From a Bostonian’s perspective, the Louisiana heat can be unfathomable and the humidity makes the air feel as oppressive as a pool of peanut butter. For that alone, summertime workouts on the LSU campus give players an extra edge.
But there’s something else that makes a real difference, and which causes so many alums, including Patriots [team stats] running backs Stevan Ridley and Joseph Addai, to journey back to Baton Rouge in droves. They return to work out with strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt, and the competition raises the intensity level.
“Down here at LSU, it’s all about competition,” Ridley said. “We’re trying to be better than the guy that’s beside us. It’s really like playing a trick on your mind that you’ve got to come out here and bust it and be the best at every rep. Coach Moffitt, that’s what he expects out of his football team, and that’s what he expects out of us when we come back. He’s yelling, and he’s getting it. He wants us to have perfect reps. Don’t just come in there just to do the lifts to get by. He wants us to come in, work hard, get better and get better every day. That’s why guys come back.”
Ridley and Addai are part of a group of seven or eight former players on campus five days a week since minicamp ended last month, and plenty more have trotted through from time to time. The bigger names include Giants cornerback Corey Webster, Seahawks quarterback Matt Flynn, Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne, Chiefs defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey and Panthers wide receiver Brandon LaFell.
It’s not just former players, either. They all work with the current LSU team as it prepares for its season, and that adds to the competition. The pros have too much pride to be outworked by the amateurs, even the best ones like Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu.
When Ridley was still in school, he said these workouts offered a coveted chance to measure up to the pros, and they’d try to one-up the NFL players. Ridley would always try to line up alongside Addai for those reasons, which led to a camaraderie that continues to develop now that they’re teammates. They know where it started, and there are plenty of longstanding relationships like that at LSU.
“Once you’re there, you’re family and you’re in there forever,” Ridley said. “You’re a Tiger forever. You can always come back and know that you’re going to get a good workout, and that’s why so many guys do that, really because Moffitt is a maniac in the same way. He’s going to ride us just like we are freshmen coming in.”
Moffitt has been at LSU since 2000, and joined the program after a short stint at Miami, also famous for its offseason NFL workouts. It’s not uncommon for players to return to their schools to work out, but Ridley believes LSU is unique in the sheer numbers and dedication with this offseason regimen.
When they show up to LSU in the morning, they conduct a long, drawn-out stretching session before hitting the weight room for an Olympic-style lifting routine and then heading outside for running and conditioning. Some days, they’ll hit the field where Flynn leads passing drills. They also play basketball, work out in the pool and take Yogalates classes to mix it up a couple of days each week.
Ridley noted Addai’s aid in pushing him through the process. The other day, the pair ran 20 extra 60-yard dashes after the workout to prepare for the training camp’s upcoming conditioning test.
Ridley loves the pace, but at the end of the day, Moffitt’s workouts are all about preparing players for the NFL.
“If you can train down here and get in shape in this heat, you can pretty much play anywhere,” Ridley said. “It’s always good to come down here and get this work in before we kick off the season.”