Zach Anderson

The offseason for football is a time for a break from the games and fanfare that is college football.

That being said, the offseason is not a break from practices or an excuse to get out of shape. The life of a football player is a year-round job that does not end after the final game of the season.

Even when the school year is over, most of the football team will stay in Brookings to keep working with teammates and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Nate Moe.

“We will have close to 60 guys stay in Brookings this summer to work out with Coach Moe and their teammates,” SDSU head football coach John Stiegelmeier said. “Great commitment.

“The motivation must start from within, with a drive to be the very best; that takes hard work,” Stiegelmeier said. “Working out with the team also helps keep the motivation high.”

From a player’s perspective, it is similar; they have to do their best to stay in shape because the team is counting on them.

“I am highly competitive in whatever I do. I hate losing more than I love winning. It is this that drives me in the offseason to work hard so that by the time the game comes around, you know that you have done everything you could to prepare for that moment,” senior quarterback Ryan Crawford said.

During the offseason, coaches are not allowed to coach the players, so that is where the strength and conditioning coach and teammates play a key role in pushing each other and keeping each other motivated.

“We can’t coach them in the offseason,” Stiegelmeier said. “That is why Coach Nate Moe, our strength coach, is so very important. They are his team in the offseason.”

Currently, the team is in spring ball. They have 15 practices in a four-week span.

“During spring ball, we are required to lift two times a week and a lot of guys lift more than that,” Crawford said. “In the winter, we are required to lift three days a week and do running workouts Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 a.m.

“A lot of guys lift more than the required three days and also do some additional speed workouts,” Crawford said.

“In the summer, we run and lift three times a week plus extra. All year long people spend a fair amount of time in the training/rehab room, as well. This is not mentioning all the film we have to watch and other meetings we are required to attend,” Crawford said.

“A lot of players say that football is a 365-day-a-year job. You have to take care of your body everyday, eat right, stretch, sleep etc.,” Crawford said.

The Jackrabbit football team will have their spring game on April 25 at 3 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.