Blue White Illustrated

why the players are so energized. At age 39, Fitzgerald could pass for a recent graduate of the program, or even a frat brother returning to town to fire up the pledges. He's not a drill sergeant, but he seems to take delight in the systematic, daily destruction of players' bodies. This is nothing new for a strength trainer. But Fitzgerald has been able to convince them that they're having fun while doing it – a departure from the tone of Penn State's past weight training program. This year's winter workouts haven't inspired a desperate longing for the start of spring practice and the light at the end of the tunnel that the annual spring drills represent. Sure, the Lions are going through hell, but the goofy smile on Fitzgerald's face throughout daily workouts is infectious. "We try to make it as fun as we can," Fitzgerald said. "The main point is to get better as a team, get stronger out there, get in better shape, and really hone in on specifics." To amplify that point, Fitzgerald and new head coach Bill O'Brien have emphasized the competitive aspect of winter workouts. Though the efforts of each player are focused on self-im- provement, the challenges are actual- ly against each other. O'Brien has strived to reinforce the idea that there are winners and losers in virtually every aspect of football, including on the practice field. Fitzgerald has turned nearly every as- pect of his winter workout regimen into a competition of some sort. From sprints to drills to a simple tug of war game, players are consistently finding themselves on the winning or losing end of a battle. "Most of these guys are used to com- peting," he said. "When they get here, they focus on football only, so in the off-season, we not only want to train them to get stronger, quicker, and have better agility, we want to keep train- ing that competitive fire like they did when they were wrestling in high school or when they were playing basketball. The off-season is also about becoming a better competitor, and we're always trying to find new ways to do that. "And the guys love it. These guys are top of the food chain. Like, 'Hey, I want to compete. I'm going to beat you or you're going to beat me. I want to see who wins and test myself against you.' They love it. It really keeps them going." Penn State's new secondary coach, John Butler, has a unique perspective on why players are drawn to Fitzger- ald. The two were most recently on Steve Spurrier's staff at the Universi- ty of South Carolina, but they also went to high school together and worked alongside each other at Har- vard. Said Butler, "People are attracted to those who have energy, people who have enthusiasm. He has that. But you can't just be someone with great en- ergy. You have to have substance, too. He's got a tremendous amount of substance with his technical knowl- edge as a strength coach." Butler added that Fitzgerald's expe- rience as a self-made walk-on at Maryland gives him a perspective that allows him to better relate to players and command their respect. "He's experienced everything you need to experience to be what these kids need to be. Obviously, he has great energy and enthusiasm, great technical knowledge," Butler said. "And what Craig has that a lot of peo- ple don't is great people skills. He has the ability to communicate with and re- late to people from all socio-econom- ic backgrounds. And that's what this business is. You have to be able to re- late to people and relate to players. I think those are the things he does great." Fitzgerald's ability to communicate is unique. It's not just what he says, but how he says it. Whether he's storming around the practice turf or talking to reporters in a lounge with- in the Lasch Building, the words that escape his mouth sound as if they're being spoken by a growling dog. Referring to his voice, Fitzgerald admitted, "It probably sounds lousy all the time. It probably sounds pretty bad. But I think it's always that way. If you're coaching hard, that's the way it sounds. If I had a good voice, I don't think I'd be earning my check too much." Though the relationship is still young, Fitzgerald's all-in attitude and commitment are leaving an indelible mark on the Nittany Lion players in both body and spirit. "This is how it's supposed to be," one of those players said. "It's gonna be sick." W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Fisher is final addition to Nittany Lions' staff Charlie Fisher, a longtime of- fensive assistant who spent last season as passing game coordi- nator at Miami (Ohio), recently joined Bill O'Brien's coaching staff as quarterbacks coach. "I've known him for a long time," O'Brien said. "Bright guy, sharp guy. He's had a lot of suc- cess, coached some good quarterbacks. He worked with Jay Cutler at Vanderbilt and just had Zac Dysert last year at Miami of Ohio. We were lucky to get him." Fisher coached the Red Hawks' FISHER quarterbacks and wide receivers last season. Under his guidance, Dysert, a redshirt junior, com- pleted nearly 66 percent of his passes for 3,513 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 11 intercep- tions. He was second in the Mid- American Conference in passing yards per game, while the Red Hawks were second as a team in passing offense. Miami wideout Nick Harwell ranked second in the country with an average of 129.5 receiving yards per game. Before his season at Miami, Fisher spent nine years at Van- derbilt, where he coached the re- ceivers and running backs and coordinated the passing game. In addition to coaching Cutler, Fisher helped Earl Bennett be- come the Southeastern Confer- ence's career receptions leader. Fisher previously coached at North Carolina State, working with the Wolfpack's receivers, in- cluding two future NFL stars: Torry Holt of the St. Louis Rams and Koren Robinson of the Seat- tle Seahawks. He also coached at Temple and was head coach at West Georgia from 1991-98. Fisher is a native of Allenwood, Pa. He graduated from Spring- field (Mass.) College in 1981 and began his coaching career as a grad assistant at Eastern Ken- tucky and later Ole Miss. While he was at Eastern Kentucky in 1982, the Colonels won the Divi- sion I-AA national title. Following O'Brien's appoint- ment as head coach, there had been reports that Penn State was looking to hire New England Pa- triots assistant George Godsey as its quarterbacks coach. But Godsey opted to stay with the Pa- triots, and the post remained un- filled until Fisher officially joined the staff on Feb. 18, the same day that Penn State hosted its Junior Day recruiting event. With the addition of Fisher, O'Brien's assistant coaching staff is now complete. "This is a staff made up of men who care about the mission of Penn State University and being successful on and off the field," O'Brien said. "It is also a staff of winners, with five staff members that have been a part of national championship teams as assistant coaches. This is a staff that has won many games; some while be- ing a part of the same staff, and is a staff comprised of former head coaches, coordinators and tremendous recruiting experi- ence." – MATT HERB M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 25

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