Posted on 10/29/2009 1:10:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It took a while, but Jonathan Nelson finally discovered the secret to getting on the field for No. 22 Oklahoma: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
A string of injuries had held Nelson back since he arrived on campus in 2006, but the last hurdle he had to clear before earning some playing time was convincing secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright that he had put enough meat on his slight frame to play safety.
That's where the PB&J came in.
Strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt put Nelson on a diet requiring him to eat several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before bed and again when he got up. That was supplemented with protein shakes.
After three years of trying, Nelson finally gained 15 pounds to get in the game.
OU’s defense is for real. They’d have been back in the title game this year if Bradford and Gresham were healthy. Probably if either one was healthy....Too bad those guys turned down first round money only to get injured before they could make an impact on the season.
I showed up for practice weighing about 30 pounds less than I did the year before. The coach went nuts. He had me set the alarm for 2:00 a.m. every night with instructions to eat a can of pork and beans, followed by another one as soon as I woke up in the morning, in addition to my normal meals.
I though it was wierd and you wouldn’t want to go on a long car ride with me but I was back up to playing weight in about 6 weeks.
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