Norman – A big reason Brent Venables brought Jerry Schmidt back to Oklahoma is because the Sooners’ new (old) strength coach knows the body.
But the bigger reason is that “Schmitty” knows the heart.
“He’s the best in the business,” said DeMarco Murray, who trained under Schmidt as an OU player and now sees the benefits of coaching the Sooners’ running backs. “Schmitty is a man who knows his body, but more importantly, he knows his mind and can help change the way many people think.”
Players say this helps when they think they’ve reached their limit. Schmidt taught them that their limit was somewhere beyond that.
“Is Coach Schmitty training tough? Yes, definitely,” said defensive end Reggie Grimes. “That’s his name, his reputation. But he won’t give you anything you can’t do, will he? As long as we get rid of our mental games, I think it means we can go much farther than we have before. If you focus and train your mind for it, you’ll be fine.
Jerry Schmidt
John E. Hoover / SI Sooners
“Jerry was great,” Venables said. “So far, he’s made the same kind of impact as when we got here in 1999.”
Schmidt trained the Sooners for 19 years until Lincoln Riley replaced him with Benny Wiley. Schmidt spent his four years building at Texas A&M, but when Riley went to his USC and took Wiley, Venables quickly took Schmidt back to Norman.
Venables called it “serving the players in all the right ways” and “challenging and taking the men into tough and dark places”.
Current players have heard all about Schmidt’s history from Malcolm Kelly’s 2007 postgame freestyle. He mentions “I messed around with Schmidt in the summer…”, referring to his story of horror that colored his social media after the former player returned home.
“Oh yeah, I heard the whole story,” said wide receiver Marvin Mims.
After a brutal winter and a brutal summer, they look back on three days of training camp and see their physical growth—mental growth as a result of their physical growth.
Justin Broyles is one of only two players on this year’s team (long snapper Casey Kelleher is another) to complete a year of strength training under Schmidt in 2017.
Jerry Schmidt
John E. Hoover / SI Sooners
“It was tough,” said Broyles. “The best way I can sum it up is what he asks of us, how hard he asks us to work, and how he pushes us to push ourselves day by day.” It’s asking in terms of how hard you’re asking.”
When Bob Stoops was recruited from Florida on December 1, 1998, Schmidt, the Gators’ strength coach, was the first person he called to join the staff. It’s no coincidence that Steve Spurrier’s Gators won his 1996 National Championship. Stoops is his defensive coordinator and Schmidt is his strength coach.
“The man won a national championship at Notre Dame,” Stoops said in December. “…here at OU. He has one win with us[in Florida]and two or three others. Schmitty brings a great experience. He knows how championship teams work and how they respond to work.
One thing the Sooners needed was to get bigger and stronger. Of course everyone says so, and players do it naturally during their college careers. But to contend for a national title—that is, to compete in his SEC in the future—Venables believes that the size and mass of the offensive and defensive lines he’s undertaking at his OU make him a better choice for his Clemson. I knew it was nothing like what I had as a defensive coordinator in . So this effort was implemented early and bulked up quickly and quickly.
“It was definitely a change,” said center Andrew Laim. “A full 180. As an O-line, he’s stronger in six months than we’ve gotten in the last two years.
“We are stronger than ever. It will definitely help us physically.”
It took a mindset for players to embrace new levels of intensity.
“He’s going to be tough,” left tackle Anton Harrison said. “But I know he cares and he wants you to do your best, so you just have to take it as it is and keep going.”
Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh appreciates Schmidt’s hard work and the results he’s produced so far. Bedenbaugh was the Sooners’ first-line coach under Stoops from 2013 until 2016, and he continues to impress today.
Jerry Schmidt
Ryan Chapman / SI Sooners
“He’s the best,” said Bedenbaugh. “And I said it. He does a great job with everyone, but at least when it comes to me, and I think that’s what I pay the most attention to. The offensive line.” The mentality, the way he works, the physicality, the toughness, whatever he brings to them is the most important thing to me, because they’re all talented people, but that’s what puts you above. So he did a great job doing that.”
“On the PG-13 side, he fires under you,” Harrison said.
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Harrison, who started 12 games last season, said working with Schmidt has given him a different perspective on his role up front.
“When I first started winter training, I knew I had to step up my role,” Harrison said. “So he’s really pushed me into a leadership role. Even on the days when I’m feeling down and just want to show up instead of speaking, he’s got me to raise my voice and in an offensive line. It will give them a more vocal role on the team.”
“Everybody sits on the bench and does all of that,” said Bedenbaugh. “But it’s how he attacks every day, how he gets the message out every day, and the mentality of getting those guys out. I think that’s the most important thing.”
All positions benefit from the tactics employed by Schmidt and his staff. And the coaches are deeply appreciative of how their players have evolved over the winter and summer under Schmidt.
“He’s always number 10,” said safety coach Brandon Hall, who watched Schmidt serve as one of Stoops’ assistants from 1999 to 2005. “The way to distinguish between good and good is to set a bar, set the bar very high, never deviate from it, and let the players know they have to be there for five minutes. Early on, they run the line and do every rep.”
Jerry Schmidt
Kevin Jairaj – USA TODAY Sports
“The men had great respect for him,” said Venables. increase.”
Another OU assistant who previously worked with Schmidt is offensive coordinator Jeff Levy, who came to OU as a four-star offensive lineman and quickly established himself as a student coach. Seeing the players working out this offseason brought back memories for Lebby.
“Incredible,” Levy said. “Being around our guys in the summer and being around Schmittie in the summer automatically inspires me. Being in that room and not being inspired by the way men work and sweat.” No we talk about sweat fairness Schmitty does an incredible job reaching out to these guys every day and as we walk through that tunnel Our people are ready and ready to go to war.
Venables spoke with Schmidt about what that readiness looks like and what it takes to get there, the “tuning” he shares with Schmidt.
“I think that position has always been valued for developing toughness,” Venables said. .
“But he and his staff are incredibly important.”
Venables said he appreciates how Schmidt always finds ways to reach new standards. Players simply say there are different levels of accountability under Schmidt.
Defensive end Ethan Downs said, “There are big expectations.” Big standards. A lot of accountability. Every line is touched. and values, and building on what we stand for.
Jerry Schmidt
Kevin Gairaj / USA TODAY Sports
Even quarterbacks have no immunity. In fact, some quarterbacks accept the physical and mental taxation that Schmidt imposes on them.
“When we hit June, the intensity definitely went up,” said QB Dillon Gabriel. And we believe we have done it.”
“He puts a lot of weight on my back,” Mims said. “He didn’t let me loose at all. No matter what the day was, if I was in pain, he didn’t care. That’s Coach Schmidt, and I love it.” i love every second of it.
On Thursday, the day before pre-season camp officially started, players participated in a unique “Elite Weigh-In” event. Instead of a dreary, wordless, tedious session of getting on the scales and recording everyone’s weight, this year the team will have a hyped music and light sideshow that resembles a heavyweight championship boxing pre-match weigh-in. I made a fuss. match.
The players then put Schmidt on their shoulders. This was an appropriate treatment for a director who spends more time with the staff than anyone else.
Jerry Schmidt
Kevin Jairaj – USA TODAY Sports
“I want to congratulate all the players. Thank you for all the hard work this summer,” Schmidt said in the post-weigh-in video. , I want to thank all the coaching staff for their support, I also want to thank the staff, it wouldn’t be possible without them.
“But our players are special. We’ve had great leadership across the board since January of last year and we’ve been building ever since. We wish the players the best of luck as they make it through camp.” increase.”
Schmidt’s method may be new to OU players, but it’s all too familiar to those who’ve worked with him for nearly 20 years or more.
“There are no better strength coaches in the country,” says Stoops. “Our peers are lucky to have someone they work with every day who is trying to maximize their abilities and talents. They will
“I love everything I’ve seen from him so far, and I think the players will be the best they can prove their experience,” Venables said.
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