Air Force linemen responding well to new slim philosophy

After his first season at Air Force, senior center Andrew Pipes received an offseason assignment from coaches.

Get bigger.

"They'd say, ‘You need to get to 275 (pounds) by the time you get back,'" said Pipes, who weighed about 250 pounds then.

It was a message that was delivered to many players.

"Just get as heavy as you can," was how senior defensive end Ryan Kemp described the body building philosophy when he and Pipes arrived at Air Force.

But things changed when Troy Calhoun took over for former coach Fisher DeBerry prior to the 2007 season. Calhoun brought in Clay Hendrix and Matt McGettigan as his offensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach, respectively, and they shared what - at the time - was a relatively radical philosophy at the academy.

Cut the fat.

"I want to be lean," Calhoun said. "We've got to have guys that are in the single digits in body fat. I just think the more sleek you are the better you're going to move."

Having sleeker linemen is vital because the Falcons now operate without a huddle - so there is less time to rest between plays - and because they've implemented a zone blocking scheme. Zone blocking calls for linemen to move in unison and block down the field. They sometimes run several yards before making contact with a defender, and therefore quickness, agility and an ability to "bend," Calhoun said, have become more important than girth.

So prior to this season Pipes was asked to report at about 255 pounds - 20 less than the previous staff wanted him to weigh. He's at 260, which he said feels better than the 285 he was the summer before his sophomore year.

"I can't move very well at that weight," Pipes said. "I'm a small guy, and I've got to stay lean. I've got to use my leverage and my quickness to my advantage rather than trying to be big and out-fat everybody."

Junior guard Nick Charles agrees. He said when he was recruited, coaches told him they wanted him to get to 300 pounds. Charles now weighs 280. He's lost about 4 pounds since last season, trimming his body fat while increasing muscle percentage.

Former center Blaine Guenther, a graduate assistant for the prep school's team, also was encouraged to slim down by Calhoun.

"He kept telling me, ‘(Denver Broncos center) Tommy Nalen weighed 264 one year, and that was his best year,'" Guenther said.

Don't get the coaches wrong. They wouldn't turn away a chiseled, fast 315-pounder. But loading up on pizzas and putting on "bad weight" is counterproductive.

"We'd like them to be big and lean," Hendrix said. "But we'd rather give up a little size for movement."

The theory does not apply only to offensive linemen. Junior Ryan Gonzales - before moving from the defensive line to the offensive line before the preseason - went from 300 pounds at the start of the 2007 season to 255 before this preseason. Senior outside linebacker Hunter Altman was asked to report to last year's camp weighing between 215 and 220 pounds, but "this year they were like, ‘You know what? Stay around 205, 210. Stay lean and quick,'" he said.

Altman weighs 205, 10 pounds less than last season, but he improved his maximum lifts in both bench press and power clean. He said he feels faster, and he's not alone.

"Last year we had maybe 10, 15 guys fail the (preseason) run test just because they wanted to bulk up and just be huge rather than lean and quick and conditioned," Altman said. "I think everyone but one person finished the run test (earlier this week). That's a good example of how the program's changed. We're more football players rather than power lifters now."

Indeed, under McGettigan - who arrived last summer - the Falcons have emphasized core strength and flexibility.

And McGettigan has taken an active role in monitoring their nutrition.

"The eating habits, it's definitely pounded into our heads more, to eat healthy," Kemp said. "We definitely have more information on it now."

Coaches hope a leaner team will be a healthier team.

"I've found out over the years those (lean) guys, they don't get hurt as much," Hendrix said. "They're just much more dependable guys for whatever reason."