't look that strong, but he bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times," he said. "Imagine him with another 30 pounds of muscle on, and he already runs so well." The strength and conditioning pro- gram's results can be seen more in vet- erans such as senior left tackle Ronnie Stanley, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick. Still, Longo believes it was wise for Stanley to return as a senior to get another year of work in before turning pro. "He's really had only two years of weight training under his belt," Longo said. "He had a couple of injuries that he had to work around, a foot here and an elbow there that slowed his progress down a little. "This year's been a big growth year. It's kind of like putting on one coat of paint a day, and finally after a while you look and the thing's starting to cover all the way through now. He looks great, he feels great, he's healthy. He doesn't look 318 [pounds], but that's about his weight." Meanwhile, senior cornerback Kei- Varae Russell garnered quite a bit of attention in the offseason for posting a video on Instagram of him finishing an impressive box jump at a workout. "My son or daughter showed me that video," Longo said. "My first thought was, 'Don't get hurt, dummy.' It was impressive. But definitely glad he didn't break his ankle, or anything else." ✦ Media Day: What The Assistant Coaches Had To Say Associate head coach Mike Denbrock on offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford: "It took about five minutes to realize what an asset he would be to what we are doing. Even though he's 33 years old, he's got good experience and a good depth of knowledge of coaching the game of football, even in his career.