Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
SPOTLIGHT: All In
Aug 07, 2017 | Football
new strength coach Mark Hocke loves what he saw out of the Aggies as they prepared for the 2017 season
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Passion.
Work ethic.
Energy.
Excitement.
Buy in.
Spend five minutes talking with new strength coach Mark Hocke, and all this comes to mind.
Yes, they all refer to Hocke himself—you'll never 'not' know where he's standing on the practice field—but those are the words that the young, energetic New Orleans native uses to describe Kevin Sumlin's 2017 team.
And that, Aggie fans, can't help but get you fired up for the season.
"The excitement is due to the hard work of these young men," Hocke said. "They've been working their tails off since Coach Sumlin brought us here in January. They had a tremendous winter weight session and a tremendous spring football season, and they were all in work-ethic wise in the summer. It's really a testament to these men and their willingness and desire to be great. That's the thing that excites me."
Hocke came to Aggieland from Tallahassee, where he helped Florida State to an Orange Bowl title. Including prior stops at Georgia and Alabama, Hocke's resume includes multiple 10-win seasons, three SEC titles and a trio of national championships.
Impressive pedigree aside, it can be difficult at times for players to accept a new norm—especially in an area as critical as a strength program.
No problem here, Hocke says.
"I just really appreciate the team and the willingness not only to work their tails off but to buy in to the vision Coach Sumlin set out for them. I think that's what they're excited about. It's not easy to just trust a new coach, yet that's something they did. (In the weight room) there's a new brand. A new culture. Just like any new team, there's new leadership. I see that buy in from the team as a whole."
Hocke's philosophy seems a somewhat unique one in the college football landscape. He's built and tailored his staff to focus on specific positions. Each of his four assistants works heavily with specific positions and not as much with the team as a whole. This allows for a lot more fine-tuning, attention to position-specific detail and specialization.
"The vision for the weight room—and I tell the guys this from day one—is that I don't see a weight room," Hocke said. "I see a football field. I pride myself, as far as the program is concerned, to not only develop athletes to be bigger, stronger and faster but also to develop them specifically for the position they play and the position they'll compete in in both practice and the game."
He's hand-picked his assistants not only for the talent they bring as coaches but to fit specific roles on the strength staff.
Tiger Jones played at Louisville before embarking on an outstanding eight-year Arena League career, one which saw him amass over 14,000 receiving yards and nearly 270 touchdowns. He is charged with the wide receivers and running backs.
Roberto McBride, a starting corner and punt returner at Alabama who as an SEC title on his resume, oversees the defensive backs and linebackers.
Joe Patrick, who works with the quarterbacks, tight ends and specialists, has stops at Alabama and Georgia on his resume.
Rounding out the staff and working with the offensive and defensive lines is NFL veteran Brian Johnson, who attended LSU and was on the Tigers' 2003 national championship team. He, like the others, has made a very quick impression in the weight room.
"(Coach Johnson has) done an outstanding job," offensive lineman Connor Lanfear said. "He really knows what he's talking about. He's still in incredible shape. We'll be struggling to do some weighted pull-ups or heavy bench in there, and if he feels like it he'll just hop on and just make us look like children. He's a great coach and I've really, really enjoyed having him in there getting us all better."
While working hard to get the team better and ready for training camp and the grind of the season, Hocke has not missed the opportunity to soak in anything he can from a coach as successful and well-respected as Sumlin.
"Coach is a special, unique leader," Hocke said. "He is the coolest character I've been around. He's very cerebral, very sharp. His people skills are second to none. I've learned so much from him already. I take great notes on everything he tells the team—that fills up my cup, allows me to be a better mentor and leader, and lets me pour into others around me."
All-American Christian Kirk is excited about what he's seen this summer and the mentality Hocke brings every day.
"(He's brought) a different mindset (to the weight room)," Kirk said. "Honestly, it's the mindset that we need each other. No one can be left behind. If a guy is struggling during conditioning or a position drill, you can't just push him off to the side…We have to push him along because the whole team goes as one."
Kirk said that has had a big impact on the continued growth of the Aggies' leadership.
"He's put guys who aren't used to leadership positions into them," Kirk said last month at SEC Media Days in Alabama. "He's forced them to step up. I'm just really excited where we are character-wise with guys on this team."
.@coachmhocke teaches Aggie Ambassador Chris May about "Ag Jacks". ????#12thMan @12thManFndtn pic.twitter.com/tEAzEN5XW7
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) June 24, 2017
August is here, and in a few short weeks the stadiums will fill, the fans will yell and the sweet sounds of a football Saturday will fill the air.
The Aggies put in a ton of hard work while they thought no one was watching—throughout the winter, spring and all through the hot dog days of summer.People were watching. And what they saw has them fired up for those sweet Saturdays of fall.
"Something I appreciate more than anything is how much we've grown as a team from January through the summer," Hocke said. "What that looks like is how they communicate with one another, how they push one another, how they trust one another's critiques. That's rare, and that's something you don't come across a lot.
"That's why I think these guys have a chance to do something special."
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