Welcome Ben Herbert, Executive Director Player Performance

[Xenos]

Like Jesse Minter, it’s not official official yet. But all signs point to Ben Herbert being here. He might be getting a new title, like director of sports science or something fancy like that, and will be the highest paid S&C guy in the NFL.

[wu-dai clan]

This is just outstanding.

[AFboltfan]

Something the fans have been asking for forever. Hopefully this leads to less injuries overall.

[Xenos]

Something the fans have been asking for forever. Hopefully this leads to less injuries overall.

Soft tissue injuries at least.

[wu-dai clan]

Something the fans have been asking for forever. Hopefully this leads to less injuries overall.

Exactly.
And there are players who must get bigger and stronger
(if retained).
Rumph.
QJ.
Woods.
Jaimes.

[JimIsHim]

In the Minter thread, I opened with introducing myself as a Michigan fan.

This development has me gutted for the Wolverines. Coach Herb was just as vital to Michigans success as Jim was. Another outstanding hire for the Bolts and another heartbreaker and step towards mediocrity for my beloved Wolverines.

Herb was the life blood of that roster, a huge recruiter and a dude I would never want to have beef with! Happy for you guys because he’s the best in the business.

ROLL DEEP COACH HERB!

[Heatmiser]

Beat me to it! Multiple reports out of Michigan, including some from players, that Hebert is joining Harbaugh (and Herbert!) on our team. Harbaugh bringing Minter and Herbert are the two biggest hires (after Harbaugh of course) we could get. Yes, Herbert will help with physical performance and injuries, etc but his bigger impact is in the culture. After Harbaugh he is considered the biggest reason Michigan established and maintained a winning culture. Have to see how he works with NFL players vs college kids, but every thing I read and hear about him is that he is just phenomenal connecting with players and inspiring them to greatness. He is supposedly real, sincere, and knows how to relate and motivate.

This staff is looking excellent.

TG

[Heatmiser]

JimisHim, what is your opinion on Jay Harbaugh?

Thanks and you are very welcome here, brother.

TG

[BigBad]

To understand why so many coaches and players swear by Herbert’s methods, The Athletic spoke with people from various stops in his career, from his time as a player and intern at Wisconsin to his stint as head strength at Arkansas with Bret Bielema to his current role at Michigan. Here’s a collection of their stories.

Harbaugh: I remember in the hallway outside my office, my first handshake with Ben Herbert. It’s unforgettable, if anybody’s ever had a handshake with Ben Herbert.

Brooks Ellis, Arkansas linebacker, 2013-2016: He’s a towering beast. You’re hanging onto every word because if you don’t hang on every word, you’re getting called out. It’s terrifying. It’s like he’s staring into the very depths of your soul. It’s that intense.

Harbaugh: He shakes your hand, leans in. It’s like he’s looking right through your entire soul. I got to the point where (high-pitched voice) “I cannot look at you anymore! I must avert my gaze!” I knew that was the guy right there.

Bob Palko, former West Allegheny (Pa.) High School coach: He’ll steal your soul through his eyes, but he still has that compassion and that actual care for people.

Defensive lineman Mike Morris, Seahawks rookie: Coach Herb will change stuff up on purpose just to mess you up. He’ll say, “Mike, pick a number one through five.” I’ll say, “Three.” He’ll pick every third guy and tell them to go jump in the cold tub. They’ll jump in the cold tub, then come out and start conditioning.

Jenkins: He tries to challenge us in ways we don’t expect. You’re not going to get a straight schedule of what you’re going to do that day. Every day is different.

Morris: He put Vaseline on the (pull-up) bar. We were like, “Bro, you’re cheating.” … He lays out workouts for us to have an excuse, but if you’re a grown man, you’re going to get the job done.

Before joining Michigan’s staff in 2018, Herbert was head strength coach under Bret Bielema at Arkansas and Wisconsin, where he got his start as an intern in 2002. Herbert, a 245-pound defensive lineman, played for the Badgers from 1998 to 2001 and recorded two sacks against Stanford in the 2000 Rose Bowl. At West Allegheny, he was part of the first team coached by Palko, a legendary high school coach who now serves as director of high school relations at Penn State.

Palko: He was a kid that wasn’t doing real well in school, so had to go to summer school. I had to train him after I trained everybody else. Through those days that we spent together in the summer, I think he really forged his love for working out, his love for the game.

Brian Bott, Wisconsin assistant strength coach, 2000-2013: As a player, he was a very high-motor guy, just like he coaches. He was ultra-consistent. There were very few days where he came in and wasn’t ready to go.

Palko: He was into BMX bike riding. That’s what his first love was. I was like, “We’re selling the bike. You’re not riding BMX anymore.”

Bott: He was pretty strong, but we had some pretty strong guys, too. He would definitely get after it when he was there. But he was also only like 240 pounds. Strength-to-body weight ratio was pretty high for him.

Palko: I knew his limitations (as a player). He didn’t know ’em, and I didn’t tell him. It was through his work ethic that he was going to change the way things were, and he did.

Bott: A lot of times I think there’s a misconception that just because I played the game, I can train it. They’re completely different. Herbs understood that there’s a difference between playing the game and training the game.

Palko: He was always into, “Show me why.” It was always about how kids need to be careful what they put in their bodies, how they nurture themselves.

Ellis: He showed us two plants. One plant was filled with Coke and candy and stuff, so the plant died. Another plant would be filled with water, nutrients and whatever it needs to thrive.

Palko: It was a pretty good thing for the kids to see, “This is what you’re going to look like if you do the right stuff and this is what you’re going to look like if you don’t.” It made a huge impact on the players.

Harbaugh: I’ve never seen somebody that was an old-school strength coach and cutting-edge scientific strength coach. You usually get one or the other. (He’s) the absolute perfect blend.

Bott: What he’s done is taken the best parts of being a player and put it into coaching. He’s also evolved in understanding, “Hey, there’s some science behind this.” There’s got to be some rhyme or reason instead of just making everything as hard as you possibly can.

Ellis: He comes in (to Arkansas), and there’s a lot of players they did not recruit. There were a lot of studs, but there’s a lot of guys they needed to weed out. It’s a lot of running, it’s a lot of sled pushes and stadium runs and stadium walks.

We were wearing weight vests outside on the turf in the middle of the summer, running gassers across the field. Things like that pushed us beyond what we thought we could do. A lot of guys couldn’t handle that.

Bott: For me, it was hard (when he left Wisconsin). We had developed such a unique relationship. And we were f—— winning. You’ve got three Big Ten championships in a row. You’re like, “We’ve gotta keep this thing rolling, man. We’ve got to keep the band together.” But in this profession, you’ve got to do what’s best for your family.

Ellis: One random meeting toward the end of the summer, all the strength coaches came out wearing all black. They had face paint on. I’m pretty sure they had shades on. It was this whole performance. They opened four boxes, and in the boxes were dog tags. They had names on them. Four of us were all invited to the Black Room. He wanted an exclusive club, guys that work harder than anybody else that are leaders and show people what it’s like to be an Arkansas Razorback.

Everything was black. The bench, the dumbell rack, the squat rack — everything you needed in a weight room was piled into this one tiny room. You’re invited in there, and you have to claw your way out. It was 15 to 30 minutes of as much work as you could possibly do.

Bott: He understands that relationships are so important. I think relationship building is one of his strong suits. As he started to learn that and develop his own philosophies, that’s where he was like, “You know, I think I could be pretty damn good at this.”

Ellis: You knew he cared about every single guy that was in there. My buddy Frank (Ragnow, Detroit Lions center), when his dad died, as soon as (Herbert) could get over to his apartment, he was there consoling him. For five minutes, he just stared at Frank and said nothing. He was just there. There were like eight of us in Frank’s room. That’s just him. He’ll be there when you need him.

Of all the freaky weight-room feats during Herbert’s time at Michigan, it’s hard to top the Turkish get-up, a lift that requires players to go from lying down to standing up while holding a weight above their heads at full extension. Aidan Hutchinson memorably lifted 135 pounds on a bench-press bar with no collars, and Jenkins did the Turkish get-up with a 170-pound barbell.

Hutchinson and Jenkins represent two of Herbert’s biggest success stories. With Herbert’s help, Hutchinson overcame a broken ankle and turned himself into one of the most relentless edge rushers in football. Jenkins, once a three-star recruit listed at 239 pounds, transformed himself into a 305-pound defensive tackle known to his teammates as “the Mutant.”

Edge rusher Braiden McGregor: I had a trainer back home who tried to have me do (the Turkish get-up). I didn’t really know what it was. I was like, “I’m done with this. I’d rather bench.”

Chris Hutchinson, father of Aidan Hutchinson: It’s not a commonly done thing, I don’t believe. The first time (Aidan) told me about it, I had to Google it because I was like, “I don’t even know what that means.”

McGregor: It’s definitely something Coach Herb likes to do. It activates all your muscles in your body.

Chris Hutchinson: Aidan did it with a regular bench-press bar with no collars on it. You have to keep it balanced. Imagine trying to lift that full length bar with 45-pound plates on it that can slide off either way. You have to keep it perfectly level. To me, it adds another level of complexity.

McGregor: Kris (Jenkins), when he did his, we were all saying he did it so effortlessly. We were like, “What does he even have in his hand, 170 (pounds)?” Hutch last year with the barbell and no clips, that was really impressive. Both of them are just freaks.

Chris Hutchinson: If it hadn’t been for Ben showing Aidan how to work out and push his body, Aidan probably wouldn’t be where he is now. He wasn’t one of those 17-year-old kids that’s ready for the front of the swimsuit magazine with a six-pack. He was a young 17. Ben does what he does. He took this young kid who wanted to work his butt off and molded him into the second pick.

Jenkins: Y’all definitely would say the glow-up was insane. I was definitely a lot skinnier (in high school). My arms were probably half the size that they are now.

Chris Hutchinson: His senior year, I remember after we played Washington, (Aidan) came out of the locker room and we talked for a little bit. He had his shirt off. I was like, “Holy crap, you look skinny.” He was like 254. That felt good for him at the time. Now that his body has matured even more, that’s why he can handle 268. … I think they did a good job of balancing that.

Jenkins: With my dad and my uncle (former NFL linemen Kris and Cullen Jenkins), as big as they are, I knew that would come at some point. But I didn’t know it would come as quickly as it has now. Some of my high school coaches would agree. They never thought I would be 300 pounds. The last time they saw me, they reached out over Twitter and were like, “Jesus Christ, what happened?”

Chris Hutchinson: There’s no other coach on that staff that year-round has that much interaction with the players. That’s why that coach is so pivotal. During the season, your position coach takes more of a front seat, but Herbert never leaves. He’s always around.

Palko: Coach Harbaugh saw something (in Herbert). It’s been a match made in heaven.

Harbaugh: I’ve never had a better hire than Ben Herbert, what he’s done for this program.

[Xenos]

JimisHim, what is your opinion on Jay Harbaugh?

Thanks and you are very welcome here, brother.

TG

JimIsHim what’s your opinion on Jay?

[JimIsHim]

JimisHim, what is your opinion on Jay Harbaugh?

Thanks and you are very welcome here, brother.

TG

First off, thank you.

Jay Harbaugh is a Swiss Army knife. He coached many different positions at Michigan and those units were never an issue.

At the college level, he was very much plug and play.

Doesn’t hurt that for his entire life, he’s been able to learn from Jack, John and Jim Harbaugh. The last name is pretty much everything you need to know.

In my opinion, you guys are assembling the NFL coaching equivalent of the MFn Avengers.

Also a rumor I’ll throw out, I’ve heard Coach Elston and Coach Grant Newsome rumored to LA as well.

[DerwinBosa]

This will play a huge part in upcoming draft picks succeeding in the NFL. Development of the players by the coaching staff is so vital. With that in mind, I hope Zion Johnson, Salyer, Quentin Johnston, Tuli, Henley, Davis, and McFadden are in there every day working and training their asses off with Ben Herbert this offseason.